Ap European Women Dbq Essay

Where the husband's and employer's power over women was practical, the clergy's was spiritual. These two worlds were in constant conflict. Women flocked to the Church. They turned to religion for consolation and solace. More women attended mass, more confessed, they were the true keepers of the faith. Women provided the Church with a source of cohesion; their fierce and desperate faith would lay the groundwork for the growing dominance of the church in medieval society.

In Tudor England, the position of women had remained unchanged for centuries. Women were told that they were inferior and that their sole function in life was to marry, have children, and look after their homes and husbands. The church used the Bible to justify the belief that women were inferior. If men of God said that women were inferior, it had to be true. It was against God’s wishes for a woman to rule over men that were seen as far superior to her. While Elizabeth I reigned over England, many were supportive of her. There were also many that were against her rule, but she responded authoritatively to any opposition she faced.

In the nineteenth century, the legal rights of women and men were highly affected by gender and race, both positively and negatively. In the book, “Kingdom of Matthias,” by Paul Johnson and Simon Wilentz, they describe the life of two females, Isabella Van Wagenen and Isabella Matthews Laisdell which whom were affected by slavery and high influences of higher power from men. In the nineteenth century it was believed that males were to support the family by working and earning a wage as a husband was to provide for his wife and a father to provide for his children (Fahs 1/5). Also, during the nineteenth century women were seen to be working in homes and supporting their husbands by cleaning the home, raising the children, and cooking meals

In fact, the reformation oppressed women socially and religiously. Men also suffered some setbacks as well, but this paper will focus on the setbacks of women. Before the reformation, women had basically three options for a “career.” They could marry and become a housewife, become a nun, or work a prostitute.

A woman’s worth was determined by her virtue, her dowry, her marriage, and her children. A woman could lose all of those things and she would be consider worthless (Bitel, 2002 p.86). Women during the Middle Ages depended on men for just about everything. They depended on men for protection, security and power. Whereas the men also depended on women for children mainly sons for heirs but also daughters to form alliances threw marriage (Bitel). The history of women during the Middle Ages does not have a lot of documents to tell about the lives of ordinary women and how they lived. The documents that historians do have tell stories of queens, saints, and women that went against the norm. Although Bitel did not have a lot of documents to go to for information she paints a picture of Medieval Europe and the middle ages for women (Bitel,

Women of Medieval Times In the beginning of the Middle Ages, women of higher class owned land and had a high social reputation, as if they were equal to men. As the 12th century hit, female roles started to fall apart. Women in the upper class were now below their husbands. Females could not attend school and they were also excluded from politics because men thought they were not fit to understand them.

To understand these Reformation-era women and their roles in the protestant reformation it is necessary to understand women in the history of Christianity, therefore this paper will explore this history of women in the Reformation-era and the roles of women in the church and how they and their husbands impacted the lives views and roles during the reformation.

The 16th and 17th centuries in England are marked by the great societal changes that emerged from the effects the Renaissance and Reformation had on ideas concerning religion, education and social order. In regard to these developments, it has been argued that the spiritual and educational standing of women had been elevated during this time, coupled also with the fact that this period saw the rule of three female monarchs, which arguably challenged and improved society’s opinions and attitudes toward women. However, it is important to critically consider whether these societal movements have been retroactively deemed beneficial to women because they had favored modernization– a process that was of much greater advantage to men than to

Women from the medieval ages were denied so many opportunities and their voices were not being considered in society. They were not allowed to hold any position and “either were they allowed to contribute in any aspect of life. There is a very profound statement made in the book “The book of the city of ladies”. “Didn’t you yourself create woman, especially and then endow her with all the qualities that you wish her to have? How could you possibly have made a mistake in anything?” (De Pizan, Christine.) "The Book of the City of Ladies." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

Education is one of the things that have changed during the time from eighteenth to 21st century. Mary Wollstonecraft says: ?The education of women has, of late, been more attended to than formerly,? (Mary Wollstonecraft 179). In her time women had to stay at home and take care of the house and the children. Nowadays there are so many day-care centers and many women use them so they can go to work. She could see that in

In the fourteenth century women were not valued as much as men were. Not much respect was given to women. Women were the keeper of the house and were considered weak and unable to do anything but cook and clean. The women would only be left in charge if her husband was away fighting or traveling.

     During the Middle Ages, French society, along with the rest of Europe, revolved around the warrior class. In order to gain land and power nobles gave their services in the military and lived violent lifestyles. Treatment toward women during this period was harsh. "In a society of landed nobility dispersed fairly loosely across the country in their castles and estates, the likelihood of a preponderance of the man over the woman and thus of a more or less unconcealed male dominance, is very great." (Elias, Page 325.) Men beat their wives and typically had little respect for them. Marriage was based not on love but on increase in influence and wealth.

This essay will discuss whether social status was the main obstacle preventing women from exercising their power and influence in the middle ages. This essay will further undertake a close analysis of women’s social status within society and how they were categorised as being either: rural, urban, noble, religious or royal. All women regardless of social status endured the harsh constraints imposed by a dominant patriarchal world, governed by the powers of both political and religious authorities. Women’s social status played a significant but underdog role at this time in society. This essay will investigate other relevant factors pertaining to women’s status; such as the legal rights of women and finally the ideology and theological teachings of the church which acted to restrict the majority of women from fulfilling their full potential, power and influence throughout the middle ages.

Gender roles have long since existed in human society. From the Upper Paleolithic and up until the early 21st Century, it has always categorized men and women into several limiting, obligatory roles more often so limiting the rights and decisions of women. However, one might be surprised that the gender norms that had restricted women were at their strongest during the Late Medieval Period. The Medieval Period in general was not a very pleasant era to live in. There were events and aspects of Medieval Europe that were not altogether palatable such as the Black Death, an oppressive hierarchy that limited the majority of the people’s abilities to raise themselves out of hardship, and the Inquisition that might come knocking at your door at

When a person thinks back to the 16th Century and the roles of women, they would immediately assume that women didn’t have that big of a role. If Queen Elizabeth and King Henry’s wives were excluded, of course. But if a person’s mind happens to wonder towards the modern times, they’d see the difference of the roles of women in the 16th and 21st Century. In the 16th Century, women sometimes had very few opportunities to have a say in their futures, but the things that have mostly evolved for women; are work, education, and their marriage.