Women's Roles in the Middle AgesInformation about women in this truly fascinating period from 500 to 1500 is in great demand and has been a challenge for historians to uncover. Bardsley has mined a wide range of primary sources, from noblewomen's writing, court rolls, chivalric literature, laws and legal documents, to archeology and artwork. This fresh survey provides readers with an excellent understanding of how women high and low fared in terms of religion, work, family, law, culture, and politics and public life. Even though medieval women were divided by social class, religion, age, marital status, place and period, they were all subject to an overarching patriarchal structure and sometimes could transcend their inferior status. Numerous examples of these exceptional women and their words are included. |
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... noble families , like those of Christina of Markyate , would have expected their daughters to be married in order to forge alliances with other noble families or carry on the family blood lines , and would not have been interested in ...
... noble household . They were taught to order provisions , supervise servants , receive guests hospitably , and perhaps embroider or sew . Even at the level of the nobility , however , girls were less likely than their brothers to receive ...
... noble widows were especially vulnerable to manipulation by the king : English and French no- blewomen of the high Middle Ages , for instance , often found themselves forced into remarriage at the whim of their kings who could ...
Contents
Women and Religion | 27 |
Women and Work | 59 |
Women and the Family | 91 |
Copyright | |
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