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The role of women in medieval society has been a major subject of historical inquiry in recent decades. The traditional view of medieval women as passive victims of patriarchy has given way to a more nuanced understanding of the diverse experiences and the real agency of women in different social classes, in different regions, and in different periods. The High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1300) saw significant changes in the position of women, including the rise of courtly love as a literary and cultural ideal, the growth of female monasticism and the development of new religious roles for women, the exercise of real political power by queens and regents, and the continued importance of women in the peasant economy and the urban crafts.
This cluster explores the role of women in medieval society. The articles in the related long-tail pages provide deeper examinations of specific aspects of women’s lives.
The landmark English-language study of medieval women is David Herlihy’s “Medieval Households” (1985); the much older but still indispensable treatment of the legal position is the chapter on women in Pollock and Maitland, “The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I” (1895; 2nd ed. 1968). John Boswell’s “Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality” (1980) is essential on the same-sex relations of the period and on the gap between the Church’s formal teaching and pastoral practice. The page that follows uses all three.
The Legal Status of Women
The legal status of women in medieval Europe was shaped by a complex combination of Roman law, Germanic custom, and canon law. The basic principle of Roman law — that women were sui iuris (legally independent) in some respects but alieni iuris (legally subordinate) in others — provided the starting point. The Germanic custom of the Muntgewalt — the power of the male head of household over the women of the family — added another layer of subordination. The canon law of the medieval Church, while emphasizing the spiritual equality of women and men, also reinforced many of the secular restrictions on women’s legal capacity.
The legal disabilities of women were significant. In most jurisdictions, a married woman could not own property in her own right, could not make a will, could not sign a contract, and could not appear in court without her husband’s consent. Her legal identity was absorbed into that of her husband, a principle known as coverture. Her property passed to her husband on marriage, and she could not recover it even on widowhood. She was required to obey her husband in all things that did not contradict the law of God, and the husband was required to support her and to provide for her.
The unmarried woman had a greater degree of legal capacity. She could own property, make a will, sign a contract, and appear in court. But she was under the legal authority of her father or her nearest male relative, and she could not marry without the consent of her father. The widow recovered many of the legal rights she had lost on marriage, and a widow who was left as guardian of her husband’s property could exercise considerable practical power. But the widow was expected to remain unmarried, and the right of her lord to control her remarriage was a feature of feudal law in many regions.
The canon law of the medieval Church provided a parallel legal system for women, especially in matters of marriage, inheritance, and morality. The Church courts developed a sophisticated body of law on these subjects, and they often protected the rights of women more effectively than the secular courts. The right of women to own property was protected by canon law in many cases, and the right of women to make wills for the benefit of the Church was generally respected. The marriage of women was subject to the canonical requirements of consent, no impediment, and the proper form, and the Church courts could and did annul marriages on various grounds.
Peasant Women
The majority of medieval women were peasants, and their lives were governed by the same rhythms of agricultural labor, household management, and family formation that shaped the lives of peasant men. The peasant woman worked alongside her husband in the fields, managed the household economy, raised the children, and participated in the various tasks of the rural life. She was not the passive victim of patriarchy that she is often portrayed to be; she exercised considerable practical power within the family and the village, and her contribution to the household economy was essential.
The work of the peasant woman was heavy and varied. She was responsible for the care of the household — the preparation of food, the spinning of wool and flax, the weaving of cloth, the tending of the garden and the smaller animals. She helped with the agricultural work at the busiest seasons — the hay-making in early summer, the harvest in late summer, the threshing in autumn. She participated in the village economy — the market day, the cooperative labor of the village teams, the care of the sick and the poor of the community.
The status of the peasant woman within the family was often more equal than the legal forms suggest. The peasant household was a unit of production in which the work of both husband and wife was essential, and the management of the household was often a cooperative affair. The wife had a major voice in the disposition of the household’s resources, in the marriage of the children, and in the social life of the village. The peasant woman who had inherited land, or whose husband had inherited land, exercised the full rights of a landholder, including the right to appear in court, to make contracts, and to participate in the village assembly.
The marriage of peasant women typically occurred in the early twenties, somewhat earlier than for men. The dowry brought by the wife — typically a small piece of land, a few animals, and a trousseau of household goods — was an important contribution to the new household. The widow of a peasant could inherit the holding and could manage it herself, often with the help of an adult son. The remarriage of widows was common, and the second husband would take over the management of the holding.
Aristocratic Women
The aristocratic women of the High Middle Ages had a different set of experiences from peasant women. They were educated — at least in the basic skills of reading, writing, and household management — and they had a much greater degree of freedom of action. The aristocratic woman could inherit land and titles, could exercise considerable power as the mistress of a great household, and could participate in the political and cultural life of her class in ways that the peasant woman could not.
The education of the aristocratic woman was often carried out in a convent. The convent provided a basic education in literacy, Latin, and the running of a great household, and it offered an alternative to marriage for women who did not wish to marry or whose families could not afford a suitable dowry. The nuns of the great houses — Fontevraud, Barking, Quedlinburg, Sainte-Marie de Rieunelle — were often drawn from the highest aristocracy, and they could exercise considerable authority as abbesses of great communities.
The mistress of a great household was a major figure in the aristocratic world. She was responsible for the management of the household — the provisioning of food and drink, the supervision of the servants, the care of the clothing and the household goods, the education of the children. She presided over the great feasts of the household, received the guests, and represented the lord in his absence. She had a major voice in the marriage of the children, in the management of the estates, and in the social and political life of the community.
The queen was the most powerful of the aristocratic women. The queen of France, the queen of England, the empress of Germany, and the queens of the Christian kingdoms of Spain were major political figures, exercising real power as the consort of the king, as the regent during the minority of a son, and as the mother of the heir. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204), who was queen of France and then of England, was one of the most powerful women of the twelfth century. Blanche of Castile (1188–1252), the mother of Louis IX, was regent of France during her son’s minority and a major political figure in her own right. Margaret of Anjou (1430–1482), queen of Henry VI, exercised considerable power in the difficult years of the Wars of the Roses.
The châtelaine — the mistress of a castle — was another important aristocratic figure. The châtelaine was responsible for the defense of the castle in the absence of the lord, for the management of the surrounding estates, and for the administration of justice in the lord’s courts. The châtelaine was often a woman of considerable practical experience and political skill, and her role was an important one in the feudal politics of the period.
Religious Women
The religious life offered an alternative to marriage for medieval women. The monastery provided a place for women who did not wish to marry, whose families could not afford a dowry, or who had been widowed. The nuns lived in communities governed by a rule (typically the Rule of St. Benedict or a modification of it), and they observed the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The nuns spent their time in prayer, in reading and study, in manual work (often the production of illuminated manuscripts, the weaving of tapestries, or the management of the monastery’s estates), and in the care of the sick and the poor.
The rise of the mendicant orders in the thirteenth century provided new opportunities for religious women. The Poor Clares, founded by St. Clare of Assisi (1194–1253) under the guidance of St. Francis, established communities of women dedicated to evangelical poverty. The Dominican and Franciscan nuns combined the contemplative life with active ministry, and they played a major role in the pastoral care of the laity. The Beguines of the Low Countries and the Rhineland, laywomen who lived in religious community without taking formal vows, offered a more flexible form of religious life that attracted many women who did not wish to enter a formal monastery.
The abbess of a great house was a major figure in the religious and political life of the period. The abbess of Fontevraud, Quedlinburg, Barking, and other great houses presided over communities of hundreds of nuns, administered vast estates, and exercised considerable authority in the Church and in the state. The abbess was often a member of the royal or aristocratic family, and she could exercise considerable influence on the politics of her region. The abbess of Quedlinburg in the eleventh century, for example, was the daughter of the emperor and a major political figure in the Empire.
The mystical tradition of the High Middle Ages was largely a women’s tradition. The Beguine mystics of the Low Countries and the Rhineland — Hadewijch, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Mechtild of Hackeborn — produced some of the most remarkable spiritual literature of the period. The Cistercian mystics — Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), Elizabeth of Schönau (1129–1164) — combined the contemplative life with intellectual and pastoral activity, and they produced works of theology, music, and natural history that have been studied and admired ever since.
Women in the Towns
The women of the towns had a different set of experiences from the women of the countryside. The town offered a greater degree of freedom of action, and the towns of medieval Europe were major centers of female economic activity. The wives and daughters of merchants and craftsmen participated in the family business, often taking a major role in the management of the shop or the workshop. The women of the town could be found in the markets, in the workshops, in the guilds, and in the various occupations of the urban economy.
The guilds of the medieval towns often admitted women, especially in the trades that were associated with the household — spinning, weaving, tailoring, baking, brewing. The wives and daughters of guild members could become guild members in their own right, and they could rise to the rank of mistress in their trades. The women’s guilds of some trades — the silkworkers of Paris, the clothworkers of Florence, the spinners of Cologne — were major economic organizations, and they produced some of the most skilled craftsmen of the period.
The prostitution of the medieval towns was a major institution, and it was often regulated by the town government. The brothels of the medieval towns were licensed, taxed, and inspected, and the prostitutes were subject to specific rules of conduct. The Church regarded prostitution as a sin, but it tolerated it as a necessary evil, and the town governments regarded it as a useful institution that provided sexual services for bachelors, travelers, and visitors. The prostitute was often a marginal figure, subject to social stigma and legal discrimination, but the brothel was a major economic institution, and the prostitutes themselves were often organized in their own guilds and associations.
Sources
Principal sources used in this article:
- David Herlihy, Medieval Households (Harvard, 1985).
Further reading:
- John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality (Chicago, 1980), ch. 4.
For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).