Women Roles in the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages was mainly dominated by men and the Church. The vital role for women in the Middle Ages for women was to take care of the household and children. Often women would get married in their teens and also start having kids a year after marriage. Many marriages in the Middle Ages were often picked by the parents of the couple rather than the couple themselves. “Throughout the Middle Ages, the place of women in society was often dictated by biblical texts” (Bovey, 1). The Church essentially determined how a woman should behave in society. On the contrary, some women did not follow the Church teachings. Women practiced art and writing, "There were some women who exercised power, providing a challenge to the stereotypical image of medieval women as oppressed and subservient. In the church, women could hold positions of great responsibility as abbesses of convents. In some instances, such as monasteries that housed communities of men and women, the abbess had seniority over monks" (Bovey, 1). Many women artists created paintings for nobles and kings during the Middle Ages. Out of the many famous artwork to come out of the Middle ages by women, the Bayeux Tapestry has to be one of the most important one. The Bayeux Tapestry is embroidery stitched entirely by women in whom the tapestry tells a story about Norman king William and his conquest to England. Nuns were especially important in this era. "Nuns wrote books on medicine, science, and sacred music. Many claimed to have mystical visions in which God spoke directly to them, revealing truths about the nature of Christian faith and salvation" (Guerrilla Girls, 22). Though the Church had control over many situations, it seems like women are almost defying the power of the Church by educating themselves and others by their books. 

Herrad of Landsberg, Hortus Deliciarum, after 1170

Bayeux Tapestry

The Renaissance which was primarily the classical artwork of European history in Italy. Although the Renaissance was mainly influenced and dictated by men, women did not fall back from creating their own artwork themselves. Bologna was the Rome for women and their artwork. Women went as far as building their own school so other women can practice their art. "Around 1652, she opened a school for women artists in Bologna. There she trained a number of younger women artists who, for the first time, were not exclusively from families of painters, as well as her two younger sisters, Anna Maria and Barbara, who eventually produced their own altarpieces for local churches" (Chadwick, 104). The woman who made it possible for other women to practice art as well was Elisabetta Sirani. 

Portia Wounding Her Thigh, 1664

You do not really hear of women artists and their painting or sculptures from the Renaissance to this day. The roles from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance changed briefly in that time period. However, during the 19th century women started fighting for their role in society. "Women who became artists - like Mary Cassatt, Rosa Bonheur, and Edmonia Lewis - had to fight to be taken seriously" (Guerrilla Girls, 47). Women artists started to make paintings out of perspective. Women also had a chance with the art of photography. Photography was not male dominated yet so women had a chance to make their own progress in photography without having people compare their work to men. 

The Horse Fair, 1853

Work Cited:

The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion To The History of Western Art by Guerrilla Girls

Women, Art, Society by Whitney Chadwick

https://www.bl.uk/the-middle-ages/articles/women-in-medieval-society