Did women have professions in the Middle Ages?

Answer 1

Yes, women had professions, in the Middle Ages. We can especially see this for the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages, though it may just be that the information on the Early Middle Ages was lost and so we are unaware of their activity at that time.

There were a large number of professions whose memberships included women, and many, perhaps most, guilds had special provisions for women members. This only made sense; men who had wealth and guild memberships did not want their families to go into want when they died, so they built into the guild regulations ways widows could continue family businesses. Another very important motivator was that those men did not want their business to have to come under the control of another man, their daughter's husband or their wife's husband if she remarried.

Doing research for this question, I came to see a pattern in medieval life I had not known about before, which was that businesses were run by husbands with their wives. They were joined by their children as the children grew, and this included both boys and girls. The training in business and trade that a girl received was one of the things that would make her attractive to a young man of the same profession.

This made a statement I had read while doing research for an earlier answer take on new meaning. It happens that during the 13th century, a new kind of school came into being, called an abacus school, which was designed to teach the rudimentary skills needed for business. The article referred without further explanation to the education of boys and girls. Reading about women in professions, it became clear to me why girls were being educated in abacus schools.

Women worked in almost any profession imaginable during the Middle Ages. I do not know why their participation in professions seems to have declined during the Renaissance, but perhaps I will learn that in the future. There are a number of links below. The article on Sabina von Steinbach refers to her as a stone mason, but it provides a link to images of her work, and it is clear that she was in fact a sculptor of considerable ability. The article on Women in Medieval Guilds is one I especially liked, and it lists professions available to women. The article on Christine de Pizan reveals a woman of great ability who is said to have been the first professional female author, and is accompanied by a medieval illustration showing her giving a lecture to a male audience.

Answer 2

As a general rule, if you were a medieval woman, you did not go to a university. There were exceptions, however, though they were rare.

We know that Heloise was educated by Peter Abelard in Paris, and while that was before the University of Paris was given its charter, it was after it opened.

We also know that women were educated in the University of Constantinople, though that university was never recognized by the schools of the West, despite its being older than any of them, and in some ways much better.

There were also medical schools that educated at least some women, such as Trotula of Salerno, who was educated in the medical school in that city and was considered one of the most influential physicians of the time.

Whenever I hit this question, I remember that in the American Civil War, records show that about one solder in a thousand was a woman disguised as a man; it doesn't sound like many until you realize that this meant there were many, many hundreds of female soldiers. I wonder how many bright women disguised themselves as men in order to study at the university. I am sure there were a number of them. There are links to related questions below, and there are resource links at those questions.

Answer 3

No, women were not allowed to become doctors in the Middle ages as they were not allowed to attend universities. They did however often provide medical care to people in villages and were allowed to act as midwives and surgeons.

Answer 4

No. Higher education flourished in the Middle Ages for men but it was not generally available, or encouraged, for women. Early Medieval universities did not have any formal facilities so classes were taught wherever there was a space available. The Catholic Church controlled these early universities and it was against canon law for a woman to attend.

A few women from the noble or wealthier class were educated but that decision was up their fathers. Fortunately, there were enlightened fathers who recognized their daughters intelligence and allowed them to be educated at home with tutors or in small, home school settings where boys were being taught. For example, Charlemagne' s daughters were allowed to attend the palace school.

Answer 5

no