14.3 Reading: Women and the Middle Ages Introduction There never was a time when women were more frequently made the subject of verse, nor worshipped with greater devotion, then the age of chivalry. It was a time when the duty and pleasure of every gentleman was to be the slave of the same lady, and when the passion of love was studied more ardently and expressed in more delicate and sincere language than at any other time. The introduction among the rules of chivalry of the so-called "Science of Love" brought into the customs and ideas of medieval society a new element which became almost immediately dominant, side by side with the purely warlike element and the religious element. The new doctrine, when brought in from Provence, France and spread by means of crusaders returning from the Holy Land, found a congenial atmosphere in the North of France and among the Normans, where women already occupied a dignified and independent position. The effects of the troubadour poetry originating from Provence, the new relation of men to women, or knights to ladies, cannot be over-estimated. Fully developed by the Provençal poets, and received by the chivalry of Southern France as a rule of life, it was accepted by the northern French and the Normans as a new gospel. The brotherhood of the chivalry looked upon a new definition of love and found it in the poetry of troubadours the modish literature of the time. Life was glorified by the discovery that it could be built upon love and that the highest glory of a man was to own the domination of a lady. Gallantry became a rule of knightly conduct and took its place by the side of honor and religion as one of the chief motives of action, the standards to which all conduct must be referred. The rule of gallantry regulated the sentiment of soldiers separated for long periods from their wives, gave the fair to the brave, gave a new position to women, and was justified by authority. The Roles of Women in the Middle Ages were fundamentally changed between the middle of the 11th Century and the middle of the 12th Century, when women were elevated, literally, to the condition of goddesses. In earlier times, women had reigned, been honored, but there had been no gallantry in a world where relation of the sexes had been natural and simple, the outgrowth of material and social conditions.  From this period onwards, a new sentiment takes its place as a leading motive of life, connected with rank, wealth, and pride of place, and which found its natural development in a society governed by a warlike nobility, for whose convenience the trading and laboring classes existed. Such was the force of this change in the Roles of Medieval Women, that even the three motives of chivalry changed priorities, so now honor, gallantry, and after them religion were the motivating factors of the medieval knightly life.  Modern courtesy is descended from the medieval gallantry and owes to it the touch of romance which is absent from the lo.

1. 14.3 Reading: Women and the Middle Ages
Introduction
There never was a time when women were more frequently
made the subject of verse, nor worshipped with greater
devotion, then the age of chivalry. It was a time when the duty
and pleasure of every gentleman was to be the slave of the same
lady, and when the passion of love was studied more ardently
and expressed in more delicate and sincere language than at any
other time.
The introduction among the rules of chivalry of the so-called
"Science of Love" brought into the customs and ideas of
medieval society a new element which became almost
immediately dominant, side by side with the purely warlike
element and the religious element.
The new doctrine, when brought in from Provence, France and
spread by means of crusaders returning from the Holy Land,
found a congenial atmosphere in the North of France and among
the Normans, where women already occupied a dignified and
independent position.
The effects of the troubadour poetry originating from Provence,
the new relation of men to women, or knights to ladies, cannot
be over-estimated. Fully developed by the Provençal poets, and
received by the chivalry of Southern France as a rule of life, it
was accepted by the northern French and the Normans as a new
gospel.
The brotherhood of the chivalry looked upon a new definition of
love and found it in the poetry of troubadours the modish
literature of the time. Life was glorified by the discovery that it
could be built upon love and that the highest glory of a man was
to own the domination of a lady. Gallantry became a rule of
knightly conduct and took its place by the side of honor and
religion as one of the chief motives of action, the standards to
which all conduct must be referred. The rule of gallantry

2. regulated the sentiment of soldiers separated for long periods
from their wives, gave the fair to the brave, gave a new position
to women, and was justified by authority.
The Roles of Women in the Middle Ages were fundamentally
changed between the middle of the 11th Century and the middle
of the 12th Century, when women were elevated, literally, to the
condition of goddesses. In earlier times, women had reigned,
been honored, but there had been no gallantry in a world where
relation of the sexes had been natural and simple, the outgrowth
of material and social conditions. From this period onwards, a
new sentiment takes its place as a leading motive of life,
connected with rank, wealth, and pride of place, and which
found its natural development in a society governed by a
warlike nobility, for whose convenience the trading and
laboring classes existed.
Such was the force of this change in the Roles of Medieval
Women, that even the three motives of chivalry changed
priorities, so now honor, gallantry, and after them religion were
the motivating factors of the medieval knightly life. Modern
courtesy is descended from the medieval gallantry and owes to
it the touch of romance which is absent from the love literature
of the antiquity.
Lower status women had little or no role to play within the
country at large. Within towns, society would have effectively
dictated what jobs a woman could do and her role in a medieval
village would have been to support her husband. As well as
doing her daily work, whether, in a town or village, a woman
would have had many responsibilities with regards to her
family.
Within a village, women would have done many of the tasks
men did on the land. However, they were paid less for doing the
same job. Documents from Medieval England relating to what
the common person did are rare, but some do exist which
examine what villages did. For reaping, a man could get 8 pence
a day. For the same task, women would get 5 pence. For
haymaking, men would earn 6 pence a day while women got 4

3. pence. In a male-dominated society, no woman would openly
complain about this disparity.
About 90% of all women lived in rural areas and were therefore
involved in some form of farm work.
In medieval towns, women would have found it difficult to
advance into a trade as medieval guilds frequently barred
women from joining them. Therefore, a skilled job as
recognized by a guild was usually out of reach for any woman
living in a town. Within towns, women were usually allowed to
do work that involved some form of clothes making but little
else. For many women, a life as a servant for the rich was all
they could hope for. Such work was demanding and poorly
rewarded.
The law, set by men, also greatly limited the freedom of women.
Women were
not allowed to marry without their parents’ consent
could own no business with special permission
not allowed to divorce their husbands
could not own property of any kind unless they were widows
could not inherit land from their parents’ if they had any
surviving brothers
Many women from wealthier backgrounds would have married
when they were teenagers. Medieval society had a different
outlook on children when compared to today. Children from
poor families would have worked from the earliest age possible
and they were treated as adults from the age of ten or eleven.
Many girls from poor families did not get married until they
were in their twenties.
Girls from richer families tended to marry earlier than girls
from poor families. The poorer families needed as many
working for them as was possible, so a daughter getting married
at an early age would have deprived them of a worker. This was
not true for a rich family. Girls had no choice over who they
married and many girls from rich families were usually married
to someone as a political gesture or because it was an advantage
to the girl’s family itself – as opposed to what the girl herself

4. wanted. Once married, the young lady came under the control of
her husband.
Producing a male heir within a rich family was considered vital.
So many women spent a great deal of their married life
pregnant. However, childbirth was dangerous as medical care
was so poor. It is thought that as many as 20% of all women
died in childbirth and it was the most common cause of death
among young women.
Wives from a rich family usually did not look after their
children. This was done by a wet nurse. Women from a poor
family not only had to look after the children but had to
continue doing her day-to-day work both in the home and on the
land. Many women from poor families did not live past the age
of forty.
14.4 Video: William Marshal the Greatest Knight the Ever
Lived
The fascinating story of knighthood told through the
extraordinary life and times of William Marshal, whom many
consider the world's greatest knight. From Europe's medieval
castles to the holy city of Jerusalem, presenter Thomas
Asbridge explores William's incredible life, revealing a rip-
roaring adventure story in the spirit of King Arthur's Knights of
the Round Table.
In a career that spanned half a century, this English soldier and
statesman served some of Christendom's greatest leaders, from
Eleanor of Aquitaine to Richard the Lionheart. Marshal fought
in battles across Europe, survived court intrigue and exile, put
his seal to the Magna Carta and proved to be the best friend a
king could have, remaining loyal to those he served through
disaster and victory. Then at the age of 70, despite all the odds,
he saved England from a French invasion.
—The video is called William Marshal, The Greatest
Knight that Ever Lived (CC)
— The other video is called Western Traditions: The Feudal

5. Order