women, medieval

In the Middle Ages, women played an essential part in the medieval economy and society. However, the post-Conquest period (11th–15th centuries) saw a reduction in the status of women in certain respects, as women were generally discriminated against in attitudes and opportunities. Whereas Saxon women had had a great deal of freedom and status, the Norman soldier-class tended to undervalue women. The medieval church taught that women were weak and sinful because Eve caused Adam to sin, and that a wife ought to obey her husband. On marriage, women gave up their independence and became the possessions, in law, of their husbands – ‘like slaves or prisoners’, as one woman complained. Women were also less likely to own land than men, and more likely to be the victims of crime.

A husband was allowed to beat his wife if he believed she was at fault – for instance, if he blamed her for bearing a mentally disabled child. A medieval girl was expected to marry and have children. Husbands were chosen by the bride's father, and the girl might be beaten if she refused to marry. The 14th-century poem Piers Plowman, by William Langland, lamented the role of peasant women who ‘also themselves suffer much hunger, and woe in wintertime, with waking at night to rise to rock the cradle’. The plight of such women, Langland comments, ‘is too sad to speak of’.

Nevertheless, women played a vital role in medieval society. Margaret Paston, the wife of John Paston, a Norfolk lawyer, led an interesting and varied life, as is shown in the Paston Letters of 1441–47. She looked after the estate farm, the household, and the kitchens, and was expected to nurse the sick. When her husband was away, she had to take his place managing the estates, attending the local courts, and even defending the family property against attack by armed soldiers.

Widows and women without husbands could own their own land and make their own wills. A woman might enter a convent as a nun and rise to be abbess – a position every bit as challenging and responsible as that of the abbot of a monastery. It seems that more women were literate than men; Christine de Pisan (c. 1363–c. 1430) made her living as a writer. In towns, sole women ran businesses and became skilled craftswomen. In the country, powerful women could become leaders of the community, and on occasion they led revolts and riots. Women worked as blacksmiths, weavers, innkeepers, shoemakers, and even as merchants. They shared most of the farming tasks with the men. However, they were unable to act as reeves or jurors.