|
|
Women! |
|
LINKS:The Prostitute
|
In the Middle Ages, the status of a woman was quite weak
compared to the present situation. A woman was, for example, considered intellectually
inferior to a man. This idea was partly based on the antique philosophers such as
Aristotle, who didn't consider woman equal to man. The christian religion contributed to
this by emphasizing the foolishness of Eve as she yielded to the temptation of the devil.
According to Thomas Aquinas, the problem of women was that they were unable to lead the
way. A woman was more passive than a man and able only to follow him. Another reason, why women were considered inferior to men, was their sinfulness. Hermits who had lived in celibacy had, during the first centuries of christianity, created an ideal image of moral life. For them, women were only devilish temptresses.The church fathers recommended virginal life also to women. The physical charm was to be diminished in all possible ways. Because women were the target of male lust they were also considered responsible for it and more sexual than men. Womens' sexuality also appeared in popular beliefs. According to one proverb a cock satisfied 15 hens but 15 men couldn't satisfy one woman. Humbert of Romans, a churchman, summarised the reasons for banning womens' right to teach and preach within the church: their intellect was minor, they had no authority, their outlook might have caused lustful thoughts and the first woman had been foolish. Women were not, however, considered only bad and sinful in the Middle Ages. They did have their task in the world, a task which men could not fulfil. They were to give birth to children. Also, they could with a virtuous and obeying behaviour bring joy to their husband and their family. The greatest merit of women was, however, that Jesus had been born by a woman, virgin Mary. If God had considered women totally worthless and sinful, he wouldn't have let his son be born by a woman. Virgin Mary was raised to be an idol for all women both because of her virtuous life and her exemplary and self-sacrificing motherhood. As strange as it may sound nowadays, women could not educate themselves nor choose their own occupation. Their work was mainly work within the family rather than actively exercising their own professions. It must, however, be remembered that also boys were strictly supervised by the family. The young could not decide about their own lives in the way they do nowadays. In noble families the oldest son often inherited the fortune and the younger ones could be sent away to obtain a religious or scientific career. In the same way, craftsmen and merchants told their sons where to get an education. Girls could choose between marriage and convent. Girls for whom the fathers were unable to find a husband were often sent to convents. Sometimes the girl herself wished to become a nun, for example if she found the husband-to-be repulsive. The life of a married woman was not smooth; she could easily die of the continuous pregnancies. |
