The new ideal of individuality and citizenship excluded women. Men from aristocratic families

Question

Read the para and comment on it.

The new ideal of individuality and citizenship excluded women. Men from aristocratic families dominated public life and were the decision-makers in their families. They educated their sons to take their place in family businesses or in public life, at times sending their younger sons to join the Church. Although their dowries were invested in the family businesses, women generally had no say in how their husbands should run their business. Often, marriages were intended to strengthen business alliances. If an adequate dowry could not be arranged, daughters were sometimes sent to convents to live the life of a nun. Obviously, the public role of women was limited and they were looked upon as keepers of the households.

Answer 1

Women in the middle ages occupied a number of different social roles. Women in the middle ages, a European history from around the 5th century to the 15th century, held the position of wife, mother, peasant, artisan, and nun, as well as some important leadership roles, such as abbess or queen regnant. The very concept of “woman” changed in a number of ways during the middle ages and several forces influenced their role during the period.