Middle Ages Women Essay

Women were expected to do so much but at the same time so little. They had no power to do what they desire because men had all the power to control them. Society had an expectation of how women were supposed to act. For instance, Mary’s father cared for his sons education he wanted them to know how to read, write, and to do sums, as for his daughters he only cared that they knew how to read and sew. That is the basic that women were allowed to learn it was not important for them to know more since all they were going to work for is taking care of children. Here is an example, “…Gender roles within those families the reinforcement of gender ideals such as “helpmeet” and “notable housewife” by religious and civil authorities, and the simple

     Many of people today feel trapped inside their homes, just how the women of Pre-Industrial Europe felt. Working day in and day out inside the homes, just to keep the family together, and make a little money on the side, these women were an integral part of Pre-Industrial families. Not only were the women important to Pre-Industrial European families, but so were the households. Much of the money was made in the households, and this is where families either succeeded or failed. The household and women of Pre-Industrial Europe played an integral role in the economy of the families, and more importantly, the women of these households kept them running

“ The belief that women were inherently inferior in intelligence, strength, and character was so persuasive that for men like Knox, a woman ruler was almost a contradiction in terms” (“Documents for Chapters 5&6”). In the 16th century, women were looked upon as a gender that should stay in the house and work, not have power and rule over a country. Discussing the govern of Queens during the 16th century, such as Mary Tudor, Lady Jane Grey, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, allowed prejudices to be lessened but never completely be erased. No matter how these four notable ladies came into power, the accomplishments they overcame, achieved and wrote about proved to be great and substantial in making history as it is written today.

In 17th century Euro-America Puritan society believed that men played a patriarchal role upon women, and that this role was instituted by God and nature. The seniority of men over women lay within both the household and the public sphere. The household, immediate family living in the same dwelling was subject to the male as head figure of the house. The public sphere also known as the social life within the Puritan community consisted of two echelons. These echelons consisted of formal and informal public. The formal public consisted of woman and indentured servants. Women were to stay within the informal public and stay in the shadows of the men. The government held large ties with the church in the 17th century. Though women were

A woman in medieval times was not considered a person, but property. A woman would be forced to wear layers of drab clothing, the style determining their social class ranking. A woman of wealth would wear decadent gowns and women in poverty would wear plain spun dresses. Their goal in life was to find a husband, to give in to his whims and be the epitome of submission. Sometimes, peasant girls would be forced to take up a trade prior to marriage. After the marriage, she was forced to give up this trade, the skill she possessed, and either maintain the lifestyle as a housewife, or help her husband with his trade. In regards to whom a woman married, there was little to no choice in the matter. Often, girls were married to strange men, men they

“Most women had little control over the direction their lives took. Once widowed, they had autonomy over considerable financial resources” (Bovey). Women were weak and men had control over their whole lives unless they were widowed. “Women didn’t have political rights, and they didn’t get to choose if they got married or had children. Women didn’t have an education and only if they inherited land they would have the same rights as men” (C N). This was the only case where women had the same rights as men. This rarely occurred because not very many women inherited land, men usually inherited it. Women generally didn’t have an education, so there was little chance for them to be better than men or in a higher power. They were not allowed to know what men did so they were always at A disadvantage. “Women had to obey men but a lot of times they were treated well. Women were treated by their social rank” (Women During the Middle Ages). Not only did men control women, but women were also defined by their social rank. How much money they had determined when they got married, there clothes, there husbands, and where they lived. “Poor women lived in small houses. Wealthy women had servants to do everything for them” (Women in the Middle

Women and their families often grew up in rural areas, making most of their money and living from the land they would tend, and the crops they grew (bl.uk). Most women were neither nuns or housewives, but worked. “Women’s gender…excluded them from the learned professions of scholarship, medicine, and law. A women rarely considered herself as just a wife (“The Western Heritage” p. 218). Women held a lot of traditional roles and jobs in medieval times. Women were expected to be in charge of making all of the food for the whole family. Men rarely cooked, as this was the job of the women. Also, women were expected to be the primary caretakers of the children, as the men were often working in the fields, and

The hardest life to live during the middle ages was most likely that of a peasant woman. Many of the roles that these peasants had go undocumented and are rarely seen in famous literary works of the time. In “Women in the Medieval English Countryside : Gender and Household in Brigstock before the Plague” by Judith M. Bennett, she describes the peasants woman’s role as “Under a new authority- that of their husbands” (100). These peasants, much like the noble women of the time, were to do as their husbands told them. These women, unlike the nobles, would actually do manual labor work. Their roles were to work in the house as well as work in the field plowing and gathering crops. In “The Wife’s Lament” the narrator ,the wife, speaks about being banished to live in the forest. This shows the misogynistic views of the time in comparison to today where no woman would be forced to leave a town and be told to “...Live in a grove of

The history of the Middle Ages typically places women in one of two roles; they are either placed upon a pedestal of holiness or reviled as whores and allies of Satan. Historians, Marty Williams and Anne Echols, attempt to combat that idea with their text Between Pit and Pedestal: Women in the Middle Ages. Williams and Echols succeed in showing that the traditional female role did fall somewhere in between, but there was a lot of variety in what was in between. Women were wives, merchants, land owners, and doctors, but where does the "traditional" female fall in this picture? As scholars and historians, we are fortunate to have documents written by a woman in the Middle Ages: the letters of Heloise to her husband, renowned teacher and philosopher, Peter Abelard (referred to as Abelard).

In the Middle Ages from 476 CE- 14th century almost all of the power of women was determined by biblical references. The average woman in a rural area had the duty of making clothes from wool, cleaning, cooking, and taking care of children. The women in town often were tasked in purchasing and trading goods and the normal housekeeping. In extreme cases women were known as witches. Other women became nuns and got involved in spiritual matters. In the year 1000 traditional marriage that involved getting married for financial reasons became less common. Although the parents still assisted in choosing the spouse it was becoming freer to choose who to marry. The woman was essentially owned by a male guardian almost like a child. However, if a rich widowed woman decided she did not want or have another guardian available, she was able to have her own name. During the Middle Ages many rich women were able to participate in things such as art, music or writing. It was rare for a woman not that well off to be able to purchase the tools or have the education to do art, music, or writing. All the rules developed depended on how

Women's lives, roles, and statuses changed over various early world history eras and culture areas in many ways. Ancient Persia, Paleolithic, Athens, Mesopotamian and Roman eras were all different in very unique ways. The Paleolithic era treated women fairly and were treated equally. During the Neolithic era women were not treated fairly. She was the daughter of her father or the wife of her husband. Women rarely acted as individuals outside the context of their families. Those who did so were usually royalty or the wives of men who had power and status.” (oi.uchicago.edu, 2010) Athenian women were not treated fairly

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.

The history of the modern world derives from thousands of years of human history. Embedded in its history are the many eras of man which have constructed our modern learning, art, beliefs, and order. The middle ages, although represented as “dark”, backwards, and idle, were in fact a bridge linking the classical and modern world. Medieval society may not have been in a sense glorious, but the era of itself was a prime foundation of the modern world’s newfound stability, a revival of the law and teachings from the classical era, a reinvestment and reform in the church, and a precursor to the golden age of art.

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.

Women in this time lived a hard life as well. Regardless of their status in society, they were tied to household tasks (“The Middle Ages”). This including duties such as cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, sewing, and baking. Along with these jobs, women also