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Women in Medieval Society: Aspects of the
Marriage Kimberly Beumer Marriage in Medieval society was a strong mixture of rules and
customs created in the ancient world that derived from the age of the barbarians,
Rome, Judaism, and the early Church. For the most part, the fundamentals of
marriage derived from Roman law and became a secular custom inherited by the
Christian Church. Throughout the Middle Ages, Europe adopted these customs
that were implemented through the Church. The courts of the Christian Church
began to direct the laws of society, including the institution of matrimony
and set guidelines for people to follow that are still practiced today (Laiou). Society rarely challenged these customs because
the Church was trusted to be all knowing. If one did speak against the
Church, they risked rejection by society and the possibility of endangering
their life. Religion, inheritance, law and practice are several factors
influenced by the Church that determine the aspects of marriage in medieval
society. In the dawn of English history, the nation saw marriage as a
private transaction, an exchange of a girl for the gifts of a husband. The Germani people, who were European ancestors of the
Romans, are responsible for creating the arrangements of a formal marriage.
The Roman Church inherited these laws and implemented them into the structure
that defined matrimony. The laws of King Ethelberht of Kent
(560-616), written in English before the apostle St. Augustine died in 604 or
605, state rules regarding women in society (Stenon).
These laws expand on the roles and responsibilities of both men and women and
express more information than any other ruler of Anglo-Saxon. Some of the
laws pertain to the relationship of man and wife, and referred to the woman
as a valuable piece of property. According to the law of the Church, the process of marriage
followed a certain order that was carried out in two stages. The first is the
beweddung,
or the pledging of betrothal. Here the bride is handed over the weotuma, which
is the price for the bride (Luca, p62). The prospective husband in exchange
for his bride gave this "gift" to the father of the bride. The
parents of the bride had to approve of the gifts, which usually consisted of
utilitarian objects like: horses, oxen, cattle, swords and spears. The girl
need not be present at this exchange, essentially this was an agreement
between two men; the father of the bride; and the future husband. It was
forbidden for the woman to have any word in the transaction. The guardianship
of the woman is transferred from the father to the future husband, making it
impossible for the women to ever obtain a sense of independence. The concept of the dowry is an adaptation to this tradition.
When settling a marriage, the bride’s family would give a portion of their
land (the dowry) to the man. Marriage was like a purchase trade for the men
of the families. Once this trade has occurred, the bride is responsible for
giving her future husband a gift. It most commonly consisted of some type of
armor or weapon for self-defense, for at this time, people were under
constant pressure of war. One had to be prepared to defend against an attack
that could erupt at any given moment. The exchange of gifts reinforced the
duty of the girl to serve her husband in times of peace and war. It also
reiterated her responsibility to serve him in the drudgery of daily, domestic
chores. These objects of weaponry were also necessary for the woman to
defend herself in the event of a wife-capture. When her husband was off in
battle, she was left behind to manage their home. Peace was a rare luxury in
the Middle Ages, so the demand for soldiers was always high. With the
husbands off to battle, woman became objects of prey for other men not
fighting in battle. This victim scenario was referred to as wife-capture in
various books of law, and was looked down upon in the Anglo-Saxon society of
the Middle Ages (Lucas). The second stage was the actual handing over, or gifta
(sometimes referred to as the tradition), where the ceremony physically took
place. The price of the bride, or the weotuma was given directly to the bride and became her own
property. However, the property was legally subject to control of the husband
during his lifetime. Thus making the value of the weotuma a provision for
widowhood, meaning that the value of the property was only payable to her
after the death of her husband. If the woman was without child, she was at a
greater risk of losing the property after becoming a widow. The actual desire to be married was not by choice of the woman,
rather it was determined by the will of the parents and fellow kinship. The
concept of marriage was a constant pressure placed on girls at a young age.
From the day a female is born, she is taught how to become a good wife for
her husband, that she should please him and nurture their children for the
rest of her life. It was unheard of to pursue any individual dreams or
desires for a woman; that was left for the man. The average age of consent
for a female was seven years old, however the marriage could not be nullified
until the girl reached twelve and the boy fourteen. Girls were brought up to
expect to be married. The only other alternative was to pursue a position within
the church, which was only possible if one was in correct financial standing
from the beginning of her life. As the Christian Church grew and began to attract the
authorities of the Roman Empire, there was an increasing pressure to conform
to the rules of society set out by the church. Women were pushed out of the
leadership roles in the church, such as the deacon, bishop, and priest. If a
woman desired a position within the church, her only option was to enter the
nunnery, which was only accessible if she was in proper financial standing.
As the church depleted the opportunities for the roles of women in the church
and placed pressure within the society to conform to certain roles, women in
medieval society succumbed to greater submission of the man. Christianity did nothing to improve the situation for females
entering into adulthood. As women matured into adolescence, they were to
consent to the proposal of marriage, without ever questioning her chosen
husband. It was not the place of a modest virgin to choose her future husband
for he husband was chosen for her. Marriage in Medieval society was a strong
mixture of rules and customs created in the ancient world. The fundamentals
of marriage derived mostly from Roman law and became a secular custom inherited
by the Christian Church. Throughout the Middle Ages, European society adopted
customs and implemented them through the Church. The courts of the Christian
Church began to direct the laws of society, including the institution of
matrimony and set guidelines for people to follow. Society rarely challenged
these customs because the Church was trusted to be all knowing. If one did
speak against the Church, they risked the rejection of society and the
possibility of endangering their life. Religion, inheritance, law and
practice are several factors influenced by the Church that determine the
aspects of marriage in medieval society. Women were regarded as valuable
pieces of property, so men treated women like objects of commercial
transactions, placing a price on the value of the bride, during the process
of marriage. Bibliography: Klapisch-Zuber, Christane. (1985). Women, Family, and Ritual in
Renaissance Italy. Chicago, Ill: The University of Chicago Press. Lucas, Angela, M. (1983). Women in the Middle Ages. Great
Britain: The Harvester Press Limited. Brooke, Christopher, N. L. (1989). The Medieval Idea of
Marriage. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press. Laiou, Anfeliki,
E. (1992). Gender Society and Economic Life in Byzantium. Brookfield, VT: Ashdate Publishing Company. Stenton, F. M. (1943). The
Historical Bearing of Place Name Studies. The Place of Women of Anglo-Saxon
Society. TRHS, 4th Series, 25, 1-13. Internet Resources: Scheid, Troy. Toon, Laura (1997). The City of Women. Dominion &
Domination of the Gentle Sex: The Lives of Medieval Woman. Cited October 15,
1997 http://library.advanced.org/12834/index.html Dickstein, Ruth. (1997). Women's Studies on the Internet. Cited
October 10, 1997. http://dizzy.library.arizona.edu:80/users/dickstei/homepg.htm From University of Arizona. Women’s Studies
Dept. WS200 Women and Western Culture. WS200 Webpage Project. January 27,
2004. <http://infocenter.ccit.arizona.edu/~ws/ws200/fall97/grp7/part2.htm> |