Why did the change in women's status not effect peasant women?

Answer 1

AnswerThe status of women didn't change for hundreds of years. It is only in recent history ( actually the last 40 years) that women have begun to gain status equal to men. So, your question isn't applicable to the time you ask about. Women, no matter the station in life in the middle ages, was considered a second class citizen. Peasant women had it harder than noble women, but each was not equal to men and were treated in abusive ways. AnswerThe status of women evolved and changed several times in the Middle Ages, and I am not sure which change is the one of interest in the question. Clearly there were women in the Middle Ages of sufficient status that they were not second class citizens; Empress Irene was monarch of the Byzantine Empire when Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the West, and I could name a number of other queens and empresses regnant off the top of my head.

Since I cannot supply a specific answer, I have provided a link to an article on medieval women below. Please pay attention to the links it supplies, as they go to other interesting articles. There is also a link to the European sections of a list of queens and empresses regnant, and all the names you find there for women of 476 to 1453 AD are for medieval monarchs. There is also a link to a related question, "What were the rights of women in the middle ages?"