What were the rights of noblemen and noblewomen during the middle ages?

Answer 1

Most women in a feudal society were members of a convent or married. Most of these marriages were prearranged and women were expected to be submissive to the male. The most significant expectation for women was to be obedient towards men. Most common women were farmers but had more chances to marry for love than aristocratic women who were arranged for political and economic reasons.

Answer 2

Many noble women had no rights, only the privileges granted by fathers or husbands. Generally though, they were educated and lived well, far better than the servant, labor, and farm women of the same period.

-----

The rights of noble women depended entirely on the laws and customs of the countries in which they lived. There was no society in Europe in which they had no rights at all, there were a number of noble women who were very powerful in their own rights, and there were a number of countries ruled by women at one time or another.

Noble women did not normally inherit titles, though some did. A notable example was Eleanor of Aquitaine, who controlled about a third of France. Women usually had a disadvantage compared to men, when it came to titles and inheritance, because the inheritance usually went to the eldest brother, and so women could only inherit if there was no brother at all.

Some countries did not allow women to rule as monarchs. France, Denmark, and the Holy Roman Empire were three of these. Nevertheless, Queen Margaret I ruled Denmark, Norway, Sweden (including Finland), and Iceland. Countries that allowed women to rule included most or all of the Spanish kingdoms, England, Scotland, Poland, and the Byzantine Empire, among others.

In some medieval societies, women lost possessions to their husbands when they married. This was not universally the case, however, and only lasted for part of the Middle Ages, where it happened. Again, taking the example of Eleanor of Aquitaine, she was able to use her French possessions to finance the rebellions of her sons against her husband. It was only later that English wives had to give over possessions to their husbands.

If a woman had possessions in her own right, she had the same obligations a man would. Men were often required to do military duty, but this only applied to those of military age, and those who could not do service had to pay a tax instead, in most places. Women were usually treated as exempt, but they were often involved in military actions. The garrisons of castles under siege were especially likely to be commanded by women.

There is a link below to a related question, which can provide more information and links to source materials.

Answer 3

AnswerNone really. Some like Eleanor of Aquitaine were able to gain a great deal of power through her marriages, the children she bore, and the fact she had Aquitaine, but she was unusual for a woman of her time. Women were treated as second class citizens. AnswerNoble women were limited by three important customs or laws.

In some countries, notably France, it was not possible for a woman to be the monarch. This was not true for most of Europe, and a number of countries did have female monarchs. In fact, at the time Charlemagne was crowned emperor, the Byzantine Empire was being governed by Empress Irene. Other countries that had female monarchs included Hungary, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Leon, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Naples, and Sicily. Female monarchs of England and Scotland were opposed by other people, just as many kings were opposed, but not because females had no right to rule there. Nevertheless, Queen Matilda of England shows up on most lists of English monarchs, and Queen Margaret show up on many, perhaps most, lists of Scottish monarchs.

The second restriction on women was that titles and land passed to sons in preference to daughters. Eleanor of Aquitaine inherited the duchy of Aquitaine in her own right because there was no male heir. This duchy made her an extremely powerful person, which was the reason she was able to marry kings of France and England.

A much more common problem was that in marriage, the partners did not have entirely separate existence from one another. The interpretation of what this meant, exactly, varied widely from place to place and time to time. In some places, it meant that a man could sell whatever property his wife brought into a marriage, regardless of her feelings on the issue. Such were the laws in England for a time in the High Middle Ages, though the wife's consent was required in the Late Middle Ages. Another example of the same situation, however, was that under some legal systems, the husband was considered responsible for the actions of his wife, and could be punished for her misdeeds.

Examples of how property was dealt with vary. Marriage was a Church matter, and laws about it were dealt with by ecclesiastical courts. Divorce was not really possible, as is widely known, but annulment was an option for a person who had sufficient importance or money.

In the case of Eleanor of Aquitaine, she retained her property when her marriage to King Louis VII of France was annulled on the ground that they were fourth cousins. The fact that this was merely a convenient excuse is underscored by her immediate marriage to Henry II of England, who was her third cousin. Again she retained her property, or, more importantly her use of it, for she used the income to fund a rebellion by her sons against their father, her husband.