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.

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Apr 20th, 3:15 PM Apr 20th, 4:15 PM

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