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The most surprising fact about the Medieval Ages when it comes to women’s position in society is relative inconsistency. It is common for modern people to imagine Medieval society as savage and strict regarding gender division when women were ‘sold off into marriage’. It is true that the position of women was below that of men in most cases across the locations, statuses, and times. The influence of Church was also significant in further enforcing these power dynamics.
However, some women still managed to achieve power and success. There are examples of women ruling kingdoms, guilds, and even religious orders. Moreover, women engaged in labor, working as craftsmen, midwives, teachers, artists, and businesswomen. Thus, when it comes to sexuality and marriage, these women had a different point of leverage because of their independence.
Women’s Autonomy and Virgin Mary
The common denominator of women’s success and autonomy was their ingenuity and ability to use the little resources that they had at their disposal. For example, the famous writer of the Late Medieval period, Christine de Pisan, leveraged her existing knowledge and education to make a living as an author (Chance 37). She had to make money to survive, and thus, she applied her only talent and resources to succeed. Other women followed a similar path of making use of what they had, climbing to the leading positions in their spheres.
However, many social stigmas have also taken root in society at that time. Saint Paul’s writing greatly affected the development of the idea that Eve was an evil temptress. This idea meant that every woman has evil sin inside and cannot be equal to the purity of men. In this case, Virgin Mary is the only one who managed to escape the sin by dedicating her life to motherhood and her son. By this logic, women were reduced only to caretakers, who were not allowed to do anything than care for their offspring, denying them sexuality and autonomy.
Societal and Religious Norms
Departure from common societal and religious norms was treated differently in the Middle Ages. While some movements were accused of heresy, others resulted in the new religious order. The main difference was the origin of the new ideas. Any significant changes were led by the monarchy and ended in a meaningful transformation, while simple citizens’ movements based on their concerns were often crushed.
Works Cited
Chance, Jane. Gender and text in the later Middle Ages. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2019. Web.
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