a woman's
life

medieval
women
at home

upper class &
noble women
at home

merchant &
townswomen
at home

rural & peasant women at home

births

weddings

divorces

death & dying

manners

education

employment
opportunities

recreation
& hobbies

holidays &
feast days

board games

music

embroidery
& needlework

pet keeping

reading

dancing

horseriding

hawking

hunting

medieval
women & sex
PLEASE NOTE!
ADULT THEMES!

A Medieval Woman's Life

In spite of the often harsh life in the medieval period which some women encountered, celebrations, whether religious or personal, were fairly frequent. Education and employment opportunities did exist for girls in many cases. Men were defined by their jobs and their rank in society while medieval women were defined by their marital status.

They were either Virgins, Wives or Widows. Whether wealthy or poor, a woman's lot depended on which of these she was.

A girl was an infant until 7 years of age, a child until 14, a youth until 28 and then an adult. Generally, a girl stayed with her mother until 7 years of age unless she was an orphaned heiress, where she may have been removed from her mother and put into 'suitable' care, although in many cases, mothers were able to apply for guardianship of their own child. Such an appeal may or may not have been successful depending on the enormity of the child's holdings.

A great deal of the fortunes of medieval women depended on her rank in society and her marital status. Everything from her clothes, diet, work, social and legal opportunities, dental care to familial obligations, her role in births, deaths and marriage options, all depended on her financial and social position at the time of her birth or at the time of her marriage.

According to legal historian Frederick Maitland, at certain times a medieval woman:

can hold land, even by military tenure, can own chattels, make a will, sue and be sued. A married woman will sometimes appear as her husband's attorney. A widow will often be the guardian of her own children; a lady will often be the guardian of the children of her tenants.

On the following pages you will find a general overview of each of these topics. This is by no means the complete guide to each occasion, but more of a springboard, a starting point for further reading.

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