To find out more about Rosemary's work click on the cover above.
Ladies in the Age of Chivalry
My
novel, Grace, Lady of Cassio, begins in 1331 during the reign of Edward III. It
will be published in August 2022.
At
heart I am a historian. My novels are rich in historical detail that requires
intensive research, some of which I am sharing in this blog.
Chivalry, Ladies and Literature, Courtly Love and
Reality
The ideal upper-class lady in romantic medieval
literature is the beloved who inspires chivalry and is worshipped. In fiction
her slightest command is obeyed without question and heroic deeds by a knight
errant are performed in her name, even if his love is not reciprocated. Reinmar
von Hagenau ‘s lyric captures the nature of courtly love.
I wish to be known my entire life as a master of one thing and one thing
only.
I seek the world’s praise for this one skill,
That no man can bear his suffering as beautifully as I.
If a woman causes me pain to such an extent that I cannot remain silent
day or night,
I have so gentle a spirit that
I’ll accept her hate as a source of joy.
And yet, alas, how deeply that discomforts me.
In reality, and in accordance with medieval law and
society, a lady wielded authority as a wife and mother in domestic affairs and
took charge while her husband was away.
Maidens, Wives, Spinsters, Widows and Nuns
During the medieval era men classified women as
maidens, wives, widows, or nuns. During childhood maidens were subject to their
fathers, stepfathers or guardians who maintained them. Married women were
controlled by their husbands and were denied the right to refuse intercourse.
Without their husbands’ agreement, they were not permitted to borrow money,
sell property, or make a will. Noblewomen received as much respect as noblemen.
Yet because Eve persuaded Adam to taste the forbidden fruit and they were cast
out of paradise, men considered females physically, intellectually, and morally
inferior. Nuns, the brides of Christ, depended on the Church. Only spinsters, a
rarity, and widows enjoyed some independence.
Education, Betrothal, Marriage and Motherhood.
Nobly born children were taught to read and write
French, the language of educated people, to figure, embroider, dance, sing and
play musical instruments. They were trained to be dignified, meek and modest
and not to laugh loudly. Many girls were betrothed in their infancy and wedded when
they were twelve. Most marriages were not consummated until the girls were
fourteen. In an age when many people died early, teenage pregnancies were
encouraged. Most ladies married by their sixteenth birthday. In their
mid-twenties, if they had not died, they had given birth to five or six
children, some of whom did not survive.
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