Role of Women in the Middle Ages

1. Role of Women in the Middle Ages By: Demi Renfro and Autumn Teeters Core 2

2. Noblewomen • Noblewomen were the wives and daughters of the noblemen • They took care of the sick and poor • The noblewomen themselves could own land • They could inherit land from their parents or husbands • When a nobleman was away the women ruled the manor

3. Noblewomen continued • Noblewomen could also send knights into battle

4. Nuns • They lived very simply and could not marry • They also served as doctors • They gave up their life & possessions to live a life in monasteries & convents

5. Serfs • They Would work next to their husband and children all day • If a woman was a merchant they would ply many crafts • They would do weaving and brewing

6. Urban working women • They were also urban working women who worked in the cities. • They were housewives to the master of the house (husbands). • A woman who was married worked in the house of her husband. • When women did work they were paid minimum wage.

7. Wet nurses A wet nurse was a woman who would nurse a baby after its birth. Poor women often had wet nurses so that they could go back to work. Wet nurses were also known as nannies or cleaning women.

8. Peasants • The majority of women were peasants • They have to plant, tend, and harvest at least one good crop • They try to harvest about 2 crops per year • Peasants usually lived in a small town. • They usually lived in a 2 room cottage.

9. Witchcraft • In the middle ages people were scared of witchcraft • They thought that magic was an illusion by the devil • There are 2 kinds of magic: Black magic and White magic • Black magic was about the devil

10. More Witchcraft • White magic was a Christian symbol

11. Websites for information • www.medievalspells.com • www.wikipedia.com • www.roleofwomen.com

12. Questions • What was the class of the majority of women? • What is the difference between black magic and white magic? • What family (class) did nuns usually come from? • What was the job of wet nurses?

13. Answers • The majority of most women were (peasants.) • Black magic is a symbol of the (devil) and white magic is a symbol of (Christianity.) • Nuns usually came from the (noble family.) • Wet nurses usually took care of a baby when it was first born.

14. Church for women • Women were denied official religious roles until, later in the years • Nuns and abbesses worked devoted to extend the influence or the church, their lay sisters remained strictly subordinate to their husband and family.

15. Medieval Queens • Eleanor of castile • Isabella of france • Philippa of Hainault • Mary de Bohum • Catherine of Valois • Margaret of Anjov

16. Video!!!