Written for HIST 4B at UCSB

From the time of Charlemagne’s coronation to the Treaty of Westphalia, the story of Europe was one in which religion, politics, and the egos of influential leaders all swayed the course of history, but what about women? Influential female leaders and women’s rights are not at the forefront of most history, but women were certainly there through it all. The few women who had leadership roles in the middle ages stood out as exceptions in a male-dominated power structure. During the middle ages, women did not have a significant progression in their rights and status. Europe was a Christian-centric society, and the teachings of the Bible informed the views of the people living in pre-modern Europe. The patriarchal society of the middle ages viewed women as the subordinates of men, making their upward mobility difficult when these beliefs permeated all Christians’ minds. The middle ages saw the continued oppression of women validated by the word of God with marginal gains in women’s positions coming only to those who had incredible wealth or close relationships with powerful men making the advancement of women’s status close to none as they continued to lack the fundamental rights to be independently influential members of society. 

Women who stand out in the middle ages’ history are those whose exceptional circumstances allowed a rare moment of upward mobility; otherwise, many women lived lives completely undocumented. In the lecture, Bouley discussed Eleanor of Aquitaine, the “most influential” woman. Born in 1122, Eleanor was a highly educated heiress from the south of France. Eleanor was the queen of not only France but later the queen of England. What made her so unique was that she broke the ideal medieval woman’s mold and did so without persecution. Eleanor’s court at Poitiers allowed for a flourish in Chirviouric romantic poetry by authors like De Troyes. Bouley says, “She is a very powerful noblewoman, an effective regent, and someone who has her own ideas about her sexuality” (Lecture: Poiters and Eleanor). Eleanor served as regent of England in the absence of her second husband, Henry II. This illustrates that he had a level of respect and trust in her leadership skills, uncommon for the time. Eleanor’s cultural importance, while a thing to be celebrated, cannot be looked at as a benchmark for women’s social status at the time.

Catherine De Medici held a similar position to Eleanor. Catherine served as regent of France from 1559- 1574 in place of her young sons. Catherine came from a wealthy Italian banking family and married into the French Monarchy. Being regent, Catherine would have possessed a level of power infrequent for a woman of the period. Bouley describes her tenuous position saying, “she succeeds admirably at her task of trying to hold France together (during the french wars of religion). She is a shrewd, intelligent woman” (Lecture: Paris is worth the mass). However, just like Eleanor, this position only came to her because of a close familial relationship with a powerful man. They both ruled through a man’s legitimacy and the respect bestowed on him, not upon them as individuals. In addition to their connections, both Eleanor and Catherine had wealth. Their lands and money made them desirable wives, which is how they found themselves in these positions. This shows a slight advancement because women could inherit money, and therefore power, from their parents. Both Eleanor and Catherine, although they lived nearly 400 years apart, represent a dramatic change in women’s status from the eighth century A.D. Professor Bouley discussed documents from the Abbey of Saint Germain, which omitted to mention the women who lived in the area. The count of women inhabitants was drastically lower than that of men. The reasons for this are not completely clear, but at worst means there was female infanticide, and at best means that they did not seem worthy of mention. In comparison to this attitude, the rules of both Catherine and Eleanor seem like incredible feats. 

The vast majority of women saw little to no advancement in their status because they lived in a society built around the Christian ideal. The Bible at this time was the source of most people’s knowledge and ideas. Many people could not read the Bible themselves; they were illiterate, or getting a copy would be impossible. The powerful men of the papacy interpreted the Bible and, being the most vocal group in Europe, could influence the thinking of millions of people who had no other source of authority or education. The Bible verses I Timothy 2:11-15 outline Christianity’s viewpoint on what a woman should be: “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety” (I Timothy. 11-15, New International Version). The bar for what a woman should be was either in hell or heaven. When a woman did not live up to a virginal goddess’s holiness, she must have been a sinner. Not only men but women too would have believed this. With these kinds of ideas ruling the minds of many, it is not shocking that women were afforded so little autonomy and respect. In 1170 Chrétien de Troyes wrote “Erec and Enide” a chivalric love poem. The poem embodies the idealized gender roles of the time. Based on the story, honor in medieval courts was constructed differently based on gender. Recognition for both men and women came from physical attractiveness and family heritage. Still, men’s honor was based on bravery and winning glory, while women needed to be loyal and loving, not protective or strong. Erec tells Enide “”Take care never to speak to me, unless I address you first”” Enide replies “”sire it shall be done”. She rode ahead and held her peace” (De Troyes 38). Erec’s instruction illustrates how women were expected to be silent, sidelined members of society who stayed in the home and served their husbands. On the one hand, the chivalric romances framed love in a new light. These stories emphasized a code of respect and that men must earn, through a polite code of conduct, the heart of a lady. Two women who are examples of not being a perfect “Enide” are Temple Anneke and Joan of Arc. In 1662 a woman named Tempel Anneke from Brunswick, Germany was accused of witchcraft. Her trial is documented in The Trial of Tempel Anneke. Tempel Anneke, an outsider who did not fit the mold of Enide was killed for divergence from the virginal goddess trope more so than for actually being a threat to society as a witch. When the interrogators question her about the sickness of a cattle group, she replies, “She does not know that. Should she lose her head for that?” (The Trial of Tempel Anneke, 57). Like Joan of Arc, her responses during the interrogation, calling out the men questioning them on the absurdity of the accusations, did not make her an innocent apologetic lady but even scarier than a witch; she was a woman who knew she did nothing wrong. In 1431 Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl who claimed to have visions from God, was captured by the English after successfully leading the French army against England in the fight for Northern France. Like many women known from this time, Joan made it onto textbook pages by gaining the trust of a powerful man, the King of France. Joan’s story ended in tragedy after the English interrogated her in 1431, documented in The Trial of Joan of Arc, and burned her alive for heretical behavior. Would a man have been treated as a criminal or a saint if he had done the same? Joan is the perfect opposite to Enide, pushing aside Erec and going into battle herself. Even more distressing: she won. Women who broke away from the status quo were threats to religious authority and put on trial (without defense) for nonsensical crimes. Without connections and wealth, Anneke and Joan were powerless to a society that gave them no rights, instead deciding their guilt based on fear of abnormal women. 

While women’s cultural influence in the period was stifled by the mentality of the time, a shift in political motivations and new education sources opened the door for change. The beginnings of the separation of church and state interests after The Thirty Years War, the Scientific Revolution, and the printing press all began to liberate Europe from faith-dominated thinking. In many ways, the medieval and biblical ideal of a quiet, pure, and submissive woman is still championed today. We see her everywhere. For example, in the expectations we put on young girls to be kind to a fault and not too loud about their opinions lest they sound “bossy”.

Outside source citations:

Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%202%3A11-15&version=NIV#en-NIV-29728