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Medieval Society

Women

The legal status of women varied by place and time. It's true that women generally had fewer rights than did men, largely because women were regarding as needing fewer. They did not participate in public life, were not knights or citizens, did not administer estates or run shops. Not usually, anyway. When they did, it was regarded as the result of accident, the death of a husband, rather than a deliberate career choice. When women did need to exercise rights, the usual opinion was that they should do so under the guardianship of a male: of an uncle or father or court-appointed guardian, who would represent her.

This can be seen working out in practice everywhere. For example, medieval queens and duchesses and the like could exert significant influence and wield real power. Examples are too numerous to mention. In every case, however, they did so acting as a sort of substitute male, because the male heir was absent for one reason or another. Or they did so by acting as the "power behind the throne," influencing indirectly. The power was real, but it was never formalized, never institutionalized, and could never be passed on to the next female generation. The traditional (male) wisdom was that the female passed from living under the hand of her father to living under the hand of her husband. End of story.

Women did have some legal protections. For example, the Church legislated that women could not be married earlier than age twelve, and that no woman should be married without her consent. Enforcement of this was impossible, but it was nevertheless a statement of recognition. The whole business of guardianship was a form of protection, because it was believed that a woman without a guardian would be the victim of her own ignorance, the guile of predators, and the violence of her enemies. At least in certain towns, there were laws specifically against wife-beating, so there was a recognition of domestic violence.

Women could not be in the clergy, but they could become nuns. This placed them under canon law rather than civil law, and the convent was widely recognized (rightly or wrongly) as a refuge for women.

Women could be noble, inheriting status from both mother and father. In fact, in general status was inherited from both sides, no matter the social station. An increase (or loss) in status on the male side was more important because it brought with it specific privileges, but the importance of the female side here should not be overlooked. As a noblewoman, a female generally gained the privileges of her noble husband, but there were a few privileges specific to her gender. The easiest example to cite is in sumptuary legislation, which dictated what could and could not be worn in public and at formal events. The noblewoman was allowed to wear finery that a non-noble woman, no matter how rich, was not allowed.

Even at the level of commoners, women sometimes had specific rights. For example, women were allowed to form guilds in some towns, for certain trades. In most times and places, though, women were specifically forbidden guild membership.

But one has to look carefully to find privileges specific to females, and the number of examples is tiny compared to the examples where women were restricted or forbidden rights and powers. They couldn't testify in court, without special permission. They could own land, but rarely did land remain in female hands for long. They could not wage war or make laws or levy taxes. They could not hold public office. All the main avenues of power were closed to them and were closed specifically because they were female.