Comparing and Contrasting the Role of Women during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages

Even though women did not have a lot of social rights, they had two very important roles. They were to run the house and reproduce children. Even Euripides, a well known Greek playwright, stated , “Women run households and protect within their homes, and without a woman no home is clean or prosperous” (Neils 78). This shows that women were the ones who controlled the home. The wives would maintain the house and perform chores such as weaving, baking and cooking, cleaning, and fetching water. The women’s daily roles were simplified if they house had slaves. If there were slaves, they would do all of the chores and the wife would supervise

This paper will explore the historical research that indicates what roles women were allowed to play in Rome, including the Ellis textbook for some of the basic facts. Additional research information comes from another

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,

Households were strictly patriarchal in which the man of the house made all the important decisions. Women's jobs at the time were mostly relegated to domestic service and occasional work at harvest time. The jobs were always of low pay, low status, and required little training. In addition to this females were not legally permitted to inherit land or property. This was the bleak life of a woman, with little hope or power, and always the subordinate of men.

Women have played important roles throughout history. They have been responsible for the rise and fall of nations, sustaining families, and have been the focal point of worship in ancient religions. Moving forward in history, women's roles have continually changed. Their status as matriarchs changed as the more advanced ancient civilizations rose. The patriarchal societies of ancient Greece and Rome viewed women differently from some societies of past eras. The study of the economic and political status of women, their rights, and their contributions to both these ancient societies reveals how views change throughout history.

Women, although they did not have as large a role as men in Roman society, still had a large social and political impact on Roman history, influencing the way the Roman government worked and how politicians thought. In the beginning, female gladiators, or “gladiatrix” were thought of as strange by demonstrating equal fighting ability and strength to male gladiators, but soon, what was once thought of as women “betraying their gender”, became a phenomenon that inspired women and proved that women could be as powerful and courageous as men, redefining what was thought of as “feminine”. The word “feminine” was typically associated with every member of the female gender, as they were automatically assumed to be feminine, but gladiatrix changed

The role of women in the early Roman Empire is much different than the roles of women today. In the early Roman Empire, women were not given many rights, with Roman law not concerning women as equal to men. In the Roman Empire, women were not allowed to participate in the political areas either. Very few Roman women, mainly the wealthy and those with a high social status enjoyed the freedom on owning a business. For example, one Roman woman made lamps, while others conducted their own businesses as midwifes, hair stylists or even doctors. This research paper will speak of several aspects of the Roman woman, childhood, adulthood, marriage, housing, family life and fashion.

Women were generally looked down upon during the Middle Ages. This was because of the biblical story of Adam and Eve. In this story Eve was created with Adam’s rib. God did not allow Adam nor Eve to eat the fruit. Eve however ate the fruit and got herself and Adam kicked out of paradise. In a Christian dominated society of the Franks, this story of Adam and Eve serves to support the difference between Man and Women, where women were inferior to men. At this time, men were the dominant sex. Gender equality was not very equal, but the difference

There were set roles; these roles made the gender dependent on one another. Married women were to cook, clean the house, have

A lady was the wife to the lord majority of the time. She was responsible for taking care of the house, and the important part of having a lady was to have children (Middle Ages for KidsLife of the NobilityKings, Lords, Ladies, Knights, 2016). Women had little to do within the country. Women had to work on the land on top of helping around the house. They did the same work as men, but men got paid more. For instance a man would get eight pence a day and women would only get five pence a day

Throughout the Middle Ages, everything was usually ruled by man's authority over the women, forbidding from teaching, and also telling them to be silent unless spoken to. But there were some women that showed power, providing challenges to the women's image of that time in history as oppressed and subservient. In the church, they could be in positions of great responsibility as abbesses of convents. In some cases, monasteries that housed communities of men and women, the abbess had authority over monks.

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

In the Roman Empire, and in most ancient societies, the role and status of woman has been obscured by the bias of ancient male writers. Just as women are viewed in ancient Greece, and Imperial China, women in the Roman Empire were viewed as inferior to men. In the Roman Empire it was believed that women should be under the control of a guardian, which controls the aspects of her life. This guardian could be her father, husband, or a male relative (Nystrom).

Were women in Rome treated equally to the men? Rome was established on April 21st of 753 BC and is located in modern day Italy. Women held an important place in society. They had many rights compared to other civilizations such as being able to join in business, education, they were seen equal to male members of their family, and many more.

Let it suffice that they all have done things worthy of celebration. And since it is difficult for a woman to win praise in new areas of endeavor, because their lives are stimulated by less diversity of opportunities, we must inevitably cherish the traits which they have in common so that nothing may be lost from these just precepts and ruin the rest. And yet my mother, who was very dear to me, deserved greater praise than all the others because in modesty, moral integrity, chastity, obedience, wool-working, diligence, and loyalty she was equal and similar to other excellent women, nor did she yield to any woman in virtue, hard work, and wisdom.” This inscription is significant because it reveals the qualities males associated with the ideal woman; they were expected to lead simple, domestic lives, which focused on taking care of the household. However, it is important to keep in mind that the portrayal of women reflects the idealistic woman, opposed to a realistic Roman woman.