Status of women in church and society in the Middle ages in Christianity

INTRODUCTION
Women played strong and vibrant roles in all areas of society throughout the middle Ages,
although these roles have often been overlooked both in scholarship and in popular thought.
It is not surprising that a religion promising equality for all - old and young, rich and poor,
male and female -quickly became popular, and remained popular, with women. The place of
women in the medieval Church was especially influential and has been quite misunderstood.
From the earliest years of Christianity, women religious were actively writing, teaching,
praying, even as their masculine counterparts did. The years 500 to 1500 almost all
missionary activity was carried out by male monastic orders, though women were active in
early monasticism and its mission, the women’s orders became more and more cloistered by
the Middle Ages.
Status of women in Christian Society
"According to the Catholic faith, which considered the woman as a second class citizen, very
little care and attention was given to her."In 1586 a conference was held in France to decide
whether women should be considered as human beings or not. The conference came to a
conclusion that:"Woman is a human being, but she is created to serve man."For this very
reason, the physical relationship between man and woman has traditionally been labeled as
"filthy" or "dirty" even if it were officially done and performed within a legitimate marriage
contract.
"A married woman has no right to grant, transfer, bond, own with or without payment,
without her husband's participation in the sale contract, or his written consent to it, regardless
of whether the marriage contract stipulated that there should be a complete separation
between the husbands and wife's possessions and ownership of various items". Furthermore,
a married woman loses her surname (family's name) as soon as she enters into a marriage
contract. A married woman shall carry the family name of her husband.
Status of Women in Church
Throughout the Church's history, women have been considered inferior by nature and by law.
Greek philosophy, which was adopted by Christians, held women to be inferior to men by
nature. Roman law, which became the basis for the Church's laws, gave women a low status
in society. Women did not enjoy equal rights in their homes and in civic society. Some
Fathers of the Church linked women's presumed inferior status to scriptural texts: only the
man, they said, was created in God's image.
The wife was the property of her husband and completely subjected to his disposition. He
could punish her in any way he liked. As far as family property is concerned the wife herself
did not own anything. Everything she or her children inherited belonged to her husband,
including also the dowry which she brought with her to her marriage.
The Fathers of the Church saw woman as inferior
“It is the natural order among people that women serve their husbands and children their
parents, because the justice of this lies in (the principle that) the lesser serves the greater. This
is the natural justice that the weaker brain serve the stronger. “Nor can it be doubted, that it is
more consonant with the order of nature that men should bear rule over women, than women
over men. It is with this principle in view that the apostle says, "The head of the woman is the
man;" and, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands." So also the Apostle Peter
writes: "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord." “The Apostle wants women who
are manifestly inferior, to be without fault, in order that the Church of God be pure”.
Confirmation of the inferior status of women was often seen in the belief that only man, not
woman, had been created in God's image.
Early ‘Church Orders’ and women's lower statuses
The prejudice about women's inferiority is also reflected in some of the rules laid down for
women in Church practice.“If the "man be the head of the woman," and he be originally
ordained for the priesthood, it is not just to abrogate the order of the creation, and leave the
principal to come to the extreme part of the body. For the woman is the body of the man,
taken from his side, and subject to him, from whom she was separated for the procreation of
children. For says He, "He shall rule over there." For the principal part of the woman is the
man, as being her head.
Theologians accepted the inferiority of women
The Theologians of the middle Ages, who accepted both Greek philosophy, Roman Law, the
teaching of the Fathers and Church Canons as valid sources for their reasoning’s, inherited
the prejudice of women's inferiority.“On account of three reasons the man is said to be an
image of God and not the woman. “Women cannot carry any public responsibility. Women
cannot hold any civil office. Nature produced women for this purpose that they give birth to
children. The man is the image of God. The womb is the soil in which the seed grows etc.”
Women are not perfect members of the church, only men are.”That is why a woman must be
subject to man and be as his slave, and not the other way about” For men are origin and goal
of woman, just as God is origin and goal of the whole creation. Therefore the Apostle adds to
the words, ‘Man is the image and reflection of God but woman is the glory of man,’ the
reason for this (1 Cor. 11:8f.). ‘For the man does not come from the woman but the woman
from man. Neither was man created for woman but woman for man.”
According to the Bible in Middle Ages
Eve was created from Adam's beam and, having eaten the forbidden fruit, was responsible for
man's exclusion from paradise. In medieval art, the responsibility of women for this 'original
sin’ is often emphasized by giving a female head to the serpent who tempts Eve to disobey
God. The story underlined the belief that women were inferior to men, and that they were
morally weaker and likely to tempt men into sin.

Throughout the middle Ages, the place of women in society was often dictated by biblical
texts. The writings of the apostle Paul, in particular, emphasized men's authority over women,
forbidding women from teaching, and instructing them to remain silent. However, the Virgin
Mary was a contrast to this negative image: as the mother of Christ, she was the channel
through which Christians might be saved. She was sometimes described as the 'second Eve',
as she was seen to have made up for Eve's sins. Throughout the middle Ages, Mary was seen
as the most powerful of all saints, as well as a strong (if paradoxical) model of chastity and
motherhood.
Women and Power in middle Ages
Yet however powerful some women were in the Middle Ages, it is important to remember
that the overwhelming majority were not. Most women, even those in privileged
circumstances, had little control over the direction their lives took. The marriages of young
aristocratic women were usually arranged by their families. Once widowed, such women had
legal independence and, in many instances, sovereignty over considerable financial resources.
Almost all female orders required women to live behind the walls of a monastery or within an
individual cell, living a life of contemplation, prayer and work. Wealthy women had servants,
who assisted them with cooking, cleaning and childcare, and so were left time to engage in
other pursuits. Popular diversions for aristocratic women included religious activities,
hunting, dancing and playing games.
Women in Christianity
Common belief holds that women have often been excluded, marginalized, or silenced in the
Christian tradition from its inception. From St. Paul's first-century teaching that "women are
to remain silent in church" to the more recent Southern Baptist censure of female pastors,
many women have found a less than welcoming presence in Christianity, particularly in
leadership positions. Fortunately, recent work in history has uncovered a more varied role for
women in the Church, from antiquity through the Middle Ages and throughout the nineteenth
and early twentieth century’s. Theological studies have worked to present a more accurate
view of Christ's teachings and treatment of women, and have sought to separate patriarchal
cultural constraints from the Gospel message and vision of the Church for all genders and
races. This listing of websites includes both traditional and reconstructed views of women in
the Christian tradition, from the Bible through the present day.
Church and Society
In the early Middle Ages women of childbearing age were in short supply, and this enhanced
their value in marriage, so that they could demand a larger dowry from prospective husbands.
Noble families, wealthy town dwellers, and the more prosperous peasants had more children
than the poor did. As infant mortality was high, large families were essential.
Earlier, when monasteries were so central to the church, women had been prioresses and
abbesses of important nunneries; now church leadership became increasingly male. To escape
from this dominance, convents were established throughout the thirteenth century, but they
were made subordinate to the male religious orders. Since Christianity associated nakedness
with shame and sexual licentiousness, society developed strong dress signals to distinguish
between the sexes at a glance. In the thirteenth century this need to obscure the body was
combined with an aesthetic impulse to initiate through tailoring a concept of “fashion,” which
in turn became related to luxury. Though the role of women was ambivalent and changing,
two developments brought the idea of womanhood into prominence.
Conclusion
Women in church and society ask for full participation on different levels. In this respect
Christian communities around the world are at a crossroad. It is possible to continue the
status; it is possible to stick to the old hierarchical model which assigns a place to women in
the precincts or in the gallery. We are called to be partners of God in his continuing work of
transformation. We live in an interdependent world of many cultures and social groupings.
Among people there is a great longing for freedom amidst oppression and humiliation. In our
struggles we are strengthened by a vision of a new creation. We are encouraged to learn how
to be partners with God, with the creation and among ourselves. Christ liberates us from
every obstacle which hinders us from becoming partners. A new focus of this relationship is
in Jesus Christ who sets us free for others. Their gifts and talents represent a great potential
which has not yet been discovered and used fully.
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