A Woman's Place: The Non-Subservient Role of Women in Medieval England
Event Website
CSU 201
Start Date
20-4-2015 3:15 PM
End Date
20-4-2015 4:15 PM
Student's Major
History
Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor's Name
Margaretta Handke
Mentor's Email Address
margaretta.handke@mnsu.edu
Mentor's Department
History
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
The study of women’s social position throughout history has often led to this image of women as socially inferior to men but I argue that this is not always the case. I focused my research on late Medieval England and examined a combination of primary and secondary sources. Through these sources, I found that women in Medieval England held a variety of jobs within society, some of which even placed them above men, though I consent that their legal voice was exponentially weaker than that of men. My research emphasized the importance of not relying on a single type of resource to draw conclusions from because this will lead to only a single perspective. My research led me to considered women’s social responsibilities throughout the various stages of their lives, the motivation behind merchet payments, and women’s contributions to their household’s success. From my research, I concluded that women inhabited a separate but no less important sphere of society and that they participated in a partnership-based relationship with their husbands.
A Woman's Place: The Non-Subservient Role of Women in Medieval England
The study of women’s social position throughout history has often led to this image of women as socially inferior to men but I argue that this is not always the case. I focused my research on late Medieval England and examined a combination of primary and secondary sources. Through these sources, I found that women in Medieval England held a variety of jobs within society, some of which even placed them above men, though I consent that their legal voice was exponentially weaker than that of men. My research emphasized the importance of not relying on a single type of resource to draw conclusions from because this will lead to only a single perspective. My research led me to considered women’s social responsibilities throughout the various stages of their lives, the motivation behind merchet payments, and women’s contributions to their household’s success. From my research, I concluded that women inhabited a separate but no less important sphere of society and that they participated in a partnership-based relationship with their husbands.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2015/oral_session_13/1
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Bethany. "A Woman's Place: The Non-Subservient Role of Women in Medieval England." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 20, 2015.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2015/oral_session_13/1
