By Jay Hooper
Edited by Mark Potter
For many in Medieval England, the Church lay at the very centre of their communal identity.
The Church provided central, grounded principles that communities gathered around, with the Church being involved in several key life events as well as dominating the minds of its
followers in general worship. Although the organisational framework of the Church, as well as the Churches teaching, was dominated by men, this did not exclude women from interactions in religious activities. Women in general would be closely connected to the Church and religious activity in several facets of their lives. This participation can be labelled into several sectors, all indicating to what level women would interact with religion. The first is Lifecycle, with key events in the life of a women intersecting with the Church and their guidelines. The next is Organisational interactions, with lay women coming together in a structured capacity to worship and serve the Church as a collective of women. Lastly Personal interactions highlights the individual actions taken by women when participating in religious life. These three aspects of religious interaction combine to show that throughout a woman’s entire life, the Church was present and influential.
Marriage within the Church was a vital part of the lives of Women, with the key foundations
of marriage being provided by the Church. The majority of medieval men and women married, with marriage being a foundation of medieval society and the Church, who used it as a metaphor to describe the relationship between God and the Church.[1] The Church (and its teachings) were integral to formation of marriage ties, with marriage through the church
legitimising the union in social settings as well. Marriage was one of the seven sacraments laid out by the Church, all of which were essential and integral to life and salvation.[2] Exchanging vows, with consent, was all the church asked, with the outcome of this lifecycle event being essential to enabling consummation and eventual children.[3] Marriage was essentially the gateway to adult living, with new responsibilities and status, reconfiguring both Bride and Grooms social and particularly sexual roles.[4] For young women marriage was a goal constantly posed to them since childhood, with her married life being dictated by the status of her husband, and her taking on new roles as a wife and in many cases as a mother.[5] In some cases, individuals married without social consent of their families, whose marriage bonds were formed in a ‘clandestine marriage’. In order for a marriage to be legitimate, the proper and exact vows as dictated by the Church must be said, with even this more ‘illegitimate’ form of marriage still needing Church approval and acceptance to take place.[6] Nonetheless this clerical approval was granted, albeit after investigation by Church officials, such as when the Bishop of Norwich examined the vows of Margery Paston and Richard Calle and their clandestine union to ensure that their marriage was indeed legally/spiritually binding.[7] This highlights the centrality of the Church in marriage and its links to Women’s lives. In both scenarios marriage through the Church was what was deemed essential, with social factors (while still being important) merely were secondary to Church proceedings. This key sacrament dictated by the Church was the gateway in many senses to a woman’s life, constantly aiming to achieve it when young, and maintaining this lifestyle once married, all at the guidance and advice from the Church.
Through marriage women were provided with a legitimate path to sexual activity in attempts
to become pregnant, fulfilling a goal given to women since childhood.[8] The Church was
integral to the lives of the unborn baby, first through its interaction with the mother. This
interaction began at conception, with links to marriage discussed previously, and ended with
rituals surrounding birth and reintroduction into the Church. Before a child was even born,
there were certain rituals and protections afforded to women to ensure safety in childbirth.
These prayers would exist throughout Europe, with there being a prayer in mass on behalf of
pregnant women and those in labour.[9] There is specific reference to Mary (Virgin Mother of Jesus), asking for her blessing, guidance, and safety for the mother and infant.[10] The reference to Mary is a fascinating link to saintly figures, and their link to divinity, highlighting feminine icons within Christianity women could turn to. After birth, babies were baptised, a sacrament in Christianity too, which also has an interesting inclusion of women with it. The birthing chamber was a female dominated area, and if there were complications during birth and the life of the baby was at stake, midwives could baptise the child to ensure salvation (if it survived a parish priest was to bless it later).[11] This shows an incredible insight into power provided to women, with women being unable to preach or do many other traditionally clerical duties but being given the power over a sacrament. Clearly this had a practical reason, to ensure in their minds the infants salvation, but this power provided to women ensured them a necessary place in matters of religious rites. After birth, on the basis of the Old Testament, the woman’s body was seen to be contaminated by the process of labour.[12] Women were prohibited from entering a church or to touch holy objects for 40 days after the birth of a son, and 80 days after the birth of a daughter (in reality this could have been shorter) which would prohibit her from attending the infants baptism.[13] This confinement after birth was known as ‘Churching’, with the woman set to be reintroduced into the church after this waiting period, with a ritual set out where the veiled mother would kneel at the church door with a candle and be sprinkled with holy water, essentially being re-introduced into the Christian community.[14] After marriage, the birth of a child was the next step in the lives of women, with their experience being shaped by Church interactions both before birth through prayer, as well as after through Churching. This interaction was essential to the spiritual beliefs of all in society, ensuring the safety of the souls of all those involved, and with women at the time having several children this process was a common one.
Devotional groups were common to the Church, with both clergy and laity coming together for worship. Over time groups formed in order to take up active roles at supporting their
communities through parish guilds, who were sub-groups of a parish dedicated in supporting
their church.[15] Groups like these typically gave membership to both men and women and were expected to support the church financially regardless of makeup.[16] This was done through rental of property, hosting of ales and the purchase or lease of money, food or livestock.[17] Over time some groups became more specialised towards a certain sex, female orientated groups became prominent.[18] Its shown that in these types of groups women were also considered to be there as an individual, even in mixed guilds, shown in the registry of Stamford’s guild of St Katherine where they are shown as members with their name written, in opposition to ‘the wife of’ etc.[19] When discussing these groups it’s also important to acknowledge that some also centred around saints, with their members following the example of a particular saint and what they represent in Christian
tradition.[20] For women some female saints directly linked to their lives as women becoming examples for them. A study conducted by Hebert Westlake highlights that of nearly fifty women’s groups, twenty-five had no specified patron, seventeen were dedicated to Mary, 2 to St Anne, with one each dedicated to St Katherine, St Margaret, St Ursula, and St Stephen, which overall shows a massive interest in female saints and what they represented.[21] These groups would then not just involve themselves in economic support of their churches, but also work to venerate their icons as well. Celebration of the Virgin Mary often included feast days or special masses, and as discussed before she was prayed to in order to protect women in childbirth.[22] For St Margaret, parishioners would decorate the church with rose garlands and rushes and held a vigil with communal payments for candles and other expenses.[23] Through guilds/saintly cults women could often take active roles at both supporting and interaction with their religion. Their generally unrestricted access to these supportive tasks exemplifies the sense of community that the church aimed to foster, with both men and women able to
contribute.
When discussing what an organisational religious group is the topic of so-called heresy must
be discussed. While they were not official groups like that of Saintly cults or parish guilds,
women’s interest and involvement in new religious sects is something to consider, as this
involvement highlights their interactions and interpretations of religion. The prime example in England would be the interactions with Lollardy and what this branch of Christianity offered to women. There is debate in this subject, with figures like Margaret Aston and Claire Cross who argued that Lollardy offered more equal opportunities for religious activity, the theoretical idea of women priests, and had a role in organising secret meetings.[24] This is disputed however by Shannon McSheffrey, highlighting the belief of female subordination to men as well as illiteracy among women that would stop them engaging in an educational sphere.[25] However, there is certainly a different dynamic at play when discussing Lollard women and other women, as Lollard women participated equally in supporting and hiding their own from persecution.[26] The presence of new sects of Christianity asks the question if women engaged enough with Christian ideas in order to understand them, and if they wished, changed them. Even if Lollardy restricted them to a capacity, their involvement in ‘illicit’ religious activity in the eyes of the Church indicates an internal re-examination of beliefs as well as a great interaction with one’s faith. We see this clearly with the denial of certain doctrines by the Church, an example being Margery Baxter who, refused to accept transubstantiation, honour images, and accept sainthood.[27] Despite many women not being able to read, there were exceptions, again Margery Baxter who owned a Lollard book, with one of her servants, Alice, also owning a New Testament.[28] This engagement in non-establishment beliefs highlights an interaction with religion on a new scale. Contributing within the framework of an already established entity was far safer than joining a heretical sect, but women’s engagement and ultimate belief in certain ideas that put their lives in danger is possibly the greatest form of interaction with religion they
could undertake.
Women also seemingly participated in many religious activities that men did, albeit with some differences due to their gender. It’s important to discuss presence at general religious events, primarily the Mass. In examination of the Paston family letters, they treat Mass as a general routine event, suggesting this to be similar with other households.[29] The Church required the laity to attend Mass on Sundays and on other holy days.[30] This expectation also existed for Confession, with several other acts like these being mandatory for both men and women to do in order to be good Christians.[31] However, while attending these functions there were differences in procedure, notably to do with seating. By the late fifteenth century organized seating by social status and gender became much more common, with men and women sitting in separate spaces even splitting families apart for ceremonies.[32] This separation could exist in several ways, with women being in the North side of the church and men being on the South side, or men at the front and women at the back.[33] This segregation could depend on the church itself and the relationships between gender in that community, possibly meant to strengthen ties between members of each gender, giving women a place to congregate together as women with little opportunity to do so
elsewhere.[34] While this seating gave some sense of community to women, it is also loaded with suspicion, with clergy often critical of women and their supposed attraction to sin, seating them together was a proper way to monitor them.[35] From this perspective we see how seating can effect women interaction with religion, and what they were being taught to do, with iconography in the church relating to these teachings. Near women’s seating, images such as the “Warning to Gossips” existed, directly aimed at women and their proposed misbehaviour of gossiping during church, and while both men and women were discouraged in this activity only women are showed in the picture showing a particular concern with guiding women where the church wished.[36] From this common attendance at church we can see a constant interaction with religion and its attempts to indoctrinate and meld women into the Christian ideal.
One key devotional activity was personal expenditure to the Church, as patronage in the minds of contemporaries proposedly gave divine favour. This gift giving to religious institutions bolstered one’s connection to God, spiritually aiding his work, as well as strengthening bonds with whomever gifts was given to. A prime example of this type of personal expenditure is Elizabeth de Burgh’s expenditures. We see her gift money to several religious men in order for them to pray for the soul of Sir Thomas de Cheddeworth.[37] There are also other expenditures for the soul of Lady Margaret Countess of Gloucester, as well as money provided as charity to be given to the poor.[38] We see these personal expenditures are often in return for something, such as for their name to be said in prayer or concern for another’s soul after their death, showing their direct concern with their link to God. When it came to the death on an individual, they were still able to participate in devotional activities by providing gifts to religious institutions in their wills. Women were included in this activity, a notable example being Alice Cage, widow of William Cage of Stanton, in which her will describes that money should go to the repair of her parish, to the altar of John the Baptist, to the friars and nuns, and that an able priest sing for her and her friends souls after her passing.[39] Even in preparation of their passing a prime concern was for one’s soul.[40] This final devotional act sums up women’s relationship with their religion, much like men, the primary practice of Christianity was to save oneself from damnation, of which women were similarly fully concerned with.
Women in late medieval England throughout their lives interacted with their religion. Religion was significant in several life events of women, incorporating itself in the framework of their marriage and also shaped their experiences with childbirth. This led to their lives being formulated with church, with them interacting with their local communities through
organisations such as parish guilds and saintly cults to further their devotional understanding. This understanding took a step further, with some women interacting with themes of Lollardy, diverging from a set path provided to them by church authorities. From these organisational efforts, many of women’s everyday personal interactions with religion would come from attending church and what they would be taught there. This culminates in personal expenditure, even in death, that ensured their good relations with church and God. Over a women life, many key events and much of her free time and effort would be devoted in some fashion to interacting and providing for the church and their own personal connection to God. Common interaction with religion, was much like men, and although their experiences with religion may differ the frequency the laity faced religion with is quite equal.
Notes
[1] Katherine L. French, The Good Women of the Parish: Gender and Religion After the Black Death (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008), p. 65.
[2] French, Good Women, pp. 50-51.
[3] Deborah Youngs, The Life Cycle in Western Europe, c.1300-c.1500 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2006), pp. 140-143.
[4] Youngs, Life Cycle, pp. 131-132.
[5] Youngs, Life Cycle, pp. 132-133.
[6] Caroline Dunn, Stolen Women (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 109-110.
[7] Jennifer Ward, Women of the English Nobility and Gentry, 1066-1500 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995), pp. 38-39.
[8] Youngs, Life Cycle, p. 143.
[9] Emilie Amt, Women’s Lives in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook (New York: Routledge, 1993), p.97.
[10] Amt, Women’s Lives, p.97
[11] French, Good Women, p. 51.
[12] Youngs, Life Cycle, p. 146.
[13] Youngs, Life Cycle, p. 146.
[14] French, Good Women, p. 61.
[15] French, Good Women, p. 122.
[16] French, Good Women, pp. 122-124.
[17] French, Good Women, p. 124.
[18] French, Good Women, pp. 125-127.
[19] Claire Kennan, “On the threshold? The role of women in Lincolnshire’s late medieval parish guilds”, in Victoria Blud, Diane Heath, Einat Klafter (eds.), Gender in medieval places, spaces and thresholds (London: University of London Press, Institute of Historical Research, 2019), p. 67.
[20] Katherine L. French, The People of the Parish: Community Life in a Late Medieval English Diocese (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001), pp. 194-195.
[21] French, Good Women, p. 133.
[22] French, The People, pp. 194-197.
[23] French, Good Women, p. 134.
[24] Mavis E. Mate, Women in Medieval English Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), pp. 73-74.
[25] Mate, Women, pp. 73-74.
[26] Claire Cross, “’Great Reasoners in Scripture’: The Activities of Women Lollards, 1380-1530”, Studies in Church History Subsidia 1, (2016), pp. 359-380.
[27] Claire Cross, “’Great Reasoners in Scripture’: The Activities of Women Lollards, 1380-1530”, Studies in Church History Subsidia 1, (2016), pp. 359-380.
[28] Claire Cross, “’Great Reasoners in Scripture’: The Activities of Women Lollards, 1380-1530”, Studies in Church History Subsidia 1, (2016), pp. 359-380.
[29] Gillian Pritchard, “Religion and the Paston Family”, in Richard Britnell (ed.), Daily Life in the Late Middle Ages (Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited, 1998), p. 72.
[30] Pritchard, Religion, p.72
[31] Pritchard, Religion, p.72
[32] French, The People, p. 162.
[33] French, The People, p. 167.
[34] French, The People, p. 167.
[35] French, Good Women, pp. 91-95.
[36] French, Good Women, pp. 96-99.
[37] Ward, Women, pp. 220-221.
[38] Ward, Women
[39] The Wills of Alice Cage and of William Cage (1499), printed in The Register of John Morteyn vol III, items 154-155
[40] Jennifer Ward, Women in England in the Middle Ages (London: Hambledon Continuum, 2006), pp. 196-197.
Bibliography
Amt, Emilie. Women’s Lives in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook. New York: Routledge, 1993
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Dunn, Caroline. Stolen Women. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012
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Manchester University Press, 1995
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Manchester University Press, 2006
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