Women In Medieval Religion

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

In the earliest of Christian texts, there is talk about what women did in the Church and the important roles they played (Fiddes, 1990; Fontaine, 1996). Many women were activists during that time, and they spent time focusing on their studies and duties to their households and to their God. In Corinth, for example, it was believed that a Jewish missionary woman who came from Rome helped to found the

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 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).

•     Theresian Club: This sodality helped the children from less enthusiastic Catholic Homes and taught them about their faith. They were mostly religious women, and they had many practices within the church.

Without the religious influence of the noble women during the 6th century, Christianity would not have spread so quickly throughout the Germanic world. Their independent lifestyle allowed for the ability to influence noble men and subjects towards Christianity while overseeing the construction of religious buildings.

Specifically, the Reformation period differed from Catholicism because they allowed more of a role for women in the church. In Catherine Zell’s account she describes herself as preaching along with her husband, but does regard herself as lesser than her husband and other clergy men. This anecdote indicates that there was a vast difference in ideologies of this period between the women’s place and responsibilities compared to the men. Women were given a role; however, they were not as important as men. Essentially, this period’s position on women can

A single woman who joined the church still brought a dowery to the church. In the church, the women couldn’t hold office, but they could still wield power. Hildegard of Bingen, an abbess in the Benedictine order was much admired by the other leaders in the church. Women had previously been blamed for the original sin, and although that stigma stuck with them, many church clergy saw women as equals in Christ.

Religion played an important role in life during the Middle Ages. Christianity itself was a huge factor in everyday life. Monks and nuns were men and women who devoted their lives to Christianity by cutting their ties with the outside world. They achieved this by living apart from the outside world in secluded communities known as monasteries where they could focus their attention, religious studies and practices/activities. These communities self-sufficient as they were able to harvest crops and raise animals. Nuns lived in similar communities known as convents. These were separate from the monasteries.

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.

However, in determining its importance, we must first define the word nunnery in order to decipher what it represents within the context of its usage.   A nunnery by definition is a haven where woman enter to become nuns.  It can be measured as the purest form of sacrifice since the end is to serve God.   So, we could discern that to be in a nunnery would surely deliver us from any possible contamination with evil; because a nunnery represents a place that is pure and virtuous.

There was little respect towards women during the Middle Ages. They were treated unfairly in a time that lacked feminism. Women were dominated by men. If a woman disagreed with a man, or refused to do what he told her, he had to right to beat her into submission. Much like today, in the Middle Ages, women were seen as inferior to men, even though they had as hard as work or harder to men.

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 only thing a woman could do to escape this harsh judgment was to either enter a nunnery or marry and serve a man. By doing this, she was serving two lords: God and her husband. To not serve a husband through consummation and not serve God by entering a nunnery, would be viewed as a complete rejection of God. Thus, women were not only restrained by the political standards enforced men, but also the consciousness of the Church that

The hatred and slander of women continued over this period of time. Women were considered to be unclean, created by defect, only to service men, witches, and whores. They were not allowed in the sanctuaries because they were considered unclean especially during there monthly cycle. Even today women receive less pay for jobs that are not suited for their skills, they are not always the first choice in any areas of political or social positions.