Post 2 - T.R

Women in the middle Ages were destined to be nothing more than a housewife. A woman was a piece of property for men. As a child women belonged to her father or brother depending on who was head of the household. Later, when she was old enough to marry she would belong to her husband or son if something were to happen to her husband. Women were eligible of being educated or work because society believed that would not allow women to concentrate more on house work. However, women had the alternative of becoming nuns and not get married in order to receive education. The type of women that were able to do live in a convent were typically from a higher class. Chadwick states, “within the convent women had access to learning even though they were prohibited from teaching by St. Paul’s caution that ‘a woman must be a learner, listening quietly and with due submission. I do not permit a woman to be a teacher, nor must a woman domineer over a man; she should be quiet.” (Chadwick, 45) Society at this time had two very distinguishing roles for men and women where men were dominant of women. Women had no say in this decision or in their lives.

                Life of a woman in convents was very different from a housewife, but they were still given no rights. Besides being educated, women were mandated to compose, copy, and illuminate manuscripts. Since there was never any record of who composed these manuscripts, however, women were not given any credit for this at all. Another interesting regulation about entering a convent was that you were immediately considered being part of that religion. Chadwick states, “the presence of well-endowed convents during the eleventh and twelfth centuries encourages large number of women to take up religious lives; cults of female saints proliferated alongside the cult of the Blessed Virgin.” (Chadwick, 53) A famous painting that impacted the convent was Hortus Deliciarum by Herrad of Landsberg who drew the image of every nun who was participating in that convent at the time. Not only did she draw individual images but also their names and this was an impact because before this drawing there is no record of any woman at convents. This was the first time they were being mentioned for something.  

                Around 1100, there was another shift in society that enhanced the outgrowth of women recognition in society. Chadwick states, “The establishment of new trade routes helped encourage a gradual shift from an agrarian to a more urban civilization in which many women benefited from expanded roles in guild production.” (Chadwick, 62) These guilds included such work in silk, embroidery, millinery, and special garment crafts. Not only have women transcended from being a housewife to being educated, but not they were given the opportunity to work. This opened up a new social class for women in society and also gave them recognition for their ability to work.  Now women were able to take over the family business if a father or brother were not present. This was a big change for women and they were able to take advantage of the opportunity.

                After the invention of the printing press in 1450 was when there were drastic changes occurred for women. During the Renaissance era there was the development of capitalism and a transformation of economic, social, familial relationships. (Chadwick, 66) The Renaissance was also a time where art hit an evolutionary stage and women were able to freely engage in it. Men were still being dominant; however women had gained some right over their lives already. The creation of a middle class slowly increased because of the amount of work that existed in guilds, painting, sculptors, etc. People now believed in educating women and an essential woman who marked herself worthy of it was Sofonisba Anguissola. She was a very skilled painter and although her social class prohibited her from selling her work she portrays herself superior than most. The image of her Self-Portrait that was made in 1561 greatly describes how she wanted to be viewed in society. She shows herself playing the piano, which is another one of her skills and this represents that she was a skillful/educated women. In order to establish her knowledge she compares herself to a lower-class women and she shows her in a shadow. Ultimately, Anguissola’s achievements were proof of what a woman during this time was able to do and that is what made her so different from the rest.

                Another woman who had the same intentions of being equal to men was Elizabeth Sirani. Her famous painting, Portia Wounding Her Thigh made in 1664 reflects the struggle she felt when she tried convincing men (society) that she was worthy of being trusted. She did not consider herself the same as women because she felt she was superior and tries to show this by testing her strength, which is what she portrays in her painting. 

                All in all, women have come a long way from being completely oppressed and destined to only be a housewife, to being able to prove themselves worthy of being equal to men. From the middle ages all through the end of the Renaissance, women have been presented opportunities to educate themselves and they have taken those opportunities in order to progress in society. There has been exemplified women who have shown their knowledge and courage through their paintings and all their art works and were able to see now that they were as good or even better than those made by men. Women have been put under difficult circumstances during these times because even though they were capable of proving themselves superior, society still oppressed them by not giving them a full right to their lives and being independent from men. However, after these social changes women were never degenerated to a domestic life.