unit 1: how did gender and hardship influence culture? Flashcards
early modern society was patriarchal, so women were excluded from education, politics and many professions
gender in the early modern period
both men and women wanted to maintain a good name, which is why it was vital to keep up the traditions of the era and not stray away from them
the husband was the supreme in a marriage and this was undisputed
women probably had less freedom in southern europe (women were largely confined to their homes) than in northern europe (foreign visitors described it as a paradise for women)
women would meet at the well, wash place or’spinning bee’ to chat and switch stories
in the early modern period women saw themselves as inferior to men, as well as men thinking that. st paul declared that women should be silent and submissive, so this dates back to the bible
the general intellectual opinion of women was that they were emotional, vulnerable to passions, deceit and infidelity (for example eve was held responsible for adam’s fall from paradise). it was believed that women needed a steady male hand
the husband’s role within the marriage was to provide for and to govern the household. the wife’s role was to manage the home, take charge of the children and work with their husbands in agricultural or industrial production
hardship in the early modern period
the everyday hassles of work and an unbalanced diet took a toll on people’s lives and health. the birth of modern medicine was still 100s of years away
the elite could still be hit by epidemics though and in an age before anaesthetics there were few conditions that justified the agony and risk of surgery
in many areas children died before they reached 5. death was so common that people became unfazed
the rich and poor, especially due to a lack of modern medicine, shared similar concerns as people wanted an explanation for terrible things happening
epidmeics struck and hit hte population hard, as hard as in medieval times as there were no major breakthroughs with regard to medicine
the spread of epidemics that could wipe out vast portions of the population made people question why and search for a scapegoat
the growth of cities, without a breakthrough in public sanitation or hygiene actually made the situation worse medically. many cities suffered plagues
members of elites were shielded from some of life’s brutalities - they had enough to eat, fuel to keep them warm and nice clothing
people continued to live, in 1700, as they did in 1400, with pain and disability in many cases
plenty of families went hungry and on the breadline. meat was a luxury fro peasants and times of death were terrifying
the general lot and life of ordinary europeans were hard, as hard as it was medieval times - due to the fact there was little progress on new methods or major breakthroughs
people were dependant on the harvest - this was the heartbeat on the whole economy. this then meant they were reliant on the weather
child birth was perilous for rich and poor alike (henry VIII’s wife jane seymour died as a result of childbirth
this constituted one of the key foundations of the early modern european society and the order within society. it shaped almost every aspect of life - social, economic, religious, political and cultural
