Medieval Women

For people that are interested in this sort of thing, this is an encyclopedia project I did for my English 307: Medieval Literature class. It was intended to be a broad overview of medieval women and was also intended to be public. So here it is.
However, the formatting is terrible and I do apologize.

Sarah Rice-McDaniel
Dr. Vulic
English 307: Encyclopedia Project
Friday, April 19th, 2010

Women in the middle ages:
General:
A general consensus is that women of the middle ages rarely spoke for themselves. Therefore, the vast majority of information about these women is through the eyes and pens of men. There is an old proverb that sums up views on women in the middle ages, it says, “A horse, whether good or bad, needs a spur; a woman, whether good or bad, needs a lord and master, and sometimes a stick” (Duby, 13). Women in the middle ages were dominated by their gender, it decided every aspect of their lives from the work they were allowed to perform to the education they would receive. Men were considered dominate to women and therefore the authority on the nature of women. The clergy, who were celibate and therefore removed from intimate interaction with women, were the authority on women’s morality and the state of their souls. According to the clergy’s interpretation of the Bible, women were seen as the “weaker vessel.” Women’s duty differed depending on their social status. However, chastity was a value which, according to the clergy, was to be upheld by all women. It was believed that women either remain chaste or devote themselves wholly to procreation. Virgins, widows, and married women alike were expected to practice chastity at all times. Virgins were upheld as the highest of moral examples (Duby, 73-75). Therefore, the denial of their own sexuality was everyday life for the compliant medieval woman. Women were kept in custody of their male relatives or guardians. This was to make sure they were properly brought up and protected. Moral, religious, and political decisions were made by the husband and the wife was to follow and implement the decisions. However, husbands were also expected to return there wife’s love with a modest love (Duby, 119).
Daily life and marriage:
The ideal wife was: submissive, faithful to her husband, respectful to her farther-in-law, a caring and attentive mother, and a prudent housewife. She was also expected to keep the peace within her family by submitting and being docile when in the custody of her husband. Childbearing was seen as a duty and childbirth was seen as hard because women were “atoning for Eve’s sin” (Duby, 121). Before the 10th century in the Merovingian period marriage was a secular institution with everything from divorce to polygamy. Then, in the Carolingian period, it shifted to a more Christian perspective (Duby, 175-177). Within the tenth century women had some choice over their life direction, however it was limited. They could choose between marriage or becoming a nun, unless there was a rare instance where they were wealthy enough to care for themselves.
Specifically for Noble Women:
Noble women’s lives differed greatly from the peasantry. Working outside the home was considered incredibly improper. A women’s place was seen as in the home, even noble women did not do menial or physical jobs outside the home but conducted their affairs from inside the home. Noble women were also more educated; however this education was within the home and was not as formal as male education. For example, women were not admitted to any formal schooling institutions. Noble women were expected to stand as example of virtue for the other classes of women. A noble wife was not only to see to the care of her children but to see to the care of her servants as well.
Specifically for Peasant Women:
As with Noble women, peasant women looked after their children. Women were married very young, however, with a life expectancy of around thirty years they were still not married long. Marriage most often ended in one spouses death. Many wives died in childbirth. Peasant women were involved in labor: they helped out in the fields, which for a noble woman would have been unheard of. Often women were in charge of certain functions of the farm life, such as; storing the harvest, growing vegetable, and maintaining the house and hearth (Duby, 231). However, these responsibilities did not grant women equal standing with men overall.
Political life:
A women’s position in the political realm was decided by her wealth, or the wealth of her husband and family. The strength and wealth of her sons were also contributing factors. Some women could end up with political power in the form of being a countess, queen, princess, or other noble title. These women could wield the power over their land and the vassals that accompanied it. Therefore there were some situation where woman commanded land, and even armies (Duby, 235).
Legal rights and power:
The law for a woman in the middle ages was rarely the same as the law for a man in the same time period. For example, there was ongoing debate as to the punishment that should be received for an women who committed adultery, it ranged from public rejection to death. However, a man who committed adultery was not punished in the same fashion (Duby, 114-115). Furthermore, men could, in some cases, even go as far as to sell their wife as chattel (Duby, 268). Also, women had little to no control over their husband’s estate and money. Around the tenth century there were some rights, though limited, that women gained. They could be mistresses of landed property, exercisers of military command. However, there only true source of power was land because they could inherit it from husbands or family and they could also make decisions while their husbands were away or at war. Leading into the twelfth and thirteenth centuries laws began to be codified and many of them contained special provisions for women. Most of these provisions left women in a lower status position within the law. Women had to be represented by a man in court, their husband or other male guardian. This is where there was an advantage to being married, because a wife could have her husband defend her in court, whereas unmarried women must find either a male family member or a guardian.
Religious life:
Many women practiced a religious life devoted to God and the poor. However, they were worrying the male dominated clergy with talks of wanting a more intense and close relationship with God. Married women were seen by the clergy as, “preachers to their husbands” (Duby, 115). The idea being that the wife’s role could be to encourage her husband and family to follow a proper moral path. This was to be done by good example and speaking softly. It was seen as a way to benefit the couple and family as a whole. If woman wished not to marry her only escape was to enter a covenant. The sexual double standards when it came to infidelity, the danger of childbearing, and the subjugation from their husbands which was sometimes violent, often led many women into the covenants. However, there was another reason for young women to enter the faith that appeared around the tenth century. Young women, who had very devout parents, would take a vow of chastity to honor them. Women who entered the covenants had greater access to literature and education. Women of the church were also more free artistically.
Conclusion:
Women in the middle ages faced many disadvantages because of there sex. This is extremely apparent in most historical primary sources of the time. However, even with these disadvantages, there were some women who rose above their subjugated statues and entered the realm of public history. Hildegard von Bingen was a nun who did everything from writing music to writing biological texts. There was also Christine De Pizan, who wrote one of the first feminist texts, The Book of the City of Ladies, which was a defense of women and their societal standing. Therefore, there were female mold breakers throughout the Medieval period, despite their unequal footing.



Works Consulted
Bedos-Rezak, Brigitte. Medieval Women and the Sources of Medieval History. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1990. Print.
Cartwright, Jane et al. Medieval Women in their Communities. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1997. Print.
Chamberlayne, Joanna L. et al. Young Medieval Women. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. Print.
Duby, Georges et al. A History of women in the West, II. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 1992. Print.
Duby, George. Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988. Print.
Murry, Jacqueline et al. Power of the Weak: Studies on Medieval Women. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1990. Print.
Williams, Marty, and Anne Echols. Between Pit and Pededtal: Women in the
Middle Ages. Princeton, NJ: Marcus Wiener Publishers, 1994. Print.