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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... prostitution was relatively well paid . In Exeter , for instance , 9 percent of the 160 female servants identified in court records were also charged as prostitutes.56 Laundresses and alesellers were also associated with prostitution in ...
... prostitutes were women . Attitudes toward prostitutes and prostitution fluctuated over time . For much of the Middle Ages , prostitution was regarded as a necessary evil , an abhorrent practice yet one that could never completely be ...
... prostitution by setting aside space for prostitutes and grant- ing them limited rights ? Historians ' answers to this question vary , but most claim that medieval people saw prostitution as the " lesser evil . ” The alter- nate evils ...
Contents
Women and Religion | 27 |
Women and Work | 59 |
Women and the Family | 91 |
Copyright | |
5 other sections not shown