Week 3: Life in Anglo-Saxon England: gender, status and hierarchies Flashcards
1
Q
female inheritance
A
- there were limits to female inheritance with chapter suggesting that the passing of land was geared towards sons and male relatives.
In situations where there were no living sons or the wife outlived the husband, Aethelbert 78 suggest that women were entitled to half of their husband’s property.
-This increased to all of it by the end of the 10th and 11th century according to the test Wifmannes Beweddung.
-Cnut 70 said if the husband died property should be divided by kin including the widow
2
Q
gendering of community life
A
-Both could work in the same sector but there was an unstated set of assumptions about male and female work. Men did the physically strenuous work such as cattle farming whilst women dominated sloth-making until c1000 and were dairymaids.
3
Q
women in the law
A
- they seem to have their own identity separate to that of men. They could not be held accountable to their husband’s misconduct unless a proven accomplice. Cnut 76 said that women were not implicated unless stolen goods were found under lock and key in their chest of storeroom.
- Ine 57 towards the end of the 7th century suggests that women were oath-worthy. Their word was respected enough to be used in a public setting and to carry legal resonance.
- A widows could exercise protection over her dependents in Aethelbert 75
- Cnut 74 said no woman or girl should be coerced into marriage.
- in Ireland if a woman was the wealthier partner, her husband would require her permission to sign contracts.
- a law in 697 (sponsored by abbot of Iona) protected non-combatants from violence. Grave good support this as women tended to be buried with decorative items whereas men with weapons. Male bodies also seem to be more mutilated with cut marks and battle wounds.
4
Q
status
A
- Aethelbert’s laws differentiate between 8 different classes of women many of which correspond to male categories (slaves, loetas, coerls and nobles).
- the ASC refers to queens and royal lives by status not name.
- the wergild for the last three groups increased from 40-80, to 100 and then 300. Compensation for welsh citizens living in Wessex was half that of their English equivalent. Ine distinguished between the British and English until the end of the 7th century.
- human remains and isotope analysis of bones suggest variations in lifestyle and malnutrition.
- becoming a thegn involved more than just land. One needed to won five hides of land and have offered sufficient service.
5
Q
wergelds for women
A
- they were higher for women of child-bearing age (600s for a fertile woman compared to 200s for a pre-pubescent or menopausal woman). Role in society not gender was the determining factor.
6
Q
punishment
A
- there were some gender specific punishments (e.g. castration) but this was probably because of technicalities with implementation not discrimination.
- penitential punishment for masterbation was two years vs up to 100 days for men. This suggests that only men were meant to get pleasure from sex.
7
Q
women in religious spheres
A
- most double monasteries were under the command of an abbess not an abbot. Bede mentioned nine in his EH
- Lyminge founded by Aethelburgda and Folkstone founded by Eanswith, daughter of King Eadbald
- Christianity exalted religious figures like Mary and therefore they were not opposed to women holding positions of power. There were a number of female saints. The Regularis Concordia suggests this was to avoid scandal
- Ine 23 suggests an abbess could stand proxy to a foreigners kin-group.
- aristocratic and royal women used monasteries to their advantage. They could be a place for widows or unmarried women.
- Whitby passed from Hilda, Edwin’s cousin to Aelfaed, Oswy’s daughter.
8
Q
examples where women wielded power in society
A
- Aethelflaed commanded military troops to victory over the vikings.
- Queen Eadgifu inherited land from her father and donated estates at Cooling to Christ Church, Canterbury in 960
- Queen Aelfryth (3rd wife of king Edgar) participated in 7 lawsuits.
- some documents record petitioners offering 10th century queens money and jewellery in return for their advocacy with king
- however, they were often used as peace-weavers to cement alliances. For example Beowulf speaks of danish princess Hildeburh marries Finn a Frisian warrior.
9
Q
evidence against religious autonomy of women
A
- Nuns should not be removed from a nunnery without religious or royal permission. This suggests they did not have agency. Alfred 8 says the fine for doing so was 120s shared between royal and ecclesiastical authority, not eve the woman herself.
- some were place din monasteries against their will. Edward the Elder arranged for the departure of his second wife Aelfflead to Wilton Nunnery so he could marry Eadgifu. Many aristocratic families also sent their young girls off to monasteries so they maintain their virginity and be more likely to become saints - symbolic capital.
10
Q
evidence that gender laws changed
A
- in Aethelbert 31, anyone who committed adultery with the wife of a freeman had to pay compensation and provide a new untainted wife. By the 11th century, punishment was incurred by the woman herself. she would lose her property and face nose of ear mutilation according to Cnut 53
- they seemed to become less protected by the law for rape. Aethelbert and Alfred II said that compensation should be paid directly to the woman (unless a slave). VI Aethelred said rape compensation should be paid to the church or the king.
11
Q
what relationships were there in society?
A
- vertical obligations to the lord. When Beowulf and his companions cross the seas and are stopped by the Dnaish coastguard, one of the first questions is which lord do you serve. His position as Hygelac’s thegn is emphasised over being his nephew.
- kinship was also important supplanting local assemblies in dealing with disputes. Family ties were not just nuclear. Godparenting or fostering children could develop family ties. In Wales, the nuclear family could inherit property but the wider family were liable for payments.
- they could charge compensation of take it by force if not.
- a guild statute from Cambridge (c1000) said guild support would be offered to members who rightfully avenged an offence but not to those who acted rashly. There were measures to try and limit violence.
12
Q
what did those with no secure place in society do?
A
- they moved between regions gravitating towards the church.
- a will from Canterbury in the 9th century left a sum of money in the expectation that 1200 needy souls could receive food and coin on the anniversary of the donor’s death.
13
Q
what was styli?
A
- it was a material thought to be an indication of manuscript production and therefore the church but it also used by clerical staff who wrote charters for lords.
- the spheres were linked.
14
Q
How did people become slaves?
A
- they had existed in Rome and therefore those who had been enslaved during Roman occupation may have just continued to be under their now Anglo-Saxon owners.
- The Ruin of Britain (Gildas 547) suggests indigenous people became slaves through conquest and competition tribes would also clash through warfare.
- Patrick arrived to Ireland through forceful slave trading and some slaves were transported to France and this prompted Gregory’s mission to England in 597 via St Augustine.
- Ine 7 suggests that if a man steals with the knowledge of his family all would be admitted to slavery. People could be enslaved for criminal offences.
- slavery into the church was viewed as a voluntary thing. The life of St Cadog describes a landowner Guallunir arranging his son Ludnov to inherit his land if he and his heirs served the monastery with the profits.
- sometimes the protection afforded by one’s lord was better than destitution.
15
Q
what was the nature of slavery?
A
- Monk Aelfric produced the Colloquy in 1000 and suggests that they performed agricultural tasks. In early Kentish laws female slaves are recorded as dairy maids and grinding slaves.
- they didn’t have any property to offer as compensation and therefore they were usually physically abused as punishment. Sexual assault features in Wulfstan of York’s impassioned sermon of the Wolf to the English.
- they didn’t have kinship and this may have been psychologically damaging.
- Alfred’s laws says that all freemen should get holidays but not saves. The domesday book also listed slaves with inanimate objects like cattle.
