women, medieval

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In the Middle Ages, women played an essential part in the medieval economy and society. However, the post-Conquest period (11th–15th centuries) saw a reduction in the status of women in certain respects, as women were generally discriminated against in attitudes and opportunities. Whereas Saxon women had had a great deal of freedom and status, the Norman soldier-class tended to undervalue women. The medieval church taught that women were weak and sinful because Eve caused Adam to sin, and that a wife ought to obey her husband. On marriage, women gave up their independence and became the possessions, in law, of their husbands – ‘like slaves or prisoners’, as one woman complained. Women were also less likely to own land than men, and more likely to be the victims of crime.

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