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The legal status of women under feudal law in the High Middle Ages was shaped by a complex combination of Roman law, Germanic custom, and canon law. The basic principle of Roman law — that women were legally independent in some respects but legally subordinate in others — provided the starting point, and the Germanic custom of the Muntgewalt (the power of the male head of household) 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 result was a complex and often contradictory legal framework that defined the rights and obligations of women in the medieval world.
Pollock and Maitland (1895) is the standard English-law reading; the German customary law is treated in the Sachsenspiegel and the Schwabenspiegel, with the modern reading in Susan Reynolds, “Fiefs and Vassals” (1994). The page below uses both, and the surviving legal records (English plea rolls, German Dingrollen, the customary of Beauvaisis by Philippe de Beaumanoir, c. 1283) as primary material.
The Doctrine of Coverture
The doctrine of coverture was the basic principle of feudal law with respect to married women. Under this doctrine, the legal identity of a married woman was absorbed into that of her husband, and she could not own property, make a will, sign a contract, or appear in court in her own right. The doctrine of coverture was derived from a combination of Roman law (which treated the husband as the paterfamilias of the household) and Germanic custom (which gave the husband the Muntgewalt — the power of protection and authority — over his wife).
The doctrine of coverture had significant practical consequences. A married woman could not own property in her own right: any property she brought to the marriage (her dowry) or acquired during the marriage passed to her husband, and she could not recover it even on widowhood. A married woman could not make a will: any property she might have disposed of by will was the property of her husband, and the husband’s will would dispose of it. A married woman could not sign a contract: any contract she might have signed was the contract of her husband, and he was bound by it (or not) as he chose. A married woman could not appear in court without her husband’s consent: any legal action she might have brought was the action of her husband, and he was the proper party to bring it.
The doctrine of coverture was not absolute, however. The canon law of the medieval Church recognized the separate legal personality of the married woman in certain matters, especially those relating to marriage itself, inheritance, and donations to the Church. The secular courts of the period also recognized certain exceptions to the doctrine, especially in cases where the husband was incapacitated or absent. The Church courts of the period also provided a forum in which women could bring actions that they could not bring in the secular courts, and the Church courts often protected the rights of women more effectively than the secular courts did.
The Rights of Widows
The widow recovered many of the legal rights she had lost on marriage. The doctrine of coverture terminated on the death of the husband, and the widow regained her legal personality in many respects. The widow could own property in her own right, could make a will, could sign a contract, and could appear in court without the consent of any male relative. The widow also had a right to a portion of her husband’s estate — the dower — which was typically one-third of the estate for the widow of a free tenant, and which was intended to provide for the widow’s support for the rest of her life.
The rights of the widow were protected by a variety of legal and practical measures. The dower was a legal right that could be enforced in the manor court or in the royal court, and the widow could bring an action to recover her dower if it was withheld. The Church also protected the rights of widows, and the bishop’s court could be used to enforce the widow’s rights. The widow’s right to remarry was also protected, although the lord of the manor had the right to receive a fine for the widow’s remarriage in some cases, and the widow was expected to seek the lord’s permission before remarrying.
The widow of an aristocratic or royal husband could exercise considerable power. The queen dowager could rule as regent for her minor son, could manage the royal estates, and could participate in the political life of the realm. The duchess dowager could rule as regent for her minor son, could manage the ducal estates, and could participate in the political life of the duchy. The widow of a great lord could manage the lord’s estates during the minority of her son and could exercise considerable influence on the affairs of the realm.
The Rights of Unmarried Women
The unmarried woman had a greater degree of legal capacity than the married woman, but she was still subject to the Muntgewalt of her father or her nearest male relative. The unmarried woman could own property in her own right, could make a will, could sign a contract, and could appear in court without the consent of any male relative. But the unmarried woman could not marry without the consent of her father (or her nearest male relative), and the father had the right to arrange the marriage of his daughter as he saw fit. The dowry of the unmarried woman was negotiated between the father and the groom, and the dowry was typically paid by the father to the groom (or to the groom’s father) at the time of the marriage.
The unmarried woman who had inherited land from her father or her mother could manage the land in her own right, and she could transmit the land to her heirs. The unmarried woman who had inherited a fief could hold the fief in her own right, and she could transmit the fief to her heirs. The unmarried woman who had inherited a fief could also marry, and her husband would manage the fief in her name (or in his own name, depending on the custom of the region). The unmarried woman who had inherited a fief could also refuse to marry, and she could remain unmarried for the rest of her life, holding the fief in her own right.
The Rights of Women in the Church
The canon law of the medieval Church recognized the separate legal personality of women in certain matters, especially those relating to marriage, inheritance, and donations to the Church. The Church courts of the period also provided a forum in which women could bring actions that they could not bring in the secular courts, and the Church courts often protected the rights of women more effectively than the secular courts did.
The Church recognized the right of women to own property, and the Church protected this right against the secular authorities. The Church also recognized the right of women to make wills in favor of the Church, and the Church protected these wills against the secular authorities. The Church also recognized the right of women to enter religious life, and the Church protected the right of women to remain in religious life even against the wishes of their families.
The Church also recognized the right of women to marry freely, with the consent of both parties and without the coercion of parents or lords. The Church courts could annul a marriage that had been contracted without the free consent of both parties, and the Church courts could enforce the rights of women who had been forced into marriage against their wishes. The Church also protected the rights of women in cases of separation and divorce, and the Church courts could order the husband to support the wife in cases of separation.
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).