In almost every society, since the beginning of written history, women were seen as secondary, and genetically inferior to men. Throughout history, no matter the time period or place, men have held the top ruling positions, with only a few exceptions. Women ruling in their own right usually only occurred due to the unavailability in their generation of any eligible male heir, and as a last resort. Nevertheless, these women managed to be the exceptional few. The most common way for a woman to influence politics, decision-making, and the ruling itself was by becoming the wife, mother, or mistress of a man in power and gaining his trust.
Throughout ancient and medieval times, women had many domestic responsibilities: childbirth and caring for
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children, taking care of the household, cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Wielding political power, passing legislation, leading armies, or becoming a ruler in her own right was a rare feat accomplished by only a few extraordinary women. Two of the most notable women who rose to rule in the medieval world were Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Empress Theodora. Theodora was born into the lowest and poorest social classes in 500AD. Through her own merit, she would rise and become one of the most famous women in early Western Civilization. Theodora’s life and accomplishments are portrayed in an important primary source, a seven-volume work, Procopius's Secret History. Theodora was born to a lowly bear-keeper, and spent her early childhood as an actress, and prostitute. She was a stunning beauty, but was also known to be intelligent, witty, and amusing. Around 522AD she first met Justinian, heir to the emperor’s throne. Justinian fell in love with Theodora, and had legislation passed that would allow them to marry legally. When he assumed the throne after his uncle’s death, she was crowned Empress with him. Theodora and Justinian were known for ruling as intellectual and political equals, and Theodora was responsible for much of the reformation of Byzantium. “In 532 a conflict between two political and religious groups, the Blues and the Greens, began during a chariot race at the Hippodrome and quickly grew into what is now known as the Nika Revolt. This revolt destroyed much of Constantinople, and many saw this as a chance to overthrow Justinian, who was advised by his generals to flee.” Preparations were made, and a ship sat ready in the harbor to carry the emperor and empress to safety. Then Theodora rose and—as quoted in Browning's Justinian and Theodora—made what must be considered one of the greatest short speeches ever recorded, saying she would rather die a ruler than live an exiled nobody. This courage from a woman changed Justinian’s mind and he sent his troops to quash the rebellion. Modern scholars agree that Theodora saved his empire that day. During her time as empress, Theodora fought for the persecuted, she passed laws that prohibited forced prostitution, made rape punishable by death, expanded the rights of women in divorce cases and abolished a law that had allowed women to be killed for committing adultery. Finally, she strove to protect the persecuted Monophysites, building houses of worship that served as refuges. Theodora died in 548, but her influence was apparent in Justinian’s subsequent rule. He sought to maintain the same level of freedom for women, setting a precedent for women’s equality for years to come. He also fought for the Monophysites, despite his own conflicting orthodox beliefs. “Empress Theodora, who transformed herself from a street performer and prostitute to Empress and co-ruler of the Eastern Orthodox Church, created an entirely new narrative for women in her time, and proved that gender and class can play an inferior role if one has ambition and ability.” She created an enduring legacy, seen in Justinian’s codification of Roman Law (Codex) in the section’s regarding women and their legal status, by expanding women’s rights in divorce, allowing the mother custody of the child, and granting property ownership to women. She was an early feminist who used her power and influence to champion causes that mattered to her, improving the lives of many women, and paving the way for future women to follow her lead. Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful women in the Middle Ages.
She was the Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, Queen-consort of France, and later Queen of England. She married King Louis VII when she was just fifteen years old. She accompanied him on the Second Crusade, and appeared at Vézelay dressed like an Amazon warrior galloping through the crowds on a white horse, urging men to join the crusades. After an unsuccessful campaign, and Eleanor’s displeasure at her monkish husband’s lack of military backbone, they returned to France on separate ships. Their marriage was full of tension, and she caused quite the scandal when she petitioned for an annulment in 1152 on the grounds of consanguinity. Six weeks after her marriage to Louis was dissolved, Eleanor married Henry of Anjou, the future King of England. Their marriage was one of matched passion, wealth, and ambition, and produced eight children. Eleanor served as Regent in Henry’s absence, governed her own lands in Aquitaine, and was a key political player in European politics. Henry II was notoriously unfaithful, which caused their marriage to fall apart and eventually for Eleanor to support their sons in a rebellion against the King. For this betrayal, she was imprisoned until her husband’s death, and wasn’t free again until she was in her sixties. Her son, Richard the Lionheart, made it his first act as King to release his mother from prison. She ruled as Regent while Richard went on the 3rd Crusade, …show more content…
and when he died she was her 3rd son, Johns’ advisor in all things. She remained an active political participant until her death, never wavering in her strong grasp of political intrigue. Eleanor of Aquitaine is considered one of the most fascinating and accomplished rulers in European history.
She became the duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, one of the most cultured provinces in Europe, the queen of France, which she heavily cultured, and the queen of England, which she changed from a primitive outpost to a cultured center of northern Europe. Under Eleanor's reign she introduced art and culture to the continent that had lived in the dark shadow of the church for centuries. In her time, girls were rarely educated in anything other than embroidery, and Eleanor was educated in diplomacy, art, history, math, and languages. She learned to read and write in French, and Latin. Her knowledge inspired other women to learn the same, and she founded many universities and schools to promote learning. Eleanor transcended the role of queen, is responsible for advancing women’s education, and giving rise to an era of women being more involved in politics during a time when the belief was that women were in all ways inferior to
men. Ever since women committed the ‘original sin’ in the garden of Eden for Christian societies, women have been regarded as weak, tempting, and inferior to the opposite sex. This has been the excuse used for centuries for patriarchy of the political sphere. The inequality of power between men and women has been almost universal through time, except for a few exceptions. Empress Theodora and Queen Eleanor are two prime examples of women shattering the mold that society placed around women, and used their power and influence to accomplish incredible things. This social development of female power gave rise to future female rulers such as Mary I, Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, and many more. It changed, if only briefly, the way in which women were viewed in their time period, and gained respect for the sex which had for so long been regarded as no more useful than for domestic responsibilities.
While Eleanor was married to King Louis VII, Louis and Eleanor joined the second crusade and met up with Eleanor’s handsome uncle Raymond (Au, p.1). Louis began to notice Eleanor growing closer to Raymond (Au, p.1), so he forced her to go along with him to capture the Holy Land in Jerusalem, fearing an eventual love affair (Au, p.1). After the failed trip to Jerusalem, the pair went back to France, where Eleanor fell out of love with her husband. Even though the pope forbade them from dissolving the marriage (Goodman, 2013, p.3), she still found a way to divorce Louis, announcing that her marriage couldn’t be legal in God’s eyes since they were cousins (Au, p.1). Their marriage was annulled, and all of Eleanor’s property was then returned to her following medieval custom (Au, p.1). Hildegard of Bingen was the complete opposite in terms of how she went about achieving her goals, holding a religious authority’s opinion in the highest respect. Since Hildegard was especially concerned about sharing her visions because she lived in a period when the Church was torn apart by heresy, she didn’t want to do anything to label herself as a heretic (Hildegard of Bingen, 2015, p.1). With the permission of the abbot of St. Disibod, Hildegard began to write her vision down (Ferrante, 2014, p.1). Before she published it, it was approved by a papal commission named by Pope Eugene III, at the instigation of her archbishop, Henry of Mainz (Ferrante, 2014, p.1), and with support of Bernard of Clairvaux, who she had written to for advice (Delahoyde, Hildegard of Bingen, p.1). Eleanor always had her eye on the future, and didn’t allow her bad marriage with Louis to hold her back from further political influence. Just 2 months after she
In relation to leadership and women, historically women who wanted to seek leadership roles were often seen projecting the traditional masculine model of leadership. This model means to be rational, unemotional and analytic. It also, means in order to succeed traditionally women needed to look and act like a man to be taken seriously in leadership positions. Women in the past often dressed up in suits and ties and anything feminine was seen as an internal “weakness”. To be a leader in power meant to exude confidence in masculinity and shy away from anything remotely girly. As opposed, to the feminine model which casts power as focused on connection and harmony instead of power over something, someone. This power can be skilled through collective gain or physical attractiveness (Kruse 22).
Right after the divorce, Eleanor retained her power in Aquitaine and didn’t wait too long before marrying Henry Plantagenet. He was the Count of Anjou and also, the Duke of Normandy. He became the King of England and together they managed to solidify the relations between England, Normandy and Western France.
In a patriarchal society men normally have the power. This power is generally handed down generation to generation as seen in Sundiata where the lineage of the first kings of Mali is explained generation by generation (Niane 3). It can also be seen in The Romance of Tristan and Iseult when “[T']he barons, Andret, Guenelon, Gondoine, and Denoalen pressed King Mark to take to wife some king's daughter who should give him an heir...”(Bedier 26). In these examples men generally have the primary power. However, there is an argument to be made that women, in both Sundiata, and The Romance of Tristan and Iseult have some significant power in their society.
Most classical society’s political and social organization revolved around the idea of patriarchy, a male dominated social system. This system exacerbated the inherit difference between men and woman and assigned gender roles based on these observations. Men were generally regarded as superior to woman therefore given greater religious and political roles as well as more legal rights. As the natural inverse, women were subordinated and seen as week; their main roles reproductive and domestic. Information about patriarchy in the classical era, though abundant, was, for the most part, written by men, therefore history does not give us an accurate depiction of women’s viewpoints. Four societies of the classical era, India, China, Greece, and Rome, adopted a patriarchal system, however, due to many factors, each developed identifiable characteristics.
Eleanor was the eldest of three offspring of William X, the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitiers (also one of the first Troubadours poets) and Eleanor Chatelleraul de Rochefourcaulb. As a child, Eleanor was educated in subjects girls were not supposed to learn. For example, she learned how to read and was educated in Latin, and she learned to ride a horse at a very young age. Her only brother died as a child, thus making Eleanor their father's heir. When Eleanor was 15 years old, William died and Eleanor became the Duchess of Aquitaine. She married Louis VII, the future king of France , a few months later.
Like many other women of her time Eleanor came from a long line of noble and royal blood. Her lineage can be traced back to the earliest kings of both England and France.(follow link to take a look at Eleanor’s very long family tree http://www.my-ged.com/db/page/scokin/12251) Her father William X was the son of France’s first troubadour, William IX and Eleanor’s early life was saturated with culture and learning. The court of her father and grandfather was thought to be the main culture center of the time. At age 15, with her father’s passing, Eleanor became the sole heiress and ruler of the largest duchy in France – Aquitane. Eleanor was then betrothed to Louis VII of France in order to unite their vast territories. In fifteen years however, Eleanor’s marriage and queenship were over. The pope on the pretext of close kinship ties annulled her unhappy marriage to Louis. At age 30 Eleanor had given up her throne and her daughters and returned to Aquitane to rule. Within a few years Eleanor was married to Henry Plantengent, the Duke of Normandy and ruler of the second most powerful duchy in France (second to her own Aquitane). In 1154 Henry was crowned King of England and Eleanor was now Queen of England, duchess of Aquitane and duchess of Normandy. Eleanor and Henry had eight children together, including Richard the Lionheart and John. In 1173, afte...
Throughout most of recorded history, women generally have endured significantly fewer career opportunities and choices, and even less legal rights, than that of men. The “weaker sex,” women were long considered naturally, both physically and mentally, inferior to men. Delicate and feeble minded, women were unable to perform any task that required muscular or intellectual development. This idea of women being inherently weaker, coupled with their natural biological role of the child bearer, resulted in the stereotype that “a woman’s place is in the home.” Therefore, wife and mother were the major social roles and significant professions assigned to women, and were the ways in which women identified and expressed themselves. However, women’s history has also seen many instances in which these ideas were challenged-where women (and some men) fought for, and to a large degree accomplished, a re-evaluation of traditional views of their role in society.
Marie de Champagne is the oldest daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen first of France and then of England. Known for her interest in poetry, music and the arts, Eleanor is "credited with the development of the rules of courtly love, and for their dissemination throughout the medieval society of France and England" (Patronage 1). Sharing a very strong mother-daughter relationship, "Marie is known to have shared many of her mother's views and ideas" (Patronage 1). Competing against each other in an "elaborate intellectual game," Eleanor and Marie "try to outdo each other in presenting situations which test the boundaries of courtly love" (Patronage 1).
Many ancient laws and beliefs show that women from all around the world have always been considered inferior to men. However, as time went on, ideas of equality circulated around and women started to demand equality. Many women fought for equality and succeeded in bringing some rights. However, full equality for women has yet to be fulfilled. This issue is important because many women believe that the rights of a person should not be infringed no matter what their gender is, and by not giving them equality, their rights are being limited. During the periods 1840 to 1968, total equality for women did not become a reality due to inadequate political representation, economic discrepancy, and commercial objectification.
Catherine of Aragon was born on December 16th, 1485 and died on January 7th, 1536. Catherine was the first born daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Both of her parents later on funded Christopher Columbus’s long voyages to the New World in 1492. At a very, very young age of just 3 years old; Catherine was to be betrothed to Prince Arthur and married him when she turned 16, in the year 1501. Sadly, her husband died 5 months later and she acquired a very important title in her young life; the title of being the very First Woman to be an Ambassador of the Spanish Court in England. Soon after being the ambassador, Catherine was to be married to Arthur’s youngest brother, Henry VIII. Her title then went from being an ambassador, to a Princess, and finally to the highest title; a Queen. Catherine ruled England from 1509-1533 by the side of Henry. Catherine was painfully unaware of the fact that Henry was having an affair with his mistress; and soon to be wife, Anne Boleyn. The reason being for his infidelity was due to the fact that Catherine hadn’t p...
One of the greatest queens ever to rule England was Eleanor of Aquitaine who could read but not write. She compensated for that by have people called scribes to write for her. During her reigns as the Queen of England and France, Eleanor was very concerned about the literacy of people living in Aquitaine . The famous poet Marie de France may have performed or presented her stories to the court of Eleanor and her second husband, Henry II. Marie wrote fables and lais for a living, and her stories became so popular during the Middle Ages that her works entertained both the French and English courts and were translated into many different languages.
Understanding the way women both were controllers of and controlled by social, political and cultural forces in the medieval period is a complex matter. This is due to a number of factors- the lack of documentation of medieval women, high numbers of illiteracy amongst women, especially lower class, medieval sources being viewed through a contemporary lens and the actual limitations and expectations placed upon women during the period, to name a few. The primary sources: The Treasure of The City of Ladies by Catherine of Siena and Peter of Blois’ letter to Eleanor of Aquitaine concerning her rebellion, highlight the restrictions women were expected to adhere to, and the subsequent reprimanding that occurred when they didn’t. Women were not passive victims to the blatant patriarchal standards that existed within medieval society, even though ultimately they would be vilified for rebelling.
Throughout the centuries women have been subjected and criticized by not only the Male gender, but by society as a whole. Each generation there is a new found respect for women; being able to speak aloud, being able to drive, being able to vote, and being able to work a “man’s” job. All of these instances indicate the progress women are making in society. However, no matter how hard they try, women can’t seem to be treated as equals to men. Even though we now have women as senators, mayors, and other leader positions, women are still considered inferior in the eyes of Men. It is because of the countless expectations that were set many years ago, that women are still considered weak, emotional, and unimportant. Shakespeare took the first couple of steps in showing that women could be just as dangerous and powerful as men in the kingdom in his play King Lear. He showed audiences that even though some women are weaker, there are those who exceed the expectations set by their predecessors that they don’t have to follow those rules, that they can be just like men, and yet still act like a lady.
Ortner (1974, in Rosaldo & Lamphere) attempts to answer the questions why women, as she sees it, are universally subordinate to men. She admits that the relative power women wield and the actual treatment they receive vary widely between societies, that each society’s concept of the female position is likely to consist of several layers and that the cultural ideology may well be distinct from the observable state of affairs, but sets out nonetheless from the premise that women have ... ... middle of paper ... ... different societies and the relationships between gender and power and sex and gender are far from clear-cut. In order to elucidate the position of women in a particular society we must examine the complexities and nuances of its social relations and culture rather than imprudently applying our own categories.