Women's absence from witness lists creates a problem: formal silence cannot show whether a politically important woman was present or influential. Context, syntax, linguistic skill, and word choice may offer clues. Differences in the education of clergy, feudal lords, and royal women also shape what language each person could have contributed. Official records can conceal participation and informal authority, but a plausible inference still cannot be treated as proven fact.
Notable Point · 17:47-20:03
Informal power when women are absent from the witness list
Witness lists and wording become evidence for studying informal power, education, language, and historical inference.