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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... saints . Virgin martyrs were seen as especially holy , and many such women were celebrated during the early Middle Ages . Many medi- eval legends involving virgin martyrs from the late Roman period told of situations in which their ...
... saints . In the Middle Ages , statues of saints were often dressed in real human clothing , so women such as Joan Mudford of Glastonbury ( England ) , for instance , could take pleasure in knowing that the statue of St. Mary in her ...
... saints ( parts of saints ' bodies that had been preserved or items that they had touched or been as- sociated with ) , people could earn spiritual merit and thus reduce the amount of time that they spent in purgatory after their deaths ...
Contents
Medieval Women | 1 |
Women and Religion | 27 |
Women and Work | 59 |
Copyright | |
6 other sections not shown