Where can I learn about ladies-in-waiting?

Question

I would like to know as much as possible about ladies-in-waiting (not just those in the royal courts) during the Middle Ages, particularly in England in the later part of the Middle Ages (c. 1300-1500 or thereabouts). I have tried to search on the internet and have found very little information. I have found the Wikipedia entry and a few sites on famous royal ladies-in-waiting who lived after the period I'm interested in (ditto with books I have found on the topic), but not much else. I would like to learn all I can about the profession in general. How did one become a lady-in-waiting? What was it like to have such a job? What were their relationships with their ladies like? What about their relationships with others in the castles where they lived? What rules of conduct did they in particular have to observe? Every second, I think of new questions! Does anyone know a lot about this, or can anyone direct me to someone who does (or perhaps both)? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Try the Society for Creative Anachronism, they are a non-profit educational group specializing in research and re-enactment of all things in the periods you describe, I've known several ladies who actually served as Ladies-in-Waiting within SCA events, so they should be able to answer all your questions.