One cannot work with this material for any length of time without coming to an appreciation for the power and status of women that appear in the historical record. Women such as Joan of Kent, Alice duchess of Suffolk, and Alice Warwick were powerful politicians by the standards of any day and age. This is not mere personal observation - the status of upper-class Anglo-Norman women is a subject of historic interest. A few selections in this regard:

Kathy Lynn Emerson, in Wives and Daughters: The Women of Sixteenth Century England writes in her forward:

Spinners in the Sun

" Englishwomen were liberated long before their sisters in Europe. In the sixteenth century they were enterprising, educated, contributing members of society. Although their activities were more apparent during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, individuality in women was not a new trend. The proverb that England is a paradise for women, a prison for servants and a hell for horses was old even before a Dutch traveler, Emmanuel Van Meteren, quoted it in 1575. He recorded that although English wives were "entirely in the power of their husbands, except for their lives" they were "not kept so strictly as ... elsewhere." Englishwomen persisted "in retaining their customs." Emerson

"Down to about the reign of Richard II or a little later the baronial families were predominantly Norman by male descent, though, ... a certain number of English families entered their ranks at quite an early date. ... As by Norman custom a daughter succeeded her father if he had no son, baronies and other fiefs from time to time passed by descent from old families to new ones. As no women could lawfully be married without her lord's consent, the king frequently gave his barons' heiresses in marriage to his friends or to the highest bidder. ..." Wagner

A humorous anecdote regarding Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the status of women:

"In Constantinople Lady Mary lost no opportunity to tell the Turkish ladies of the superior status of women in England. Her propaganda suffered a serious setback, however, when her friends invited her to go with them to a public bath. The Turkish lady who helped her undress was amazed at the sight of Lady Mary's stays, and called all her friends to come and have a look. "See how cruelly the poor English ladies are used by their husbands!" she cried. "How can you boast of your greater liberty when your husbands lock you up in a box like this?" LBBA

Sources:
Emerson,
Wagner,
LBBA

http://www.montaguemillennium.com/familyresearch/women.htm