Womens Status in Anglo-Saxon England free essay sample

Religious sources tell that religious women gained a favored position in church hierarchy and was regarded relatively equal with men in the early period, but their influence declined. Law codes offer a relatively complete picture of the status of women, and they indicate a gradual rise of women’s legal status throughout Anglo-Saxon period. Therefore, while it is hard to say that the Anglo-Saxon period of English history was a golden age for women in the Middle Ages, it is safe to say that the status of secular woman reaches a high point at the end of this period. Narrative sources are valuable since it One important sources that reveals the role of women is narrative sources. Most of these texts emphases on â€Å"great women† who had some impacts on Anglo-Saxon history, and thus do not cover all the women. However, it is valuable to examine the status of women, especially the noble, because it reveals the extant of activities that are available to women in public, political as well as religious field. We will write a custom essay sample on Womens Status in Anglo-Saxon England or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Anglo Saxon Chronicle reveals that the Anglo-Saxon society gives noble women the widest liberty to participate in warfare and politics. For example, in 672, â€Å"Cenwealh, and his queen Seaxburg reigned on year after him. In the seventh century, Cynethryth, the wife of Offa, was an influential queen who had issued coins in her name. In the tenth century, the daughter of Alfred the Great, Aethelflaed married to Ethelred, the ealdorman of Merica. She was the effective power in the land during her husband’s illness and after his death in 911. Aethelfaed carried out a series of military campaigns that pushing back the borders or her land taken by Dane, and laid the foundations of a united English kingdom. At her death in 918, she left a daughter, Aelfwyn, to succeed her. The Chronicle records Aethelflaed’s military victories in such a detached tone that it might suggest that the Anglo-Saxon society was not surprised by the role of women as to lead the nation. Another important narrative accounts that reveal the status of Anglo-Saxon women is Tacitus’s Germania. This text is valuable because it presents a broader view of Germania women instead of some â€Å"representative† as in most other narrative resources, and even though the Anglo-Saxon culture might be different from that observed by Tacitus, his account nevertheless gives us some inspirations about the role of Anglo-Saxon women. Tacitus reveals the high status of women in domestic field. For example, he says â€Å"These are each man’s most sacred witnesses, these are his greatest supporters; It is to their mothers and to their wives that they bring their wounds, and the women do not quake to count or examine their gashes, and they furnish sustenance and encouragement to their fighters. † Moreover, men â€Å"neither reject their advice nor scorn their forecasts. † Germanic women offered the greatest comforts to their sons and husbands and inspired their valour in wars, and they won respect at home and could influence their husbands’ thoughts. Religious sources reveals that women such as Hild, Leoba and countless other nuns and abbesses played important roles in the early church. In Anglo-Saxon period, Nunnery is a place of education and debate, and nuns, many of them of noble birth, are educated women. They received respect and worked with their male colleagues in teaching, writing and translating religious texts. For example, the correspondences between Boniface and Leoba in the eighth century demonstrated the active and respected role of women in church. Leoba accompanied Boniface to pray in German, and their letters reveals the equal respect and warm affection between male and female colleagues and the nuns’ desire to preach. Bede in his book The Ecclesiastical History of the English People records the high –born women who attain high position the church hierarchy. An example of such woman was abbess Hild of Whitby, who was the daughter of Hereric, king Edwin’s nephew. Hild was a great administrator, educator and counselor. She ruled a double monastery composed of men as well as women; She established an educational system that produced five bishops; she acted as advisors that â€Å"so great was her prudence that not only ordinary folk, but kings and princes, used to come and ask her counsel when in difficulties. † Therefore, these narrative sources reveal that at least there was a time in Anglo-Saxon period that women could gain high positions in church, and religious women enjoyed a relatively equal position with their male colleagues. Literary sources reveal a complex picture of the status of women. Beowulf and the wife’s lament shows that women were confined to the roles assigned to them by their culture. Noble women sometimes could not take control of their own destinies, and they became victims of marriage alliance. Anglo-Saxon society is a warrior society where violence occurred frequently, women, especially the nobles were also sent by their kindred or nations as â€Å"peace-weavers† to avoid blood revenge between hostile nations. Such marriage alliance might end wars and bring peace, but if it does not work, these women were placed in tragic dilemmas. In Beowulf, queen Wealtheow was a â€Å"peace-weaver† and her presence alleviates the hatred between two previously hostile countries. She was able to exert a great influence in promoting peace and keep the social harmony. However, in Wife’s Lament, the wife might be a victim of marriage alliance because her lords kinsmen did not want the couple to be reunited and devised plans to keep them on opposite sides of the wide world. The continued separation left the wife heartbroken and longing for her husband. Therefore, these two literary sources present another side of female roles in Anglo-Saxon society. Noble women were sent by their kindred as alliance-makers and had little authority over their lives. The law codes reflects the customs of Anglo-Saxon society and because they aimed at the population as a while. They offer a relatively thorough picture of women’s rights and obligation. Early in Anglo-Saxon period, the law code shows that women’s marriage is more like a purchase. In Aethelbert’s law code 77, it says â€Å"if a man buys a maiden, the bargain shall stand, if there is no dishonesty. Thus marriage was an arrangement in which women had no voice. Later in this period, Cnut passed a law forbidding forced marriage(II Cnut 74). He says that a woman cannot be forced to marry a man she dislike. another, anonymous laws concerning women’s marriage appearing in two twelfth-century manuscript collections of laws forcefully says that women must agree to thei r marriage arrangement. Therefore, that women has some voices in their marriage process in later period shows that they were able to make their decision in life and were not fully dependent on their family. Another great concern associate with women is sexual offence. Women received a harsh penalty on female adultery. While men paid money for their infidelity, women received mutilation (2 Cnut 53). However, even though there exists a considerable inequality in the punishment of sexual offences, Anne L. Klinck argued that severe penalty for female adultery has a long tradition, and mutilation is an alleviation of previous death penalty. Law in later period shows that women could clear themselves from potential complicity in unlawful acts committed by their husband. According to Cnut (II Cnut 76) the wife is required to allow her husband to bring anything he wants to their cottage, but if he bring stolen goods, the wife would not be charged unless the stolen things are found in a place under her lock. Moreover, another later laws claim that a woman who refused to participate in her husband’s illegal activities avoid punishment and received share of their property in marriage as rewards. These laws allows a woman to clear herself, and they shows that women were becoming less subject to male authority in the late Anglo-Saxon period. The law shows that widows gained more rights than any other martial class, and their status improved throughout Anglo-Saxon period. In Aethelberh’s law, compensation was paid for violation of the mund of a widow of the nobility, and it was also extended to widows of the next three classes. Moreover, the laws indicated that if a man takes a widow who does not belong to him, double the value of the mund shall be paid. The large compensation to be paid for violating their mund shows the particular protection that widow received. However, such payment went to her kindred instead of the woman herself. In the later law codes of Aethelred, widows were placed under the protection from church and state. For example, in VI Aethelred 39, it states â€Å"if anyone injures a nun or does violence to a widow, he shall make amends to the utmost of his ability both toward church and state. † Such distant protection helps the widows get rid of direct male control, and thus allow them to attain more independence in their lives. The law protected a woman’s property rights upon the death of her husband if children were born in their marriage. According to Aethelberht’s law, a woman who kept the children could receive half of the couple’s property after the death of her husband. Ine’s law indicated that six shilling be given every year for support of the children. Besides those benefits, widows’ kindred could maintain the late husband’s house for widow and her children until each child reach maturity. With their inherited property, widows were becoming attractive marriage prospects and were able to start a new life. Business documents shows that women could own and dispose of their property. In the dispute between Wynflaed and Leofwin (990), Wynflaed bring her case to court and attempt to recover an estate seized by Leofwine. She won the lawsuit. Such case provided the holding of property by women in late period, but it seem that women needed a strong support from a powerful male to settle the lawsuit. Moreover, several marriage contrasts in late Anglo-Saxon period indicated the rise of women’s basic rights. In one Kentish marriage agreement dating from the first quarter of the eleventh century, the lady received immediate endowment of a very plentiful kind, and succeeds to the whole property if she outlives her husband. Moreover, the Anglo-Saxon will shows that in late period, widows had gained certain control over landed property. Since they are only allow to inherit movable property in Aethelberht’s time, the rights to inherit real property offers them more financial independence and allows them to exert more power as to sue in court, as well as conduct transactions with their property. However, business documents reveals an incomplete picture of the legal status of women. First of all, the charters and wills usually were made by noble women. Besides, on the even of Norman arrival, no more than five percent of total hidage of ladn recorded was in the women, and of that five percent, 80-85% was in the hands of only eight women. women are still in an inferior position and their opportunity of accessing real property was rare. Moreover, even for the women who grant plenty of land, it might not under their disposal if their family ties the succession with future inheritance, and regards the woman as conduit of land rather than as heirs. An example is Aelfgar in the mid tenth century. Aelfgar left considerable real property to his two daughters, but tied them to her grand-children. The case suggests the manipulation of female inheritance in political ways. Therefore, women’s landholding and inheritance practice might fail to provide strong evidence for the status of women in Anglo-Saxon society. Anglo-Saxon period cover five hundred years in English history, and woman’s role evolve gradually. The available narrative and literary resources concerned mainly noble women, and their description of these women varies individually. Religious sources shows a general high status of religious women in Anglo-Saxon society.