ABSTRACT

Widowhood is a fact of life for early modern men and women, especially women. Though widowhood often brings economic adversity for women, it also gives them some new opportunities for independence throughout most of Europe. Widowhood therefore is a third, sometimes final stage in a woman's life a stage most women will only experience once, and sometimes more often. It can also place a woman in a position of great power over her children, deciding the amount of dowry for her daughters and assisting her sons in gaining positions of political influence. Widowhood is a clear legal status, but 'old age' in the early modern period is harder to define. Those men and women who survive into adulthood have an excellent chance of living to ripe old ages. One of the most common stereotypes about older women, particularly widows, is that they are sexually voracious.