ABSTRACT
In most medieval households, stewards were clergymen or chaplains who would have had the necessary education and been considered trustworthy persons for the job. Though it has been argued that there were many fictitious elements in medieval accounts reflecting 'a bureaucratic instinct to make information conform to the Procrustean bed of accounting system,' Dame Alice's accounts do demonstrate methodical and careful supervision. This imbalance is mirrored by the composition of medieval households, which was mostly male: the household of Elizabeth Berkeley consisted of around fifty members, only nine of whom were women. Arguably there is nothing unusual about this, wives doing business for their husbands and paying the bills, but it does demonstrate that despite a posse of male officials in the household, married women were approached and expected to deal with financial matters for their spouses. However, essentially, the medieval household was a social institution with customs and traditions to maintain.
