In today’s society, women have achieved equality with men and all other individuals. They possess the right to vote, pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated fields, and hold positions of power within companies. However, this was not the case during the 1500s and later periods when women did not have the same rights as men. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate how women lived and what roles they played in households or businesses during that time. The purpose of this paper is to uncover these insights and offer a fresh perspective on a woman’s role in society. Now let us take a moment to envision the life of a medieval woman.
The commonly held perception of a woman sitting by a window, engaged in needlework, and anticipating the return of her nobleman from battle has deeply permeated our shared consciousness. This representation has been sustained through literature, films, and romantic novels. However, is this portrayal genuinely faithful to the views of the general public? While it remains factual that these women did participate in needlework and eagerly awaited their nobleman’s homecoming, they also wielded significant influence within medieval society. Depending on one’s interpretation of power dynamics, these women held much more sway than historical sources previously recognized.
If power is viewed as the capacity to effectively act upon individuals or objects, and authority or influence is seen as power that is acknowledged and legitimized, then women frequently utilized power while authority was primarily reserved for men. Investigating the experiences of a medieval woman can prove to be considerably more challenging than uncovering the life of a man. There are fewer available resources to document a medieval woman’s way of life compared to that of a man who held a similar position during that era. For instance, Manorial Court Rolls do not provide evidence of a woman’s private influence over her husband; they only record the legal aspects of the case.
This viewpoint prioritizes essential activities, leaving little space for individual expression. Moreover, illiteracy was widespread among peasants, resulting in a scarcity of diaries or memoirs that could provide insights into the daily life of peasant women. Limited resources on women can largely be attributed to chroniclers, who predominantly focused on topics deemed significant during their time, such as war, politics, and government – all of which were predominantly male domains.
Chroniclers were equally prone to spreading rumors as we are today, especially when it came to matters of violence, scandal, and gossip. Women received less attention than men in areas such as births and deaths due to the emphasis on inheritance through the male lineage. Monastery chroniclers, for obvious reasons, maintained more accurate records for the families they were affiliated with. Relying solely on the accounts of chroniclers leads us to believe that a woman’s primary significance lay in her role in marriage and childbearing. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of women as individuals, we can turn to three main sources.
Household accounts, personal wills, and letters provide valuable insights into the daily life, social connections, and status of noblewomen in medieval times. These documents reveal their interests, religious beliefs, personal relationships, and details about their possessions like clothing, jewels, furniture, silverware, and books.
When using these resources, it is crucial to be careful because they were often dictated and thus rely on the accuracy of the recording clerk. The extent of a woman’s authority may have differed depending on the social sphere in which she exerted it. The differentiation between private (domestic) and public spheres can help explain why women appeared to have less power. Historically, the public sphere, including politics, legal rights and responsibilities, and the market, was considered to be primarily for men.
Thus, it seems that the sphere of real power and authority resided here, while the domestic sphere was seen as the domain of women. This encompassed wives, mothers, family, and the immediate household. Understanding these facts helps us grasp both women’s limited access to public power and their occasional use of alternative methods to manipulate their surroundings for desired outcomes. It is crucial to acknowledge that a woman’s self-interest may have played a substantial role in her quest for influence and power.
It cannot be assumed that women were always passive victims of society, unable to influence forces that may have seemed uncontrollable. When defining the private realm, a woman’s self-interest encompassed the well-being of her husband and children. By efficiently managing the household, she enabled her husband to leave home and serve the crown, resulting in potential prestige and power through his military pursuits. A medieval woman might have resorted to various, sometimes questionable, methods in order to achieve her desired outcome.
The various means of contributing to a woman’s power and influence included giving money and support in the form of dowry, wage labor, household chores, production, patronage, and hospitality. Within her household, showing affection allowed her to exert influence by fostering loyalty. She could also employ wifely persuasion to convince her spouse to donate funds to the church. Through her motherly guidance, she could influence her offspring. Additionally, utilizing her sexual attraction, both towards her husband and other individuals of the opposite sex, could prove advantageous for her.
There were alternative and disliked methods for her to acquire power that were necessary to use from time to time. Gossip could frequently lead to the desired outcome, as could outright lying or deception. In the public domain, involvement in politics and public positions was limited to men. Women were not allowed to serve as tithing representatives, appear in court as sureties, initiate lawsuits, or present cases until they were widowed and referred to as “femme sole”. They were also excluded from the role of ale tester, despite being the most knowledgeable and qualified brewers.
Enforcement records from the assize of bread and ale reveal that women in rural areas played a significant role in the production of beer and bread. This once again underscores the exclusion of women from positions of power during that period. Countrywomen were prohibited from serving as reeves, townswomen, mayors, and from participating in parliament. In the eyes of the legal system, women were only recognized through their fathers or husbands. The husband typically held the position of head of the household in legal matters, granting him the most extensive legal rights.
In the early Middle Ages, women made progress in obtaining property through marriage or inheritance, which improved their economic and political status in both the family and society. However, it is believed that after the 12th century, the power of aristocratic women declined due to increased state influence and restrictions on formal education for women. These limitations hindered their pursuit of traditional sources of power. Similar changes occurred in the power and influence of women in religious life.
During the early Middle Ages, the Cluniac and Gregorian movements played a role in restricting the public power held by abbesses. The preference for monasteries over nunneries might have been rooted in a belief regarding women’s seductive and unpredictable nature. It is important to note that widowed women experienced some relief as they gained extensive legal rights and increased participation in public matters. However, their authority was always limited and never reached full sanctioned authority. In fact, there was a clear life cycle to women’s power, which began to grow when they became maids and inherited land.
After marriage, a wife’s power declined as her husband gained control over her lands and legal status. However, upon becoming a widow, her power increased again as she became the head of the household. Widows had to attend court, handle complaints, and engage in legal proceedings independently. They were also sought after for marriage which could bring an increase in power and wealth for both parties within influential circles. Following widowhood, managing her own lands became the responsibility of the widow until she chose to remarry.
During medieval times, women frequently opted to stay widows due to the prevailing circumstances. Their lives encompassed numerous aspects that were often overlooked, focusing on their aptitude for recognizing opportunities and leveraging them for empowerment. Although some of the methods employed may not align with contemporary norms, they played a vital role in women asserting their own aspirations and ambitions. Contrary to popular depictions in films and romantic literature, women faced limitations during this era but were not as oppressed as commonly perceived.
Medieval women, like their modern counterparts, shared common traits such as prioritizing their family’s welfare and striving for societal recognition. These traits can be observed in various sources, such as http://www.r3.org/life/articles/women.html, http://www.angelfire.com/mo/MWSA/role_women.html, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0=2043043951=1 =1 =3 =PROD=PQD =309 =PQD =1278367360 =74379, and http: // proquest . umi . com / pqdweb ? index = .
