Women In The Middle Ages

Roles of Women in the Middle Age

Today, it seems that there are much to improve in our society, most especially issues regarding gender inequality. Although advancements could still definitely be made, our history books are social artifacts which provide evidence that society has indeed come a long way. 

The roles of women in Europe during the middle ages were the typical expectations; stay at home wife to cook, clean and raise children, or become a nun. As one would expect, the middle ages were predominately controlled by men. They were the breadwinners for the family, which meant that it was the men's responsibility to go out and make money to provide for the family as a whole. As Chadwick explained,  “Women’s social roles remained circumscribed by a Christian ethic that stressed obedience and chastity, by the demands of maternal and domestic responsibility” (Chadwick 44), which restrained women from interacting with society, but rather, stay indoors and what she was told without oppressing. If a woman did not want to be a housewife, she had the option of becoming a nun. The way I see it is that women were deprived of their own rights, which quite frankly everyone was born with. Maybe in the Middle Ages it was more acceptable by society, and even women, because they didn't have the voice that women today now have. 

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary By Diego Velasquez

Another problem that the Middle Ages were faced with was the lack of education in women. Because society’s expectations of women were to be caretakers for family, education was not needed in the eyes of the people. Being uneducated narrowed the options for women; they basically had no choice but to work on what was created and expected of them. Women were so incredibly dependent on the husbands giving them direction. It seems as if women were not treated as wives with respect, but more as objects with specific duties to fulfill. Today, women are becoming independent which has shown through the number of powerful women in the world. This is not to say, however, that there are improvements to be made in society, because there are; but, we have come a long way. 

Judith Slaying Holofernes- Artemisia Gentileschi

Fortunately, times changed and as years passed from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance era, societal norms of women changed slowly but surely. Because some women became nuns who stayed at convents, there was more leniency in being able to express themselves because they weren’t dominated by men; rather, they had the freedom to make decisions for themselves. Thus, women discovered expression through art. According to Chadwick, women produced art in monasteries because they gained access to education during their stay at the convents (Chadwick 44). This was a whole new world for women. Finally, freedom was expressed and their feelings and experiences were depicted through it. In convents, women had some sort of authority, because they are able to free themselves from the societal norms of being a housewife.

After the Middle Ages passed, the Renaissance came. According to the dictionary, renaissance is the "the cultural rebirth that occurred in Europe from roughly the fourteenth through the middle of the seventeenth centuries" (Dictionary).  Because of this 'rebirth', women also felt empowered, allowing them to make contributions politically and economically.  One Renaissance woman whose artwork speaks volumes to a generation is Artemisia Gentileschi. As a young girl, she was abused and raped, which was strongly depicted in her art work. One could look at her paintings and feel pain, grief and a longing for revenge. The biggest achievement for her was becoming the first woman to be inducted into Accademia di Arte del Disegno, which was the academy of fine arts in Florence, Italy. This is influential because during this era, women artists were not wholly accepted. She paved the way for women in the art world and   gave other women confidence to follow in her footsteps. She gave them hope that maybe they, too, can accomplish such a goal.

Judith with the Head of Holofernes- Fede Galizia

Another influential artist during the Renaissance era was Fede Galizia, the daughter of Nunzio Galicia. Luckily for her, she was influenced by her own father's art at a young age, and because of that influence, she was able to flourish as a painter as a teen, usually focusing on religious themes. One of her paintings,  Judith with the Head of Holofernes, is believed to be a self-portrait of herself. Today, Fede Galizia's legacy is celebrated by the presentation of her art in various museums, along with many other famous painters during the Renaissance Era.

Evidently, women were emerging in society and their roles became more meaningful. It was during the Renaissance that women were provided guilds, which "became agencies of communal authority rather than corporate interest groups" (Chadwick 69) and because of this, women felt that they belonged to a like-minded group, thus influenced them to express themselves, especially in the form of art. 

What's extremely beneficial about art is that it really speaks a thousand words. Despite the lack of education in women, they were actually learning through each other's artwork and have inspired one another. Systematic ways of learning through proper education was not practiced, yet women were becoming enlightened because these organizations allowed them to feel important. Visual presentations were heavily relied on in order to convey a message and to understand an artist through the message from their artwork. This type of learning is crucial during the Renaissance because women were deprived of real education, so being able to connect with one another artistically made a huge difference in them mentally and physically. 

Works Cited:

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. London: Thames & Hudson, 2007. Print.

"Renaissance" Def. 2. Merriam Webster Online, Merriam Webster, n.d. Web. 28 February 2015.