Women During The Medieval Era Essay

     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

Robertson, Amber. “Women’s Agency as Represented in Various Works of Medieval Literature.” Aegis: Otterbein Humanities Journal, vol. 10, 2005.

In the middle ages, the typical woman would not have had the freedom to do what she wanted; she would have to obey the male members of her family. This included her husband, brothers, uncles and even her own sons (http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/). However, there were many women who did not fall under this category of typical women and would manipulate, control or disobey the men around them giving them more power. In "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer we have Emelye from "The Knight's Tale" (KT) who would be considered the typical women and Alison from "The Miller's Tale" (MT) who would not be. It is due to their personalities, their social classes and their actions or surroundings which causes their

Did you know that a lot of people back in the Middle Ages did not have a lot of authority. There were many different roles people played back in the Middle Ages. The people were lords, ladies, teenagers, nurses, friars, pages, and servants. Their roles are way different then times today, because we do not have all those special names for everyone. For instance Lord’s were a great thing back then if you were strong enough to be one.

Furthermore, objectification through forced marriage, in these medieval times, was a real prospect for many women in addition to Christina. In medieval times, individuals did not come together because of love, and marriage was similar to exchanging property (Decameron 2011). The idea of exchanging property equates the notion of marriage between a man and a woman into something that is more a trade and barter, rather than a unique bond between individuals. This objectifies women because it turns them into objects that can be owned and exchanged. The expectations for this time were also that women were to marry and have children.

During the High Middle Ages, the population of Europe increased greatly which allowed trade to prosper and the Medieval Period climate to change. The political structure where knights and lower-status nobles owed military service to their overlords in return for the right to rent from lands and manors, were two of the ways society was organized in the High Middle Ages. Men during this time was seen as this prestige figure versus women, they are seen less. Women were taught to be a “good wife” to their husbands by cleaning, cooking home food, and taking care of the children. Once a woman is married, they would have restrictions on what to do and what they are expected to do in the house which is usually cooking and cleaning. Women, even those in privileged lifestyle, had little control over the route of their lives. Women in general, had arranged marriage by their families and this also goes for the husbands. Depending on the woman’s status, they had different responsibilities when it comes to being in the kitchen. Medieval women played an active role in this society. The three major groups of women that contributed a lot to the society are Royal/Noblewomen, Religious women (Nuns), and Peasants/Serfs women.

Medieval women also had many images that were expected of them. “Some women were known as witches, capable of sorcery and healing. Others became nuns and devoted their lives to God and spiritual matters” (Feudal Life). They were given the image of being a witch for doing things men thought women were incapable of doing also to give themselves a better image the women became nuns and gave their lives to God. The most common symbol of the Peasant women was the distaff. Eve is often illustrated with a distaff showing her performing manual labor after the fall from paradise. In medieval art it shows a woman waving her distaff at a fox with a goose in its jaws. In satirical images, it shows women attacking their husbands with a distaff or other

During the time of the crusades being the middle ages women rights were very limited because of the point that men held against women meant that they were unable to vote during 1096-1204. during the time of the crusades the role for voting or any type of high roles for women weren't allowed to participate in any of those such roles because it was stated that those roles were roles that only males should be doing. if a women was to go against their husband or male “figure” they would be sentence to death or to possible imprisonment is they was within your religion. but other wise mist cultures followed thought with the death sentence. Thats why is was extremely hard for women to be able to hold

The Middle Ages did not offer women many options of lifestyles. During these times women could either be virgin martyrs and sacrifice themselves in religious rituals, or become wives and mother. None of these options offered women a real chance to live, to create, to enjoy. New options emerged, these options allowed them not only to live free of male dominance, but also to be educated and to use their creativity in areas like music, theater, science, and philosophy. These options were monastic life, mysticism and life among the Beguines. Among the women who opted one of these ways of life, were: Hrotswitha, Hildegard and Teresa of Avila, whose work was among the most famous and recognized in the

For centuries, women were treated unequally compared with men, who were believed to have a more superior status. Such inequality is shown in different aspects of lives and becomes more distinct during the Middle Ages. To work in the Middle Ages for women was incredibly difficult due to the limitation of education and discrimination. A few jobs offered to women, like becoming a nurse or a healer, were often accompanied with doubts and criticisms. In Women Healers of the Middle Ages written by William L. Minkowski, it introduces us the life of women health workers in the Middle Ages.

Views on women have changed throughout society drastically in many ways. But from the fifthteenth century to the mid seventeenth century in Europe, there were many documents produced regarding the place of women in society. During this time women could have been seen in a religious leader, humanist, early feminist perspective.

Most medieval literature focuses on knights and their chivalry, but does anyone really know what role the women had to play? Women in the middle ages played a huge part; some may even say that they were the backbone on the medieval era. Women in medieval literature were portrayed as being full of grace and some were even courageous and were able to do things that men could do. But many women had to carry responsibilities which made it hard for them to live a comfortable life. Women are portrayed in medieval literature as being very obedient, outspoken, educated and feminine.

Women in the middle ages had many responsibilities and jobs to take on as they stayed at home with the children. Women were assigned roles pertaining to the house while the man did more external work. A woman’s responsibilities were to maintain the house, prepare food, mend clothes and take care of the children in a laboring household. During the busiest times of the year, like harvest, the women tend to the livestock and help their husbands in the field. The working hours were longer during the summer months, so the outside work got done at dusk. The daily lives changed as the seasons passed. Small animals needed slaughtering and skinning in the autumn. The meat was then preserved in salt. Corn, grain, cabbage, ale or cider was obtained from

While many thought about, and ultimately considered it inappropriate to involve women in intellectual instruction, Jesus actually teaches women on a more personal level. He assumes that women are equally capable of learning and understanding the theological truths as his men disciples are, and believed that women were able to engage in various theological discussion. Jesus was willing to risk public scandal in order to instruct women and show that women are very important figures in the Gospel. John further affirms that women are in their intellectual capacity, as he tends to present them as valid witnesses of the truth about Jesus. It is further through the witness of the Samaritan woman that the people of Sychar are introduced to Jesus. Furthermore, it is Mary Magdalene who is then entrusted with the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and commanded by the risen Jesus to be a witness of that truth to the disciples.

“There was a time when papers and volumes on women’s history told the story of none other than nuns and widows” (Edwards and Ziegler 1). Women throughout history have faced the difficulties of being compared to other women or even in some cases, men. Woman all over the world have faced the challenges of taking care of their family, working, and most importantly taking care of themselves. In the fourteenth century, medieval times, women did the man’s job, they got paid less than men did while working and trading, and had different, but similar situations than women today in the twenty first century.