Women In Medieval Religion

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.

•     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.

Women could either join a convent of a beateria, a lay religious community (). There was also the expectation that married women would still be religious, but that was not meant to be their sole purpose in life (). Religiosity among women was usually expressed in a community. Religious orders, like the Poor Clares, Dominicans and Carmelites, were one option (). Family sometimes sent women to live in convents, making the woman the passive agent (). Women, however, did make the choice to live in a convent and become completely devoted to God. St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun and mystic from this time, is an example of this phenomenon (). St. Teresa’s religious experiences were not completely

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

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

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.