Women In Middle Ages Midterm

primary source

text/artifact from the time period being studied

secondary source

text/piece of analysis subsequently made about the time period being studied

Eve

figure in Christian faith blamed for the fall of man, exemplifies attitudes of women as seductresses (more so than men)

Mary

both mother and virgin, “the perfect woman”, “the new Eve”

Monotheism

to be religiously devout to 1 god, and only 1 god. Ex:

• Christians and Jewish people practiced monotheism

Polytheism

to be religiously devout to more than 1 god — a pantheon of gods usually in place (major, minor, and household gods). Ex:

• the ancient Romans practiced Paganism, a form of polytheism

Martyrdom

for one to die for their religion as a witness to their faith. Ex:

• Perpetua

• Felicity

• Peter (1st Pope appointed by Jesus) (focus on converting pagans)(died during Neronian Persecution via upside-down persecution)

• Paul (died during Neronian Persecution via beheading (he was a Roman citizen, and was given a more merciful death)(early convert to Christianity from Judaism)

Domestic proselytization

the common occurrence of wives converting their husbands to their faith. Ex:

• upper-class Christian women converting their Roman husbands to Christianity, and convincing them to spare Christians

• “Roman” Christian women converting their Barbarian husbands

Polygyny

in which a man has more than one wife. Ex:

• standard practice among elites for several centuries, and standard in the Barbarian reign of the ‘Roman’ Empire

Monogamy

in which a person has only one partner/spouse, and no other. Ex:

• The Christian ideal of marriage includes monogamy

Marital indissolubility

the lack of ability to separate/divorce from marital vows. Ex:

• during the late Carolingian period in accordance to Charlemagne, and his son Louis the Pious, marital indissolubility was forbidden

Dhuoda

a passionate and devout Christian mother, who wrote a religious handbook for her warrior son

Monasticism

the sole dedication of one’s life to their religious belief. Ex:

• the Christian undertaking of a religious life, often swearing vows of Asceticism and celibacy (no sex!), and more

Asceticism

the deprivation of pleasure for religious purposes. Ex:

• nuns under Benedictian rule ridding themselves of their personal property in accordance of their vow of poverty

Rule of Benedict

a text/Rule by Saint Benedict (“the father of Western monasticism”) detailing the ways in which he believes a monastery is to be run. The ideas and practices he details in his Rule were taken from the best (in his opinion) practices he’d come across

Opus Dei

a Benedictine practice of praying, in which masses of prayer are scheduled at precise hours of the day

Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim

devout cannoness and play-write of ‘Paphnutius’

Cluniac movement

the 1st monastic order— group of monastic houses linked by either (1) a common monastic rule or (2) formal structures of administration & governance or both

Poverty

1 of the 3 main vows undertaken by nuns (and monks)— the idea that one should own as little as is remotely possible, getting rid of all their earthly possessions

Obedience

1 of the 3 main vows undertaken by nuns (and monks)—the idea that one should be subservient and enthusiastically complaint and to their religious superiors

Chastity

1 of the 3 main vows undertaken by nuns (and monks)— the idea that a nun or monk sworn into their vows should not engage with sexual intercourse in any way

Mendicant orders

Ex:

• Dominicans

• Franciscans

Clare of Assisi

a saint, an abbess, who wrote ‘The Rule of Clare’, a document detailing the religious procedures she felt were best fit for her monastery of nuns

Hildegard of Bingen

infamous saint known still today for her musical works (of which she is one of, if not the first ever to be credited for ANY MUSIC), and recipes. Her infamy stems from her ‘prophetic’ visions she received directly from god since she was a young child. she was revered as a kind of pious celebrity, being written to by kings and elites alike, all to ask for her blunt advise