Medieval Communities Essay, Research Paper

During the early Middle Ages, Europe was undergoing assorted alterations and development in its recovery from the autumn of Rome. Medieval civilisation developed due to the autumn of Rome through the integrating of Greco-Roman, Christian and Germanic elements. As mediaeval society grew and changed, several different communities were established. Three such communities were the feudal community, the cloistered community and the rational community. Medieval communities exhibited a prejudice against adult females which is exemplified by adult females & # 8217 ; s battles to better their position. There were two feudal ages and the place of the adult female changed somewhat during these two ages. The first feudal age was the age of feudal Lordship ( ca. 900-1050 ) . During this clip, the adult female & # 8217 ; s function was de-emphasized because the social construction of the clip centered on work forces. The importance placed on contending art in the society meant that adult females would non be able to keep any sort of official place. It was the sentiment of the clip that adult females served two maps: to bring forth inheritors and to pull off the estates when their hubbies were off. The feudal adult female ( ca. 900-1050 ) was besides required to be chaste and loyal and was non considered to be emotionally necessary by her hubby. The 2nd feudal age was the age of feudal kingship ( ca. 1050-1500 ) . In this age, adult females achieved a somewhat higher position. Although adult females were still expected to bring forth inheritors and pull off their hubby & # 8217 ; s manors, they could now be inheritresss. When a Lord died and had no boies to inherit his feoff, he would go forth the feoff to his girl ; nevertheless, if there were more than one girl, the land would be divided every bit among the girls. It seems that adult females were inserted into the feudal system because feudal Godheads did non desire to lose the household & # 8217 ; s land if they had no boies. By commanding the matrimony of their girls, they could increase the household & # 8217 ; s land retentions. This action had tremendous political deductions. However, it would look that the feudal community had overlooked the possibility of a Lord holding merely one girl, as in the instance of Eleanor of Aquitane. Eleanor managed to derive power and influence against the odds in a society whose regulations intended to forestall such an happening. Therefore, the Lords had unwittingly made it possible for adult females to keep a place of power. The feudal elite besides contributed to mediaeval misogynisms through their involvement in courtly love. Initially, one would believe that this involvement would hold helped the position of adult females, but because this construct put adult females on a base and made them seem intangible, work forces grew resentful. Work force became frustrated because they were invariably combating for something they could ne’er hold. Courtly love told work forces that their love would ever be unrealized because adult females are incapable of love. This belief encouraged work forces to detest adult females. The authorship of the book of courtly love, which farther contributed to this misogynism, Tells of the immoralities of adult females. In this manner, the ideal of courtly love became yet another obstruction for adult females in feudal society to get the better of in their quest for position. Initially, the function of adult females in monasticism was one of power. Before 900, female monasticism was at a high point and mother superiors exercised the same power as archimandrites. Monasticism was the lone manner in which adult females of mediaeval times could acquire a good instruction. Female monasticism was besides really of import in footings of church authorities. Hilda of Whitby, mother superior of a dual monastery in England, trained six bishops and reconciled the differences between the Roman and British church during her clip as mother superior. The Abbess of Gandersheim accomplished even more as mother superior and had the same authorization as a feudal Lord, which was combined with political power that enabled her to sit in the Imperial assembly. After 900, minute

nastic society entered a decline that was followed by three main reforms — the Clunaic, the Cistercian, and the Mendicant. Although these reforms enabled male monks to regain their status, they put the nuns at a disadvantage because they outlined a regime of living that would have been dangerous to women. Another factor acting against women in monastic communities was the fact that monks were becoming increasingly worried about celibacy and they saw nuns as a temptation that should be avoided. The decreasing popularity of nuns caused them to receive fewer donations. With their funds depleted, the number of female monasteries plummeted as did their status in the monastic community. Because the fall in status for nuns resulted in a diminishing number of female monasteries, in 1200, there were many highly religious women who sought an alternative means of showing their dedication to God. It was in response to this desire to worship in a regulated manner and in an attempt to regain some of their original status, that women established beguinages. The beguines were quasi nuns who lived and worshipped in the confines of the beguinage community during the evening, and went into the towns to work during the day. This community gave women power because they were not cloistered and they could enter and leave the community whenever they wanted to. Additionally, this community made the churches nervous because although the church never sanctioned the beguinages, the beguines were good Christians who could leave the order whenever they wished. Thus, this community back to women some of the power they had lost during the decline of female monasticism. A final community in which women fought to overcome their oppression was the intellectual community. The only means by which women could obtain an education was through monastic schooling. One example of the product of a female monastic education was the aforementioned Abbess of Gandersheim. She wrote plays in Latin that followed the classical model. These plays were often about women defending their virginity and they were surprisingly humorous. This high level of education for nuns enabled women to hold authority over men. The passage of time, however, increased the exclusivity of the intellectual community and as a result, women were once again placed at a disadvantage. Although in 1150, women were still permitted to attend monastic schools, they were not allowed to attend university. This put women whose intelligence surpassed the level of education provided by the monastic education at a disadvantage. One such woman was Heloise. Her uncle wanted her to further her education so he hired a tutor for her. This arrangement turned out to be disastrous when Heloise became pregnant and her uncle made her become a nun. However, there were a few women who benefited from the monastic education in 1150. Hildegarde of Bingen was an excellent product of female monastic education who wrote music and attained a high status that enabled her to correspond with the Bishops. Although she wrote to the Bishops, it is unlikely that her opinions had much authority due to the misogyny of the time. On the whole, the exclusion of women from universities enabled men to attain a higher status once again. Within these three medieval communities, women overcame obstacles in their quest for status. Often, this high status was achieved by a conscious effort as in the case of the beguines. Occasionally, it was the rules passed by men that inadvertently resulted in women attaining higher status, as in the case of Eleanor of Aquitane. Although women managed to better their status, it must be acknowledged that in medieval times, women as a whole, were at a serious disadvantage. Unfortunately, this bias against women in communities has not been eliminated and is still present even in today’s society.