Medieval Women

When we think about what life was like for women in Anglo-Saxon and Medieval periods, we often think of them as someone without a life or a say as to how to run their household. But even though the husband was the dominating partner in marriage, the wife held significant importance. The following will illustrate what life was like for the women of Anglo-Saxon and medieval time periods, show references to women in classic literature and compare society’s treatment of women then and now.

Life for the Anglo-Saxon woman was determined by the class of society in which she was born. There are few records about the lower class or poor women, so it is difficult to understand their day-to-day routine. Activities were cloth making, weaving, spinning and embroidery. Thread-boxes made of bronze were buried with the ladies to note their craft and show a record of skill. These “grave-goods” contained high-quality bits of cloth and sewing utensils (Fell 39).

Marriage was an important matter and even involved prenuptial agreements. Marriage agreements were drawn up for the couple by kin to the couple, but the wife-to-be still had the final say. The important part was the “morgengifu”, or morning gift, the money the husband is required to pay the wife upon marriage. The wife would take control over the morgengifu and in return, the husband promises to properly care for his wife. The finances were divided equally between the couple. Women had financial clout in the Anglo-Saxon time and enjoyed more rights than they did after the Norman Conquest (Coone-McRary).

Medieval women were known as the “adored one”, the source of all romance and the object of all worship. They didn’t devote themselves entirely to the home, but worked to provide the household with an extra income much like the wives of today. The wife assumed the role of the husband upon his absence and learned his trade to be prepared. As a wife, the woman would give up her rights and become a tenant, giving everything to the husband. As a widow, she would gain equal rights again (Power 38).

The women of medieval times did not have a fair shake at labor and education. The women could not hold the same type of job as the men hold unless they were filling in for their husband or father in his absence. Eileen Power states in her book Medieval Women, the reason women could not work in a man’s job was jealousy. Women’s wages were lower for the same work and the men were afraid of being undercut by cheap labor (60). Education in medieval times was reserved for men. Grammar schools were mainly for boys, but there were a few for both sexes. Most of the girls were taught at home by their mother (83). For those that did not marry, nunneries served a good purpose. Women could get an education, learn responsibility and perhaps have a career, but only women with money could get in a nunnery (90).

The most vibrant reference to a medieval woman would be that of Geoffrey Chaucer in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale.” Chaucer portrays a bawdy and manipulative woman who marries for money and uses sexual power over her husbands. Chaucer does not condemn her but describes the wife rather humorously. Garrett Moritz suggests in “Notions of Gender in the Middle Ages” the Wife of Bath character represents a caricature of women like her who existed in Chaucer’s day. The lengthiness of the profile suggests Chaucer believed his audience would be interested in her character.

Chaucer’s wife tale also demonstrates the conflict of the male-dominated intellectualism of that time period. The wife’s fifth husband spends all of his time reading, so she tears a page from one of his books. In this tale, women achieve control over men. This obviously was not the case for all of medieval society, but the story had enough elements of truth to generate humor or interest because of its closeness to real-life situations (Moritz).

There are many similarities between the women of Anglo-Saxon, medieval and women in today’s society. Women of today do not always report violence against them because of insensitive courts. Only recently has the medical community begun to research women’s health in areas such as heart disease. Discrimination in the workplace still exists. Anglo-Saxon laws state a woman can walk out of an unpleasant marriage, just like ladies of today. If she takes the children, she is entitled to half of the property (Coone-McRary).

Some of the differences between the women of medieval and today include outward appearance. Pale women with big hips were once considered beautiful. Society now requires a leaner, tan woman to fit the definition of sexy. Although the definition of beauty has changed, many changes have helped women fulfill dreams unimaginable in Anglo-Saxon times.

The old cigarette ad that said “We’ve come a long way baby” still has clout. Medieval women were not allowed to write or get an education. Women of today not only write freely and go to school, they are state senators! Someday, we might just have a woman president.

Works Cited
Fell, Christine. Women in Anglo-Saxon England. Bloomington: Indiana. University Press, 1984.

Coone-McRary, Cathy. “Anglo-Saxon Women: More Than Frithuwebbas.” Matheliende, Volume I, number 3. 20 May 2006. .

Power, Eileen. Medieval Women. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1975.

Moritz, Garrett. “Notions of Gender in the Middle Ages: Myth vs. Reality.” Online Posting. 1998. 20 May 2006. .