Eve, Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary - Medieval Women and Gender Roles

Week 7: Relics and Devotional Life / Medieval Men and Women - Tutorial Discussion Post
By: Emily, Jessica and Claire

Here are some photos to show the duties and tasks of the Medieval woman.

Emily

I was so excited about this week's readings. I am so glad I chose gender for my research assignment and am so excited to get started. I especially found the view of women in Christian theology of most interest. It is interesting to see how women were categorized as the source of sin. I also found Mary Magdalene's story interesting, as she became the example that most women could imitate, as she was a sinner like most humans.

Claire

Women in the medieval west were seen through the ideas of the Bible and Christian tradition. That is, they were regarded as morally and physically weaker and thus were treated so. When I was studying the lives and duties of these women I thought it was interesting to note that nearly all our information and primary sources about the lives of women in this era was written by upper class men or priests. Also, that 90% of these women were peasants so it is valid to wonder about how accurate the information on the lives of these women is, as well as that the vast majority of women lived their lives by the hand of their husband and duties as a wife and mother.

The first readings of this week were on the relics and devotional life of women. Two of the most famous women that we researched are the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. Mary was revered during this period as she was the unattainable idea, being both a virgin and a mother. However, despite her sinlessness, Mary Magdalene was shown greater reverence and held in greater glory as she was a “everywoman” and a repentant sinner, so for most women of this period, they could easily relate to her.

How women lived and survived at this time was for many a struggle, against the men whom they belonged too, whether it was a husband, father or uncle and against the restrictions and limitations that society and the Church forced upon them. However, some women managed to rise above this and inspired other women to push the boundaries.

Jessica

This week’s readings are all about the lives of women in the Middle Ages. There is a strong focus on marriage and the roles of women depending on their sexual status (either as virgins, wives or widows), but there is also a bit of a focus on religious women and how laywomen were expected to behave based on these role models.

The first reading is a compilation of religious excerpts describing the roles of women such as the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene and Scholastica, who, as some us hopefully all remember, was Benedict’s sister. The original sin of Eve is portrayed as woman’s ‘betrayal’ of man, leading people of the Middle Ages to believe the idea that man is superior to woman. However, the status of women is somewhat redeemed by the Virgin Mary, pure and wholesome, both virgin and mother of God.

Mary was an unrealistic role model for women in that she is an ‘unattainable ideal’, but Mary Magdalene, an extreme sinner who was redeemed by Christ, offered a more identifiable character. The writings (mostly by men) state that, even though she had sinned quite a lot, she was able to become one of Christ’s top followers.

Marriage and the roles of sex are visited later in the readings. It was generally seen that sex was a bestial act, a sin unless for the purpose of procreating even within a marriage. It was forbidden to engage in sexual relations when one was barren or pregnant, as they could not lead to offspring (and sex during the latter state could taint the baby). It was also illegal to engage in sexual relations during menstruation – people feared that any child conceived during this time would be an abomination!

It is very interesting to look back upon the role of marriage in the Middle Ages – women were basically prizes bestowed upon men who were, on average, ten years older than them. They were slaves to their husband and had to obey them completely – something we now think of as barbaric. Marriage was the only option for women, who (in the upper classes) didn’t work unless it was some kind of needlework to keep their hands busy and chase away idle thoughts.

Tutorial Discussion Questions:

Emily

Q1. From your reading of the documents, what view of women is implied in Christian Theology? 

From the readings, I found that most women were viewed in a contradictory light. Christianity preached equality, however, women were seen as morally and physically weaker then men. They were also perceived through the role which Eve played. She was made through Adam and was, as stated in the bible, his 'helper'. Evidently, roughly 90% of European women lived in the countryside dependent upon the land. Furthermore, the readings brought to my attention that society put full responsibility of mankind's sin on women. It was Eve who took the first bite of the forbidden fruit. In this way, women were seen as the source of all sin and were thus disrespected. However, some argue (such as St. Clair) that it was also a woman who restored life. Mary was chosen by God to give birth to Jesus Christ who evidently suffered and died for us. On the other hand, Mary was an ' unattainable’ ideal for women in the Middle Ages to follow. Moreover, women could also live a religiously individual lifestyle, although 

parallel to male religious orders.

Claire

Question 2: How are women such as Eve, Mary, Mary Magdalene and Scholastica characterised in these texts?

Women in the Medieval period were regarded as morally and physically weaker, and constantly tempted by desires, always needing protection and supervision by their men to ensure they did not sin. However, some women exceeded expectations for their lives and became saints in the eyes of Christians. Eve was the first women, made from one of the ribs of Adam, and is the mother of all living things. The story of Eve is how the serpent beguiled her into eating a piece of fruit from the tree of knowledge and then gave some to her husband. This act led God to punish them for their disobedience and punish them with the need to toil for their food for the rest of their lives. This story is told to highlight the inherent weakness of women. The virgin Mary is characterised as the “unattainable ideal” as she was both the mother of Jesus yet still a virgin, therefore, sinless. Virgins in this time were held with reverence, for their innocence, so Mary being both a mother and a virgin was an ideal woman. However, Mary Magdalene was a wealthy and beautiful woman who gave into her pleasures and desires and repeatedly sinned, however, she repented her sins and preached Christ fervently and performed miracles in the name of God. Mary was held in greater glory as she was a everywoman and managed to repent her sins and became a saint. Scholastica, who as we know was Benedict’s sister, would be visited by her brother once a year, and would spend the night in prayers and spiritual talk and praise. She is characterised as a revered and divine woman who lived her life with the preaching of Christ and without sin, and at the time of her death ascended to heaven to the almighty God.

Emily

Q3. From these sources, do you think that sexuality was understood in positive or negative terms? From the sources, I think that women were seen in a negative perspective. Men in the Middle Ages put women into categories. They defined them by their body, gender and through their relationships. They often put women in a sexual status such as virgin, wife or widow. Women were generally not to be heard off. They were to keep their aspirations and opinions to themselves, having utmost obedience towards their brother, father and husband. Furthermore, there was no such thing as love. Women were given into marriage by their father in order to resolve issues with certain family households. In this way, a women was expected to accept the man whom her father chose. Generally the man was roughly ten years older than her. ' She was the embodiment of peace' (page 288) and was expected to maintain harmony between the two families. The only time a woman was allowed to speak against her husband was the refusal of sex whilst pregnant. They believed to have sex whilst pregnant was a grave sin and that the child would be born deformed or shamed. In addition, women were not physiologically mature enough to get married and have children roughly at the ages of 17 to 18.

Jessica

Q3. From these sources, do you think sexuality was understood in positive or negative terms? Sexuality was viewed in an entirely negative light. The only good to come of it was producing children and thus it was illegal to use contraception or in any other way try to prevent impregnation.

Jessica

Q4. What impediments does Klapisch-Zuber see to studying the lives and experiences of medieval women?

Klapisch-Zuber states that it is difficult to study fully the lives of medieval women as many records only pertain to the upper classes, and inaccurate records hinder the process even further. While birth records describe large amounts of children in families, it is very hard to know how many survived their parents, or, in fact, their first few years of life. Personal journals are some of the main sources relied upon, and these may be incorrect or misleading for any number of reasons.

Claire

Question 5: How does Klapisch-Zuber describe the duties of wives in the Middle Ages?

Wives in the Middle Ages, whether they were a peasant or noble born, were responsible for the domestic duties, maintenance of the household and their children. A good wife was a sensible, sweet and temperate women who would regulate the circulation of good within the household, raise the children and teach them the rudiments of reading. She also had to ensure that the house was well maintained, and that when her husband came home, there was dinner of the table and the “pleasures of a hot bath”.  The wife was also expected to direct the servants, if they had them, and punish them if required and to be an example of piety and goodness to the household and ensure they were never insubordinate to her husband. In their spare time, to ensure they were not ideal, they were expected to spin and weave so their hands and “foolish minds” were always occupied. As this shows the women of the Middle Ages had extensive duties and responsibilities in their homes. 

** All questions, comments and reflections welcome ***