ABSTRACT
This chapter describes married women’s possibilities to represent themselves primarily in the light of the husband as an intended legal representative. Though it may seem clear from the law that the wife was supposed to be represented, it was quite different in practice as women both had criminal liability and could partake in legal activities at the ting. The chapter also addresses women’s networks and how to act in someone else’s stead. In a legal culture so heavily dependent on physical presence, representation was very common and not as obviously gendered as it has been portrayed in previous research. It also discusses all the cases of someone acting as malsman in the charters, concluding that there are decisive regional differences.
