User:Jevella/Goodwife

Sorry, I had a million other things to work on this week :(

“Goodwife” is a term used to designate women of high social status, typically civilian wives.[1] Goodwives were typically involved in civilian duties but did not necessarily join in church activities.[2] However, despite this, there were some, especially ministers, who believed that this form of address involved morals rather than civics and could only be used to address church members.[3]

The term has also had very specific meanings for certain groups. Between 1523 and 1547, the term “goodwife” was used in Coventry cappers to denote wives who had taken over their husband’s business before or after his death.[4]

While this term was to denote women of social standing, there were terms for women above these. Above Goodwife was Madam and above that was Dame.[5]

Despite being a lower form of address socially, it was not considered an insult to address someone of lower status as Goodwife.[6]

Goodwife remained in New England until the early 1700s.[7]

Shift from Goodwife to Mistress

Goodwife is one of the many forms of address towards women at the time. While Goodwife and Mistress were used at the same point, there was a noticeable shift from calling women “Goodwife” to “Mistress” and ultimately the usage of goodwife faded out.

See also: “What the Goodwife Taught Her Daughter” [1] Mother Knows Best, 68

[2] Studies in English and European Dialectology, 240.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Desolation of a City: Coventry and the Urban Crisis of the Late Middle Ages (Cambridge, Eng., 1979), pp. 91-92.

[5] A Short History of Mrs., 53

[6] Studies in English and European Dialectology. 237

[7] Studies, 241.