Middle Ages in Europe- Women

 Savanna Santiago

The Middle Ages were a challenging time for women. Social and economic values were placed upon them that made life very limited for them in terms of work, hobbies and even consent of marriage. As in earlier eras, women were expected to cook, clean and find a suitor as early as the tender age of 15. Staying home at the house and having children were all women were 'capable' of doing. As far as men were concerned, women had no place nor ability to engage in intellectual activities/subjects such as politics, literature and art about important topics like war. And while women were allowed to paint nude women whenever, wherever, women painting nude men in the flesh was unheard of. However what wasn't unheard of was girls getting married off at extremely young ages. Marriage was practically mandatory and always arranged in the Middle Ages. However one exception for women to avoid marriage was to become a nun and join a nunnery. Women would send their 15- 16 year old daughters off to nunneries in hopes that it would be better than the abuse and injustice they would face on a day to day basis with their significantly older husbands to be. To join the nunneries, these young girls and women had to vow to celibacy and poverty. The pros outweighed the cons for their circumstances because although they had to poor monetary things, they were rich in other things that were more valuable than any material object; knowledge and education. Nuns were able learn how to write, paint, and read--all things women were limited, if offered at all, married in the outside world. Of course religion was embedded and the main focus in all art and literature at this time period. One of those nuns who used her knowledge of reading and paintings to create art was Hildegard of Bingen. She claimed that God spoke to her and received visions from him which prompted her to draw the 1142 piece “Scivias”. She said that she was "nothing more than a feather on God's breathe" (Chadwick 59). However, her work "derived from a sense of female otherness in relation to male authority and a vision of women being complementary to men" (Chadwick 59).

Hildegard of Bingen, "Scivias" c. 1152

Thankfully, during the Renaissance period (starting in the 1300’s), things began to shift. Women began to push for equality and demanded change. Women were allowed to paint and get a head start if they came from prominent artist families, however. Still, it was a step in the right direction because at least now some women were able to channel their artistry into other forms other than knitting. Christine De Pizan is a prime example of a woman born into lucky circumstances. Her father was an artist who believed in education of all and he taught her everything she knew about art. De Pazin was also the first woman to make a living out of writing. This was a rarity for a woman because literature was a scholarly activity in which was believed women could not partake in. She was very courageous and outspoken arguing against sexist scholar during her time. With her experience and knowledge of literature, she wrote the “Book of the City of Ladies” that was “an entire city populated by the bravest, strongest most virtuous women from history” (Guerrilla Girls, 26). One of paintings from the book is “The Bricklayers”. It shows women using bricks to build a wall and taking care of themselves in their utopia--no help from men required.

Christine De Pizan, "Bricklayers" from The City of Ladies c. 1405

Artemisia Gentileschi was also an artist of the Renaissance era. She painted “Judith Slaying Holofernes”. It depicts Judith’s maidservant helping Judith decapitate the king with a sword. Both women are shown looking like they know exactly what they are doing showing strength and certainty. The painting shows a lot of blood from the decapitation while “many artists showing Judith looking away as she cuts off Holofernes’ head. They think a woman could not bear to look while doing such a deed” (Guerrilla Girls, 37). Judith are looking straight at the king while decapitating him with no look of remorse showing them as strong. Women were not only painting but painting gruesome topics that were considered reserved for men. The Renaissance meant 'rebirth' and that was what women did through their art. Through their paintings they were able to be reborn and not be restricted into painting religious topics like they were in the Middle Ages. The male gaze was still very prevalent during the Renaissance but women such as Artemisia made paintings to try and combat this by showing women in a strong way to try and combat this by showing women in a strong way.

 Artemisia Gentileschi, "Judith Slaying Holofernes" c. 1620

 

The 17th and 18th century was where many women artists such as the Dutch Judith Leyster painted still lifes of botany, insects, and fruits. Lyester actually sat and inspected and observed these insects and their body parts, shapes and size to paint them.


In the 19th century, the role of women changed as they were needed in building America up. Women began to sew, do needlework and continue to paint. However sculpting made an appearance in the 19th century with women like Harriet Hosmer. She was an American sculptor who flocked to Italy because her style of neoclassicism was popular there at the time. Her marble sculpture "Zenobia in Chains" was very successful. Zenobia is in a drape and is putting all of her weight on one leg which gives the illusion that she is moving. It symbolizes struggling women in a, although the 1800's, still patriarchal society.

Harriet Hosmer, "Zenobia in Chains" c. 1859

Works Cited 

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Thames and Hudson 2012.

The Guerrilla Girls' Beside Companion to the History Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006

Bovey, Alixe. “Women in Medieval Society.” The British Library, The British Library, 17 Jan. 2014, www.bl.uk/the-middle-ages/articles/women-in-medieval-society.