Why are women so important in the middle ages?

Answer 1

Women did not have as much influence as men, but they had a good deal more than some people might think.

One example of an influential woman was Margaret I of Denmark. Danish law did not allow her to be a queen regnant (to rule as monarch), but she ruled Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland anyway, for decades. She started her "reign" as regent for her son, but turned out to be so competent that when he died, the members of the nobility asked her to stay on. When an army set out to take her off the throne, she destroyed it with her own.

Another interesting woman Ethelfleda of Mercia, did pretty much the same thing, ruling after he husband, who had been king, died. She was very literate, and was regarded as a skilled tactician.

Elinor of Aquitaine was also influential, both in politics, and in the arts.

There is a long list of others.

In the ordinary lives of villages and towns, women also had some influence, but it is not as widely recorded. One well known story of a young noble woman is that of Lady Godiva, which many people regard as true.

Women operated convents, and for that reason were important in the educations of young noble women.

Their influence can also be seen in the stories of the Canterbury Tales, which, though fiction, offer a believable contemporary portrayal of Late Medieval society.

Marie de France, who wrote poetry in England, was a highly influential poet of her time, though she is unknown as a person otherwise.

There is a link below to a question on what medieval women accomplished.

Answer 2

The issue of the power of women in the Middle Ages is very complicated, and I think books could be written on the subject without doing it complete justice.

There were many medieval monarchs who were women, such as Empress Irene of the Byzantine Empire, who was on the throne when Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome. And the political power women had in the Middle Ages seems to have continued through the period and into the Renaissance, with such powerful Queens as Margaret I of Denmark, who was medieval, and Elizabeth I of England, who was later.

There were important female military leaders; Joan of Arc is possibly best known, but by no means alone in the class. Interestingly, though I can name other medieval women who lead or served in armies, I cannot think of many of later times.

The impression I have, which is shared by some others, is that medieval women began to lose some power toward the end of the Middle Ages, and that Renaissance women had less, in general, than their predecessors. One example of this is the exclusion of women by guilds that had previously allowed them as members, which began in the Late Middle Ages. Another is the fact that women were no longer appointed to the knightly Order of the Garter for a long time after the Middle Ages. Yet another is laws of the Late Middle Ages that transferred a woman's property to her husband, when they married.

I put a link to a related question below. Though it does not address this specific question, you might find it interesting.

Answer 3

Women are extremely important, and have and will always be, for the sustainability of our species. Women have always played a huge part in History and how it has unfolded to the present. Women and men were, and are, equally important.

Marriages were arranged for women of noble birth to seal alliances and transfer territory. Some of them were quite remarkable individuals such as Elinore of Aquitaine, or the mother of Henry Tudor, but some were just pawns in the political Chess match. Commoner women did not have much political importance.

Answer 4

Women like Eleanor of Aqutaian were extremely powerful . She had her own lands and in her marriage to Edward 1 her lands were given as part of the marriage contract. She had 3 son's that became kings and went on a Crusade as one of the few women who could do it.. Noble women were considered valuable because they could join two powerful families together with marriage. It was not a love match but political. Women who were not noble were not very important and they often died in childbirth. In the Middle Ages there were three types of women. They were nuns, married to another noble family, or were prostitutes. Women were thought of as chattel and less than men.