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. |
From inside the book
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... SINGLE WOMEN Some women - usually between 10 and 20 percent - remained single throughout their lives . These lifelong single women ( as opposed to the life- cycle single women who would eventually marry ) increased in number in the late ...
... Single women were usually poor and often marginal , yet their presence could have a dramatic impact on the population as a whole . Regional variations in the proportions of lifelong single women can be seen by comparing data from Italy ...
... single women because their incomes were below the lowest threshold for paying tax . The records of charitable institutions sometimes make mention of single women , although they were more likely to help widows than women who had never ...
Contents
Medieval Women | 1 |
Women and Religion | 27 |
Women and Work | 59 |
Copyright | |
6 other sections not shown