The Medieval Woman: An Iconography of Extremes

Throughout the Middle Ages, Religious doctrine served as one’s guide for living

a Christian life resulting in entrance to heaven; but also as the foundation for almost all

art and architecture. The symbols utilized within Medieval Christian art and architecture

offer continuity through the meanings they convey. “Visual imagery served an important

role as communication as well as embellishment, as messages as well as adoration”

(Snyder 15). Through focusing on the mages of Medieval women, one may understand

how their representation resulted from Biblical narratives detailing the Virgin Mary’s life

or the life of the first sinner, Eve. Although other examples of Biblical women are

repeated throughout medieval art and architecture, remnants of these two women are

ever-present. Furthermore, it is clear that the drastic portrayal of women affected their

everyday life including their treatment by men and society’s expectations of them.

Although, the depiction of women softened at times during the Middle ages, women were

always looked upon with ambivalence.

Clerical writings from the Middle Ages offer scathing words on the nature of

woman. One section from Marbode, an 11th century bishop, states “ Of the numberless

snares that the crafty enemy [the devil] spreads for us…. the worst is woman, sad stern,

evil root, vicious fount…. honey and poison” (Gies 38). This statement offers the

emotions meant to be felt by a Medieval viewer gazing upon a Cathedral sculptural

programme-representing Woman as sinner. Autun Cathedral shows an Eve on the right

half of a lintel on the north porch slithering through foliage like a serpent across the stone

in search of Adam. One hand is cupper over her mouth signifying that she is calling out

to him, the other reaches behind to grab the apple. Here, she is clearly the embodiment of
“lust and greed” (Snyder 288) and she seems to have transformed herself into the shape

of the serpent. We also see the visual embodiment of Marbode’s description of woman

as “sweet venom”…. honey and poison”. Eve is shown as sensual and beautiful as her

nude form is stretched out for all to see. Her hair is flowing and her face lacks any

monster-like features as seen with other Eves. Her duality is clear, as she is seductively

beautiful and simultaneously deceptive and sinful. Eve’s actions established the “link

between nudity and sexuality” (Nichol 169). Her innate sinfulness ultimately caused the

downfall of man and woman must never be trusted. It was made clear that Eve was

tempted because she is weaker than Adam. Although women’s evilness could not be

helped, they were also looked upon as necessary as they gave birth and were responsible

for the nuturement of their children, however, their sinfulness was viewed as lacking any

remedy.

At Reims Cathedral, we see another Eve, clothed in this example, holding a

serpent. “From the time of Eve, women were known to have fondness for foul things”

(Kraus 41), and here we see her stroking a serpent “adoringly” (Kraus 41). The idea that

Eve and all women thereafter are naturally at ease with evil is repeated in the sculptural

programme of Bordeaux, Church of St. Croix, which exemplifies the Vice of Unchastity

using the representation of a woman with her lover, the devil. There bodies are entwined

with a serpent, which serves to accentuate woman’s ease and intimacy with all things

evil. At Clermont-Ferrand, Notre-dame-du-port, we see the sculptural rendering of Adam

and Eve’s expulsion from Paradise. This representation shows violence toward the

“baleful woman” (Kraus 42). Adam is seen hurling Eve to the ground. He kicks her and

drags her out of the Garden by her hair. Eve is situated low to the ground, below both the
archangel and Adam. The foliage, which surrounds the figures, is very serpent-like and

is reminiscent of the serpents that are frequently cradled by or intertwined with Eve

sculptures of other cathedrals. Sometimes the serpent’s head would be a woman’s to

further stress Eve’s association with sin.

“Virtue is higher than knowledge, or art, said the Middle Ages, it is man’s goal”

(Male 98). Narratives detailing the Virtues and Vices are repeated as sculptural

programmes through many of the Medieval Cathedrals. “From primitive Christian times

the Virtues took concrete and living forms, and were conceived as heroic maidens,

beautiful and simple” (Male 98). At Chartres (built during the 12th century), the

sculptural programme shows both women and men personifying the Virtues and Vices.

Avarice is located on the South porch and central portal. Avarice is personified as a

woman hoarding away coins in her dress and in a chest. An arch supported by columns

frames the figure. Avarice, however, is not always personified by a woman and is

regarded as a typically “male” vice along with pride (Kraus 42). Pride at Charters,

however, is personified by a male who s shown tumbling off his horse. Woman’s most

popular vice was considered to be unchastity and a woman is always shown in the

personification of the sin as seen with the example at Bordeaux. Earlier depictions of the

Vices and Virtues depicted warrior-like maidens as the personifications of all the vices

and virtues, as time passed however, we see both men and women acting out their vices

with women continuing to serve as the personification of the major virtues. Some of the

vices include both men and women.

It was not until the 12th century that the Cult of the Virgin became wildly popular.

It was also during this time, that Courtly love poems came into fruition as well and were
sung “ in all feudal courts of Southern France” ( Kraus 47). It used to be believed that the

Cult was the inspiration for these poems, but this theory has since been rejected in favor

of the notion that the two contradict another entirely. Courtly love revolves around the

issue of adultery, but treats the subject in a more lighthearted manner and looks at it as

“romantic for the upper classes and comic for the lover” ( Gies 45). However, there are

various interpretations, one of which being that courtly love “actually deemphasizes the

woman’s status and makes her more like a Christian sign…something to look through

rather than look at as an end to itself” (Camille 309). This courtly literature did not

perfectly replicate the life of the emerging aristocratic woman, but it was clearly the

product of “growing affluence of the high middle ages” (Gies 48).

Returning to the Cult of the Virgin, which produced a plethora of images of the

Virgin throughout Cathedrals. She was, of course, an unattainable symbol for woman.

During Medieval times, women were judged by their virginity, chastity, and the ability to

become a mother. A “good woman” would have been a nun, wife, or widow at different

stages of her life ( Caviness 2). Like Eve, the extreme example of the Virgin also serves

to remind men and women that woman had to innate power to destroy and tempt, but also

to save others. Mary, although the ultimate symbol of purity and holiness, did not

succeed in empowering women because of her divine characteristic including virgin-

motherhood and a regenerative body. However, she was a mother, which was a role a

medieval woman could fulfill. Although the Virgin was a powerful image repeated

throughout sculptural programmes, stained glass narratives, and painting, as well as the

dedication of countless cathedrals in her honor, her narrative sometimes presented the

Virgin as a passive figure in the presence of Christ and other male figures This may be
the result of the clergy carefully controlling her image. Her image on the portals at

Charters show a Mary functioning as more of a “ motherly intercessor” (Caviness 3) than

the embodiment of the sacramental church. In another porch she is shown as the Bride of

Christ and Queen of Heaven, however her body language does not indicate her holy and

powerful presence as she turns toward her son with downward eyes and bowed head,

According to Madeline Caviness, closed eyes signify the removal of the female

aggression. Returning to her regenerative body, it is also believed that as Mary lay in her

state of dormition or deep sleep, her body would have been perceived as more vulnerable

and fetal-like. This accentuates the desire to render woman as passive as possible, as

their threatening nature was always a concern. (Caviness 8). Although one may often

picture the Virgin enthroned with the Christ Child on her lap symbolizing the ultimate

mother and purity, these previous images of the Virgin tend to soften her power. It must

be noted that at first the Virgin was rarely seen without her child. In the Annunciation

scenes and the Visitation, Mary was shown alone. However, as time progressed, Mary

was emphasized even if she was presented with the Christ Child. The inclusion of scenes

like the Adoration of the Magi within cathedrals was viewed as another excuse for

presenting the image of Mary. This transition in visual portrayal signifies her emerging

role as queen. Soon her miracles appeared and her glory was further exemplified by the

depiction of her coronation. ( Kraus 48). It is with this glorification of Mary, that we

see a shift in the social position of Medieval women. Other representations of women in

medieval art were noticeably less criticizing.

Esther and Judith are women frequently found in 13th century art and are

remembered for their heroic roles. They are also looked upon as providing “ a great
advance in the handling of women” ( Kraus 50). At Chartres, both women are illustrated

through carvings on the north porch. Here, Ester is shown pleading for her people at the

feet of Ahauseurus and Judith is shown as a pious woman as she pours ashes over her

head in preparation for her mission of saving her people through beheading Holofernes.

Such scenes involving women would have been rarer in the 12th century, but several do

exist at Vezelay ( which depicts a triumphant Judith returning from her mission).

These examples of women in medieval art illustrate the complexity of their

position in society. There was no role model for medieval women that they could

successfully emulate and they were forced to live under the assumption of their

sinfulness. Images of Eve exemplified the criticism all women faced and Mary as the

oxymoronic paradigm of what a woman should be: a virginal mother. However,

throughout the middle ages, one may decipher small changes in the way in which women

were presented, as well as an elevation of the Cult of the Virgin. Courtly love provided

insight into the life of the aristocratic woman and offered more light-hearted satirical

imagery. Furthermore, images of men alongside women reiterated the fearfulness

women conjured up in men. This ability to incite fear may be viewed as a source as

power. The portrayal of the Vices and Virtues throughout many medieval cathedrals

illustrates that both men and women sinned, although women had the power to tempt

men into committing sinful behavior. It is in the 13th century, however, that we see the

representation of women as pious hero who serve a positive role model women could

relate with.
 Works Cited

Chapter 3, "Eve and Mary: Conflicting Images of Medieval Woman" in Henry Kraus,
The Living Theatre of Medieval Art (Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press.
1967), 41-62

Chapter 4, "Eve and Mary," in Frances and Joseph Gies, Women in the Middle Ages
(New York: Harper & Row, 1978)

Chapter 7: "Woman on a Pedestal: Courtly Love," in Michael Camille, The Gothic Idol:
Ideology and Image-Making in Medieval Art (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1989

Caviness, Madeline H. Visualizing Women in the Middle Ages: Sight Spectacle, and
Scopic Economy. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press. 2001.

Male, Emile. The Gothic Image. New York: Harper & Row. 1958.

Nichol, John A., "Female Nudity and Sexuality in Medieval Art" in New Images of
Medieval Women: Essays Toward a Cultural Anthropology edited by Edelgard E.
DuBruck (Lewiston: Edward Mellen Press, 1989), 165-181

Snyder. James. Medieval Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 1989.