Women's Roles

Stephanie starts us off with a montage of thought-provoking images:

1. Duccio, Madonna and Child also called Stoclet Madonna or Stroganoff Madonna, c. 1300

2. Masaccio, The Expulsion, c. 1425 (Adam and Eve being expelled from Heaven)

3. Unknown, Jeanne d’Arc, c.1450

4. From “The Book of Margery Kempe”, 1436

5. Lucca, Hildegard, Volmar und Richardis, Liber Divinorum Operum, c. 1230 (Hildegard receiving a divine vision)

6.  Gerbert de Montreuil, Le Roman de la Violette, c.1400 (a medieval brothel)

Trishna adds:

From what I’ve gathered from this week’s readings, women’s roles in the middle ages were not as pivotal in the public eye however they were crucial to how a family functioned and the lineage of a family. Most women did not have major roles in society, such as roles involving the church or leadership of kingdoms; however they had crucial roles in a family’s lineage and the relations between families and between villages. I found this really interesting and the fact that women were the ‘agents of alliance’ according to Le Goff as the act of them being handed over involved a lot of items and funds from a dowry. The economic process of marriage was very intriguing as there was a ‘transfer of wealth’ firstly as compensation to the family who were losing a daughter, and then in exchange between husband and wife.  Marriage between men and women was also seen as a ‘peace pact’ as it created a truce between two families and it was the woman’s job to maintain the alliance and to maintain lineages. I also found it interesting that marriage was essentially a social act and was done so to bring honour to a family. This practice was seen in the nobility as marriages were decided upon often by the status of a man and women, because once a women got married she either moved up or down in social standings. I also noticed disparities in the ages of when women got married, because while women did get married quite young (at the age of 17 or so) those of the peasantry and working class delayed the age of marriage while the richer classes had women married by the age of 15. It is clear from these readings that women’s roles and lives revolved around their families and maintaining relationships, however I wonder how this worked for monastic women, considering they didn’t have families?

In terms of expectations of women different women assumed different roles. Peasant women worked in fields and stores, sometimes taking over stores that were once owned by husbands if they died. Even upper class women were taught sewing, embroidery, weaving and other needlework.

Portrayals of women from the three demographics; Nobility, Monastic/Religious and Peasantry. All show the three different worlds they came from. A noble women would be shown in her beautiful gowns surrounded by other women similarly dressed as seen in the image on the left. 

 

Monastic Women on the other hand would be shown in the image of God almost, as they would be simply dressed and reverent looking (below left). Lastly, Peasant women would be shown as hard working as they would be working on a farm (below right).

Ironically, none of these images have any reflection of family life nor do they have any children involved. I could not find any women with children or family portraits which possibly suggest that while family life was so important and crucial, it was also a very private affair and once a woman was married any further business was to remain within the household.