| Papers [1-15] of 100 :: [Page 1 of 7] | | Go to page : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 —> | Search results on "WOMEN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY": |
|
|
Women in Medieval European Society, 2004.
An analysis of women in medieval European society.
1,440 words (approx. 5.8 pages), 8 sources, MLA, $ 47.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper presents a balanced representation of the position of women in medieval society. The paper analyzes the three classes of women, as throughout history, class has been the determinant factor contributing to social place, responsibility, and opportunity. Women of the nobility, middle-class, and peasant status are discussed with regard to their position in society. The status of women in these three classes is explored in accordance with legal, as well as customary, tradition in an attempt to reduce generalizations and falsehoods.
From the Paper
"Within our society there is a fascination with the special position of women in nearly every period of history. Perhaps this fascination with the past is rooted in our constant hope to prove social progress. "Social history aids in understanding women's condition in any age; it is particularly essential for comprehending women in the Middle Ages, an era remote enough from our own so that common social presumptions do not pertain." The danger then becomes a tendency to generalize a condition that is somehow much worse than our present social position. The necessity of the historian is to offer a responsible representation of history. Women throughout history have been dominated by the customs of their status and also the legality of there state. Yet, it remains to be proven, without contention that the real lives of women were better of worse, at any given period in history, unless the template for such judgment is based upon modern idealistic ideas of social reform and civil liberties."
| |
|
Women in Medieval Society, 2006.
A discussion on the stereotype of women in medieval society.
861 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 30.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper, by looking at primary sources from the time, explores woman, both conventional and unconventional, and their roles in their societies. It compares several female historical figures to the accepted stereotype of women in the middle ages.
From the Paper
"The concept of respectable, independent womanhood in medieval Europe is a trivialized one. The common view of women can be seen in such readings as "The Wife of Bath's Tale" from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The average woman of the time would not see much freedom of action if she were not a somewhat well to do widow. However, this does not mean that women with a certain amount of freedom during the Middle Ages were not all bawdy widows. Medieval women could and did gain power in their own right through social status and access to influential men as well as the special few who were able to use their higher learning to their advantage."
| |
|
Women in Early Medieval Society, 2006.
This paper looks at how, during the early medieval period, women had few opportunities to advance in society due to the strict rules that governed them.
1,695 words (approx. 6.8 pages), 9 sources, MLA, $ 54.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explains that, although there were a few women who were writers, artists, religious leaders and even saints, the vast majority of women during the medieval period, whether they were upper class, merchant class or peasants, were expected to perform domestic functions with their chief duty being reproduction and the care of children. The author stresses that one of the key problems women faced in any situation was simply the belief of their inferiority derived from a strict adherence to religion in which women were overtly blamed for Eve's sin. The paper relates that the restrictions, which kept aristocratic women on their estates and merchant women in their shops, did not apply to peasant women who enjoyed greater freedom of movement; however, peasant women did not have real rights or opportunities to improve their status in any way because they were limited by a lack of education, which would have been deemed unnecessary, and a lack of money.
From the Paper
"One of the key problems with evaluating women's position in medieval society is simply a lack of available information. Very little has survived in written form from the period and what does exist does not mention women very frequently. The job of the scholar is to read what little material is available and read and study between the lines of written documents and artistic renderings of the period to determine exactly what role women were playing in the society. Women had no independence of thought or idea, but once married or connected to a religious order, they could hold quasi-positions of leadership."
| |
|
A Comparison of Modern and Medieval Society, 2001.
This paper compares medieval society to modern society in 'The Canterbury Tales' and 'The General Prologue'.
715 words (approx. 2.9 pages), 0 sources, MLA, $ 25.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper is a historical examination of medieval society and modern society. It discusses 'The General Prologue' and 'The Canterbury Tales' and how they portray these societies. It describes the classes of those times and the positions that people filled in society such as: Friars, nobleman, clergymen and cowards. It details the story of a friar who used his St. Augustian ways for his benefit as well as the church's benefit.
From the Paper
"One of the chief contributions that Geoffrey Chaucer made to the historical world through ?The Canterbury Tales? is that he gives what is believed to be the most detailed and honest cross-section of medieval society. Historians who study the language and details of ?The Canterbury Tales? and ?The General Prologue? can see parallels between medieval society and modern society. Some tradesmen are honest while some overcharge for their services. There are nobleman and cowards. There are gruff lower class workers and students who are poor at the time but will have great jobs when they are done with school. There are also clergymen who give their life for the church but also religious folk who are as conniving and immoral as an everyday crook. The friar, who disregards many of St. Augustine?s rules for monastic life, is one of the clergymen who fits into the latter category."
| |
|
Women in Medieval Times, 2004.
An exploration of the general identity of women in medieval times.
2,473 words (approx. 9.9 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 75.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper looks at women in medieval times and investigates the situations and cultural influences that paved the way toward change. It focuses on Frankish and Anglo-Saxon societies in the early Middle Ages in which women of that period were first distinguished in society because of their birth. It analyzes the lives of women born in the royal families and in the upper classes compared to the lives of the lower-class women. It examines how marriage was also a factor of division among medieval women and, in particular, looks at queens, wives, widows, concubines, and nuns.
Outline
Introduction
Women?s Lives
The Upper Classes
Monastic Life
Conclusion
From the Paper
"The family structure in the early Middle Ages was patriarchal. Women had rights as a person, who distinguished them from slaves, but they were not allowed to appear in political formality, such as in front of a judge in order to defend those rights. Women could not administrate directly their patrimony, and laws about heredity were not favorable to them. Women belong to their parents while they were maturing and to their husbands after they were married. According to Germanic laws, marriage was most often arranged between the woman?s tutor and her future husband who gave on that occasion a bride gift. From the basis of Germanic law, a marriage which followed this formula was the only one to be completely valid in Germanic society."
| |
|
Medieval Societies, 2005.
This paper discusses some works of medieval literature that focus on medieval warrior societies.
1,800 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 63.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper studies Chretien De Troyes "Arthurian Romances", Seamus Heaney's "Beowulf" and other medieval literature that focus on medieval warrior societies, particularly concepts of heroism, ethics and spirituality as illustrated in the works.
From the Paper
"Medieval societies during the era of Beowulf and the Arthurian Romances were undergoing transformation from pagan illiterate societieswhere codes of conduct governed social relations and together with reason brought happiness. The warrior societies described in Chretien de Troyes' "Arthurian Romances" and Seamus Heaney's "Beowulf" along with other literature of the medieval era, show the ideals of reason and code of conduct as the foundation of human happiness. The character of Beowulf clearly expresses this ideal."
| |
|
Women in Medieval Europe, 2004.
A look at the difficulties of finding reliable historical information about the lives of women in medieval Europe.
1,584 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 51.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
A discussion of the lack of source material available when exploring the lives of women in medieval Europe. It focuses on the book by Emilie Amt, "Women?s Lives in Medieval Europe". It explains that most of the material available was written from a male perspective and that a true history of these women's lives is hard to come by.
From the Paper
"Out of necessity, history or an ?aggregate of past events,? must be built primarily on written materials. Oral histories and storytelling can provide input on a specific period of time. Yet, one can only assume that that the facts are altered through the generations from one tale relating to another. Of course, no one can assume that everything or even almost everything that is written is true. Just look at the variety of materials on the Internet to clarify that! However, some written materials are accurate, or nearly so, and give historians a place to start."
| |
|
Women in Medieval English Literature, 2002.
An exploration of the role of women in medieval English literature through the examination of different works such as "Beowulf", "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and many other religious and secular lyrics.
1,927 words (approx. 7.7 pages), 12 sources, MLA, $ 61.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper attempts to recognize the modern vision of an ?empowered woman? in medieval English literature since numerous female characters, both religious and secular, demonstrate a power far beyond the traditional sphere of the subservient woman. Examples of such women are the Virgin Mary who appears in many works and the female characters in "Beowulf".
From the Paper
"The medieval romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight also presents the Virgin Mary as a key figure, able to influence men for the better by personifying Christian values, ?representing spiritual love, chastity, obedience and life?(Arkin). At his moment of testing, Gawain draws strength from the image of the Virgin Mary etched on his shield. Mary?s symbolic power, here, is as important as her power to act ? merely seeing her face is a reminder of the courtly ideal. The effects of Mary on medieval literature, as intermediary, voluntary mother, and representative of Christianity, should not be underestimated."
| |
|
Women in Medieval Society, 2005.
Discussion of the roles of women in medieval society in relation to the female characters in Geoffrey Chaucer's "General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales."
1,355 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 45.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses the place in medieval society of the characters, The Prioress and The Wife of Bath, in Chaucer's "General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales." Extracts from the text are given to illustrate the characters as created by Chaucer. Relevant historical information is given about the attitudes towards women and the places these characters would have held in their social hierarchy.
From the Paper
"Medieval society differs greatly from the modern society of today, especially in the treatment of women. The most common attitude towards women in the medieval period was that they were looked down upon and treated as if having the lowest position in society. This attitude is reflected in Geoffrey Chaucer's General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. The only women on the pilgrimage to Canterbury are the Prioress, who was a nun of a high position, another nun acting as the Prioress' chaplain, and the Wife of Bath. The second nun, the chaplain, is only mentioned briefly in the General Prologue, while a great amount of detail is given to the Prioress and to the Wife of Bath. Both the Prioress and the Wife of Bath are scrutinized in their descriptions. Both are characterized as being extremely vain; although other characters are also portrayed with vanity, it is significant that both women are."
| |
|
The Royal Women of Medieval Europe, 2007.
This paper analyzes the role of royal women, including their power and influence, in medieval Europe.
1,853 words (approx. 7.4 pages), 12 sources, MLA, $ 59.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper considers the role of royal medieval women, including their political and religious influence. The author presents a country by country analysis of royal families in medieval Europe, explaining the traditions of succession in each of these countries, and whether or not women could ascend to the throne in these kingdoms. The author concludes that women had political weight during this time. They contributed, even if sometimes indirectly, to the evolution of the states where they lived and they made themselves a place in history.
From the Paper
"The queens of medieval Western Europe were present in almost each and every state, from the Scandinavian kingdoms to Spain and from England to Hungary. Their power was sometimes only in name, other times they had the real attributes of the kings. They got involved in political battles and plots, being (in some of the cases) real partners of their kings and having specific duties or true rulers, in name and in fact, of their empire. The medieval Byzantium is a stage for powerful empresses, from Theodora, in the sixth century and Irene, in the eighth to Anne of Savoy, in the fourteenth century. The first two empresses played an important part in the iconoclastic debate, their role being grounded in the "interstices of Byzantine society, in myths, in liturgical practices and religious beliefs and the symbols surrounding them, which they could draw upon" . Acting on two contemporary "stages" - the religious influence and the direct ruling, the empresses of the Eastern Roman Empire constituted exceptional figures, influencing and directing the politics of their times."
| |
|
The Black Death and its Effects on Medieval Societies, 2003.
This essay talks about society before, during and after the Black Plague that swept through Europe in 1348. It covers a broad range of cultural aspects affected from class structure to medical theories to religion to city planning.
2,871 words (approx. 11.5 pages), 7 sources, MLA, $ 85.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses society in medieval Europe and the effects the Black Plague of 1348 had on it. The writer discusses society beforehand, noting the population explosion shortly before it hit. The writer briefly talks about the pathology of the disease and discusses some theories as to what the Black Plague was actually caused by (recent theories rule out the bubonic plague alone). The paper also discusses the impact the plague had on medical theories and also the method used by doctors and surgeons. The paper then analyzes the ways in which people of different classes reacted to the plague and the precautions everyday people took to prevent the disease from afflicting them. Noted are also the the religious shifts in dogma, the religious groups that emerged out of the plague and the class system before and after the plague. Lastly the writer discusses the changes in the arts because of the plague, and how it ultimately affected medieval Europe to the point of it stirring the beginnings of the Renaissance almost 200 years later.
From the Paper
"To truly understand the devastation caused by the Black Death in the mid-fourteenth century, one need only look at the writing of Agnolo di Tura, a Tuscan chronicler of the time: I do not know where to begin to tell of the cruelty and the pitiless ways. It seemed that almost everyone became stupefied by seeing the pain. And it is impossible for the human tongue to recount the awful truth.... [T]he victims died almost immediately. They would swell beneath the armpits and in their groins and fall over while talking. Father abandoned child, wife husband, one brother another; for this illness seemed to strike through breath and sight?. [T]hey died by the hundreds, both day and night, and all were thrown in those ditches and covered with earth. And as soon as those ditches were filled, more were dug. And I, Agnolo di Tura?buried my five children with my own hands?And so many died that all believed it was the end of the world (qtd. Gottfried 45). This horrific pestilence, wiping out an estimated third of the entire population of Europe, has been claimed by many scholars to mark a transition in medieval society, affecting everything from art to wages to religious thought. The point of this essay is to try and highlight the more obvious trends that arose in post-plague society and to demonstrate how, at the very least, these trends may be direct effects of arguably the worst natural disaster in recorded history. "
| |
|
Urban Life of Medieval Societies, 2000.
This paper is about the main differences between two examples of urban life in medieval Italy.
1,245 words (approx. 5.0 pages), 1 source, $ 42.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper looks at the urban life during the middle ages. It covers the main differences in the urban life of members of two different social classes, the merchant class and the noble class.
From the Paper
"The middle ages were not only about knighthood and chivalry. That was only one aspect. There was also a thriving trade, where merchants and businessmen made livings on the flourishing trade routes through many large cities all throughout Europe. In the diaries of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati, we are able to peer into what it must have been like to live in urban medieval Europe. Each man had a different approach to how they made a living, and it is interesting to see how an urban person not of noble blood was able to make a decently good life for himself. Pitti made his way through gambling, selling wool, and performing favors for people in high places, among other things. Dati was a true businessman, venturing into many business operations and succeeding most of the time. From the businesses they undertook to the way the led their everyday life, the accounts of these men?s lives are very similar in many ways to the life of William Marshal. Basically the only difference between these two social classes is the occupations of the members of each social class."
| |
|
Medieval Aristocratic Women, 2004.
This paper offers a discussion of women's roles in the medieval period.
2,475 words (approx. 9.9 pages), 10 sources, MLA, $ 87.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
In this essay, the writer studies the roles of women during the medieval period. The writer focuses on aristocratic women of the medieval period. In researching this background, the writer explores the social history and development leading to the feminist tradition. The writer examines the roots of the feminist tradition in the Western culture.
From the Paper
"The purpose of this research is to examine the roots of the anti-feminist tradition in Western culture with reference to the position of aristocratic women in society in the medieval period. The plan of the research will be to set forth the historiographical background against which this issue can be investigated and then to discuss possible lines of social development that can help explain the evidence of the distinction to be made between the medieval women, who as a group appear to have exercised a significant degree of personal ... "
| |
|
"Strong of Body, Brave and Noble: Chivalry and Society in Medieval France", 2002.
Reviews this book by Constance Britain Bouchard.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 4 sources, $ 35.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper presents a book review of "Strong of Body, Brave and Noble: Chivalry and Society in Medieval France" by Constance Britain Bouchard (Cornell University Press: 1998). The book is a synthesis of recent scholarship and focuses on new interpretations and research presented in a manner accessible to undergraduates.
| |
|
"Medieval Women" by Eileen Power, 2001.
This paper reviews the book, "Medieval Women" by Eileen Power, which pieces together the often-fragmented histories of medieval women using a variety of primary sources.
750 words (approx. 3.0 pages), 1 source, $ 26.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explains that, according to Eileen Power in ?Medieval Women?, early social notions regarding the nature of women and their role in society were created by the two most powerful classes of the age, the Church and the aristocracy, and only later were modified slightly by the urban middle class, which rose to prominence in the later Middle Ages. The author points out that, in the area of home and marriage, Power uses letters, wills, and household inventories to support her depiction of women. The paper relates that, because the proportion of women to men was greater within the noble ranks, many women were unable to wed; therefore, for them, monasticism was the only alternative to marriage.
From the Paper
"A considerable portion of the book is spent discussing various facets of the medieval lady?s life and when the bourgeois and peasants are discussed she often presents them in contrast to the noble woman. Many accounts of medieval women nobility often present only one view of their experience, depicting either a fanciful and luxurious life or the bleakness of being regarded as chattel. Fortunately Power draws from the writings of Christine De Pisan, one of the rare women of the Middle Ages to earn a living solely through her writing, to address the way in which the romanticized chivalry of the age overshadows the reality of their existence."
|
|
|
