How Women Were Viewed During The Medieval Catholic Time

All over the world, societal roles of women are different. This has not changed despite centuries of time passing. Roman and medieval women, though parts of different cultures and separated by distance, were very similar.

Since the Christian religion was a large and prominent force in the everyday life in the average person in the 17th and 18th century, the Bible was a large influence in how the woman was seen in society as it says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church…” (Ephesians 5:22-23, 33). The Bible is that the woman was ruled by her husband, that she didn’t even have her own head, and cannot think for herself because it was expected by the very faith that she must submit to her husband. The Holy Book also says that the woman was created from the rib of the man, which it is known now as completely preposterous, so it implies that the woman is inferior to man because she was created from man, because heaven forbid that any evidence point towards that it is man that came from a woman.

A woman’s alternative would be becoming a nun, giving up all social freedoms and dedicating your life to serving the poor and God. Women who were subject to this life received a much more thorough education than other women, in order to properly learn religious concepts and theory. Otherwise, a woman’s education was limited to basic reading abilities paired with instruction on how to do homely activities. A woman of this time period had utterly no voice in politics. Law was man’s law. The life of these women were controlled by the men who surround them, their opinions meaning little to nothing. The life of a woman in medieval times was bleak and varied little. Romantic literature was on the rise, full of damsels in distress that only further perpetuated negative stereotypes of women during these times. These romances were full of helpless women in situations only a man could get them out of, or else they would be doomed. Despite this cultural oppression of women in this time period, some strong female characters were erected in medieval romances. A perfect example of an abnormally strong and independent female main character would be Enide from Erec and Enide written by Chrétien de

As early as the beginning of the Christian Church women had some important but very defined roles within the church. There were roles women could not play, of course, but that does not mean they did not have value to the Christian movement. Unfortunately, there have also been a lot of things overlooked that have been done by women, especially in the New Testament. There have also been arguments that the Christian Church is a "man's church" because men wrote the books of the bible and women did not have much say, apparently, in what happened during that time and how it was recorded. Even though not everyone was certain of the way women were treated in Christianity and whether they were accepted and applauded the way they should have and could have been, there were still many mentions of women doing great things. Scholars have begun to look into what women did during Old Testament and New Testament times, in an effort to have a better understanding of Christianity and the role women played in it in the past.

I agree with the argument that women were the “binding glue” which held Protestant society together, because without them men lost their sense of obligation to hold up their morality. Gender roles seem arbitrary; men easily assume female gender roles without women around. If men did not cook, clean and do their laundry than it would not get completed. Moreover, behavior such as “drinking, gambling and sex,” were tolerated mainly because the men did not have women to police them.

They had beliefs that individuals from the Catholic Church wouldn’t understand. All women stand tall and have important roles just like men.

All throughout history, women have been perceived as the lesser, gentler, more emotional, and the inferior gender. This thinking, of course, has been a brainwashed ideology by men. During the Renaissance and Reformation throughout Europe, the lives of women were and subject to limitations and change for various different classes, locations, and religious basis. Catholicism was the core of every European during this period. The Pope had everyone under his control, and the doctrines were knitted tightly in their everyday lives.

One example is the experiences women had with education. Beforehand, women had stayed at home doing housework, and did not need education. However many more women during this time strived for better education. In this time period, women began to become more educated. An example of this is Madame du Chatelet, who decided to take a well educated life in mathematics during the Enlightenment, instead of being uneducated.. However women like Madame du Chatelet were rare in society, and most decided to stay home and stay uneducated. Also women like Madame du Chatelet, were only wealthy, so once again most poor women did not change experiences with their education. Another change of experiences the women went through was the acceptance by some into guilds, which created high craftsmanship goods and were very selective. At this time, guilds had banned women from working but slowly guilds had started to break those rules and let women work. This is a major step from what women were doing previously, however it did not widely change how all women had worked. Guilds were limited to more wealthy people, so only the wealthy women were allowed into guilds. Also even to wealthy women, working at guilds was limited. Overall most women did not change how they worked from previous generations, as many still stayed at home only doing housework and teaching their

The excerpt “Daughters of Eve” from Renaissance Woman by Margaret King describes a period between 1350 and 1650. King’s focus is on Western and Southern Europe, with particular emphasis on England and Florence, but with information from other regions of Italy, France and Germany. King is interested in the lives of women during this period, and the expectations, cultural practices and social mores which defined and constructed the feminine identity of the time. In the first section of the book entitled, “Daughters of Eve”, King begins by exploring the role of religion in framing the acceptable roles for women. At the time Europe was mainly Christian, with exceptions of regions of the Balkans, some islands of the Mediterranean and Iberia. Thus, the primary cultural references used in the society of the time relate to key figures from Christianity, and, with regard to femininity, the major figures employed were the Virgin Mary and Eve. Essentially they are the key “do” and “don’t” role models the Bible provides. The first is exalted for her role as the mother

He argues that “this was a way for women to transcend their flawed female natures to win salvation, in a way which men, made in the image of God, did not” (Harting 170). It’s taught in the Bible that Eve, was the first to ingest the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, which made (all) women viewed as second class citizens between the two sexes. Because of Eve’s sin, “women were thought to be carnal and deceitful, easily susceptible to pride, loquacious, and the source of the world’s problem” (170-171). If a man lusted, it was always the women’s fault. Women were seen as being so tied up in their “sexual nature,” that to renounce it was to go completely against their nature; therefore, if women dedicated their lives to the church, it would then be viewed as a way for them to make an attempt to elevate themselves in the eyes of all mighty God. One interesting fact about becoming a nun, was that there were some obstacles that could have prevented women from joining the church. The price of “admission for becoming a nun could cost as much or more than a dowry” (Henrietta 43). If women were too poor and couldn’t afford the price of admissions, they could then become lay sisters where they would perform manual labor such as cooking, cleaning, and serving meals, etc (45). This pathway for many was still a better option than marriage, since they were able to retain some autonomy, even as servants. The convent life was a place for women to gain self-determination, a form of independence and more importantly, it became a place for women to gain an education. Katharina Wilson, the author of “Women in the Middle Ages,” asserts that young girls “were frequently educated in convents, which led to some becoming nuns because it was the only life they had known and may have been easier than getting married” (Wilson

Women withstood a multitude of limitations in the medieval era. Due to the political, social, and religious restrictions women encountered, historians neglected to realize that they demonstrated agency. The female experience is something that has been overlooked until recently. Unfortunately, without the knowledge of how women found ways to exert their power, we are experiencing a deficit of knowledge in this period. Through the close examination of the primary sources: The Gospel of Mary, Dhouda’s Liber Manualis, and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the creative means of female force are displayed.

It’s a well-known fact that in history women weren’t always treated the best. They were often treated as little more than the property of a man, be it their father or their husband. The only time women would be able to get away from that, was if she was widowed, although she might not always manage it then, or if she became a nun which wasn't always possible especially after The Protestant Reformation and doing away with nunneries and monasteries.

It must have been a complete change compared to other women during this time. Devoting your whole life to Christianity, giving God you all in all. Hilda became an amazing teacher and as a result she held a lot of roles compared to other women. Since men were the ones that were supposed to have the power in this day in age. It must have been a little hard being a nun, seeing as most people thought a woman's place was at home caring for the household and the children. In the Code of Chivalry one of the meaning is for knights to protect women and the weak. Seeing as it says weak and women in the same sentence I feel as if they say that all women need to be looked after, because it is hard for women to achieve success in the time

Women from the medieval times had clear roles. The women had strict rules to follow by. When it came to marriage, the wives had to submit to their husbands and follow their lead. Women were supposed to be cleaning, stay at home with the kids, cook, make clothes, etc. The women who steered away from these “typical” roles, made very interesting characters. The majority of gender expectations came from the church and biblical history. Since Eve was the cause for the fall of man, there were a lot of anti-feminist feelings. Women were held accountable for the majority of man’s suffering, and were consequently inferior and to be dominated by men. Purity, holiness, and chastity, were all presumptions of women from outstanding role models like the Virgin Mary.

The role of women in Christianity has always been significant. If you think about it, women were the first people to spread the gospel because they were the ones who ran back to town to tell the people that the tomb was empty and that Jesus had risen, just as He said He would. We also know that many women were followers of Jesus - such as Mary and Martha of Bethany, featured in the book of Luke. Women often provided shelter and food for Jesus and his disciples and gave of their own money to support his ministry (Harris, 2014).