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Women in the Middle Ages by Frances Gies (1980-01-01) Paperback

by Frances Gies (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 187 ratings
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  1. Part of series
    Medieval Life
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    HarperCollins,Australia; edition (1980-01-01)
  4. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0182PQ4E0
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 187 ratings

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Frances Gies

Frances Gies

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
187 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Edith B. Arndt
5.0 out of 5 stars gave me great insight
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2018
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wonderfully written and gave me a lot of new insight about the problems women aced for a long time
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Karen B
4.0 out of 5 stars Medieval women brought to life
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2013
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I love anything written by this couple; always entertaining, always educational, they do their research, combine it with their sound knowledge of the era or people they are writing about and produce something that history buffs, writers, or just those with a healthy curiousity about the past will thoroughly enjoy.
Women in the Middle Ages is no exception. A concise book it starts with a working definition of the Middle Ages (around 600AD to the end of the Fourteenth Century) before explaining popular misconceptions and some facts about the role women played in these fraught and fascinating times. They then explain the primary models against which women were measured – Eve and Mary – sinner and saint, mother and whore, basically. Reductive they might be and yet they set the framework against which women lived, worked, loved, worshipped, ruled, and died.
The second part explores specific women, using contemporary sources, in more detail. We are introduced to (or reacquainted with) Hildegarde of Bingen, one of the most highly educated and clever women of the Middle Ages, an Abbess; the magnificent Queen Blanche of Castille a canny ruler who, despite enemies seeking to capture her throne managed to rule beside her husband and later, as a regent, handling the power thrust upon her with courage and intelligence; Eleanor of Montefort, sister to Henry III, devoted mother, wife to the courtier and warrior Simon de Montefort (their relationship is beautifully and sympathetically explored by Sharon Kay Penman who, though working in fiction does extensive research and she paints a softer portrait of Eleanor), and someone very aware of and prepared to fight for her rights. We also meet Agnes Patiniere of Douai, a woman who lived in a city and who had a successful trade, negotiating the politics of the guilds. Then there’s Margherita Datini, an Italian woman who became literate later in life, helped run her husband’s business and avoided succumbing to the plague. Finally, there’s Margaret Paston, member of one of the most successful families of the Middle Ages who rose from crofters to wealthy landowners (and later, Earls) and who are survived by abundant correspondence (the book of their letters, The Pastons, is enthralling) that reveals their daily lives, enmities, private and more public relationships and even their ambitions for themselves and each other.
While it seems sad that there are so few women to draw on in order to explore their diverse roles over such a long stretch of time, when considering the division that occurred in medieval lives – men = public, women= private, and the fact most females were confined to domestic space, it’s fortunate we have anything. The Gies’ also ensure they compare and contrast the women they discuss in relation to place and class and draw analogies with literature (eg. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales) as well demonstrating how women’s role altered (for better and worse) over time.
The contradictions in women’s roles are evident in this book, as is how women worked within and against popular and religious expectations, how they managed, sometimes against impossible odds, to find and create their own spaces and lives – some more successful than others.
Overall, this was an interesting and enjoyable read.
48 people found this helpful
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David
3.0 out of 5 stars Learn some stuff i didn't know.
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2016
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Because I knew very little about women in the middle ages it was informational. However, the writing was discombobulated. Whenever one can learn of things that are generally obscure, one should read about it. How people, in general, lived in the 1200's to 1400's is relevant the power structure of today's society. The top people still rule the bottom people.
Blanche of Castile was the most interesting of the lot but the description of general lower economic strata of society was revealing.
7 people found this helpful
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tom caywood
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2020
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Indepth examination of the topic.
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Tor E
4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting for those interested in either women's lives or medieval times
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2016
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I am a genealogist and I'm researching the medieval period as it applied to my relatives. I have found very few books with women being represented as anything other than the wife who stayed home while families are out at war. But this book, although it seems to relate to higher classed women, gives a feel for the every day work in a women's life. I have found it to be informational, applicable, interesting read, high lighting a few women that happen to be my ancestors. Win Win! I look forward to reading this book, and look forward to it each night. Well written, enjoyable format.
This item was free or discounted for my review.
2 people found this helpful
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maruja
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2018
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I am loving this book. I think it is important and relevant information and all women should read it. Being aware of the awful, misogynistic practices throughout the ages lets us see how and why they are so ingrained that still persist to this day.
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happy grandma
4.0 out of 5 stars One does not equal all...
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016
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"Middle Ages...a vibrant age of transition." Not sure I would agree whole-heartedly with the book blurb. As a woman living in the Middle Ages, it all would boil down to location, time, and location again. Some women had more freedoms than others. A widow had higher status than a married woman; yet, widows many times were chained to the lives of their deceased husbands, and to remarry brought new hardships of their own. I'm not convinced that all women in the Middle Ages were as self-sufficient and take-charge as the examples given us. We are asked to look at a few stories of successful women and extrapolate that all women were successful. However, I did enjoy reading about those women who were able --in spite of living when they did -- to make a name for themselves.
7 people found this helpful
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NS
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting details but falls short
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2018
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The book does not quite live to its promise. Individual lives are interesting. But overall does not deal with more general issues and the historical arc of women's lives during the period
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Grumpy Historian
4.0 out of 5 stars An early but useful contribution.....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2015
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I liked most of the Gies' books I have read- at this is no exception. A fascinating and useful introduction to the source material revealing Medieval Women in every guise. Perhaps it will serve to challenge the misconceptions that they were an universally repressed and downtrodden class with no rights. From noblewomen to Merchants, there was far more to the fairer sex in the Middle Ages than being locked on towers.....also it has proved useful for a number of academic pursuits and assignments.
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