WOMENS ROLES IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY AS SEEN IN CHAUCERS CANTEBURY

TALES

April Wood

British Literature

22 October 2015
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For the people of the Middle Ages life was tough. From the countless wars to the Black

Plague, it seemed as if the people of Medieval Europe had everything going against them.

During this harsh time period, most people became deeply religious in order to have some form

of hope. This piety was eventually used to start wars such as the Crusades, and even though this

was the case, people still remained fiercely loyal to the Catholic Church. Some would agree,

however, that even though the women werent actively fighting in these wars that they got the

short end of the stick. The reasons for this is because their lives were not only dictated by their

faith, but the men that surrounded them as well. Unless they were of noble or royal birth women

did not receive any form of education other than what they needed to know to perform household

duties. Because the majority of women were controlled by men and the church, it was they who

determined a womans status and worth. During this time, it was a womans sexuality or lack

thereof that the men and church used to determine a womans status and worth. In Chaucers

Canterbury Tales, his portrayal of women is based on this ethos and its concept of the ideal

woman as well as the differences between this concept and reality.

To understand how Chaucers characters are ideal Medieval women, we must first

examine womens roles and their sexuality during this time. During the Middle Ages, sex was

viewed much differently than it is today. This was of course due to the extreme piety of the time.

Sex was not something to be enjoyed, in fact that was a sin. If one had sex, it should have been

for the sole purpose of reproducing in order to increase and multiply, and fill the earth. It was
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not deemed inherently sinful due to this, and was considered natural. Due to humanitys sinful

nature, however, one could never be sure about ones intent whether it be for duty of pure lust.1

The uncertainty of ones intent is what eventually led to the mindset that virginity and

service to God was the way to go. Places like convents and monasteries became popular places

for people to live outside of the family, pledge a life of virginity, and serve God. Men and women

were kept separate and not allowed to marry as part of their service to God. Women who

dedicated themselves to this lifestyle were considered honorable, more so than those who chose

to go the familial route.2 Wiesner-Hanks did not mention this, but it also provided women with

the opportunity to read and write regardless of social status before entering the convent. Because

of this, many chose this lifestyle willingly. However, some women who chose the single life or

became widows were sent there by their families.3 Either way, a womans virginity was valued

both by Church and secular authorities alike. For the Church, virginity was about salvation. It

was a way for a woman to stay pure and keep the filth of earthly existence from soiling the

soul.4 For secular figures, the reason for women staying virgins was so highly valued was

because of the legal and monetary benefits that came with a virginal woman. Marrying a virgin

woman insure to a man his child was his own, therefore putting virgin at a higher value than non-

virgin women.5

What about women who never married or became a nun? These women either were

prostitutes, or considered such.6 These women did not abstain from sex, but profited from it. It

1 N.M Heckle, Sex, Society and Medieval Women. University of Rochester, Accessed February 11, 2015.
www.library.rochester.edu/robbins/sex-society.
2 Mary E. Wiesner-Hanks, Gender in History: Global Perspectives. (Mass: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), 36.
3 Ibid.
4 N.M Heckle, Sex, Society and Medieval Women. University of Rochester, Accessed February 11, 2015.
www.library.rochester.edu/robbins/sex-society.
5 Ibid.
6 Ruth Mazo Karras, Sex and the Singlewoman, Singlewomen in the European Past, 1250-1800. Edited by
Judith M. Bennett and Amy M. Froide. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 127.
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was a way for women to make money and support herself away from the family.7 Even if women

did not engage in sex for money, they were still considered prostitutes if they had sex outside of

marriage. Because a womans virginity was about control, homosexual acts between women of

the time were less important, but it was reclassified as prostitution. Another part of this control is

how lords would make unmarried, unfree women pay fines if they became pregnant, also

showing how unacceptable it was for unmarried women to be having sex. The only time

unmarried sex was condoned was in licensed brothels, but of course the women were still under

control.8 In some cases, there was spiritual salvation for the prostitutes of this era. In Avignon,

women were given a chance to repent by the Church. Mary Magdalene was the model of this

idea, and the women who followed this idea were successful in their religious pursuits.9

In the Middle Ages, a womans sexuality was less of a form of sexual expression, but

rather a form of status and worth set in place by the men and religion of the time. A woman was

deemed a sinner by religious leaders if she did not abstain from sex before marriage or become

celibate. If she was virginal, however, she was somewhat of a prize to many secular authority

figures. The unmarried women not of the church were considered prostitutes, even though many

didnt deserve the title.

In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer gives us an example of Women fulfilling these roles of

marriage or service to the Church. He offers us three examples of Medieval women: the Wife of

Bath, the Prioress, and the Second Nun. Although these women may fulfil their roles of a wife or

nun in society, Chaucer paints them as individuals.10 In the sense of the Prioress and the Wife of

7 N.M Heckle, Sex, Society and Medieval Women. University of Rochester, Accessed February 11, 2015.
www.library.rochester.edu/robbins/sex-society
8 Ruth Mazo Karras, Sex and the Singlewoman, Singlewomen in the European Past, 1250-1800. Edited by
Judith M. Bennett and Amy M. Froide. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 128-132.
9 Joelle Rollo-Koster, From Prostitutes to Brides of Christ: the Avignonese Repenties in the Late Middle
Ages. Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 32, no. 1 (Winter 2002): 109.
10 Vaneckova, Women in Geoffrey Chaucers The Cantebury Tales: Woman as a Narrator, Woman in the
Narrative.: 15.
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Bath, We do not see the nun in private prayer or the wife caring for her husband or children,

showing us that there were more depth to women of this time than just their roles.11 Although

these two women may not be the best examples of a nun or wife, they do portray women as

inhabiting their ideal roles of this time while still retaining individual characteristics. In the

words of Vaneckova, Chaucer could see very well that none of the women around him was a

perfect impersonation of the ideal wife or nun, thus he portrayed the individual as a

representative of the majority. 12

The two nuns exemplify the two types of women who belong to the Church. The

Second Nun is the perfect example of an ecclesiastical woman. She chose to join the Church, and

this is evident as she upholds the common belief that virginity is most important. She even goes

so far to say that it should be upheld even in marriage. Because she is so close to the ideal

woman, Chaucer gives her little individualistic traits as she is just an example of what the ideal

woman is, not a true representative of a Medieval woman. Because the Prioress is more of a

romantic and more of an individual, she is more of a realistic example of women of this time.13

Alternately, the Wife of Bath may inhibit her role of being a wife, whether it be

former or soon-to-be, but she has no children making it seem as though she is not an example of

a medieval wife. Some may see this as her not portraying her role very well but Vaneckova has a

different view. He states that, She has no duties to her children, all her duties are to her husband,

therefore she is even more of a wife than other women of the fourteenth century who combine

the roles of wife and mother.14 In her role as a wife, she is very individualistic. This is shown

through her multiple marriages and her treatment and love of her husbands varied greatly.

11 Martin, Chaucers Women: Nuns, Wives, and Amazons. 35.

12 Vaneckova, Women in Geoffrey Chaucers The Cantebury Tales: Woman as a Narrator, Woman in the
Narrative.15.
13 Ibid. 15-16.
14 Ibid. 16.
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Although it may seem like she isnt really fulfilling her role, in the end she is subservient and

submissive to her husband after he proclaims her equality. 15

All three of these women give us an insight on womens roles during the

Medieval era, and how men and the Church define what the ideal woman is. Chaucer shows us

that although women may fulfill these narrow roles, they are still interesting individuals. He of

course does not write on the women who are outside of their desired roles, showing us that he is

a product of his time. This, however, does not diminish the value of his writing in a historical

context, for it proves that the idea of men or the Church having dominion over womens lives

and their worth is such a key concept of this time, that not even one of the greatest literary

figures of this era could not move past it.

15 Ibid. 17.
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Bibliography

Bullough, Vern L. Transvestites in the Middle Ages. American Journal of Sociology 79, no. 6

(May 1974): 1381-1394. Accessed February 11, 2015.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2777140.

Heckle, N.M. Sex, Society and Medieval Women. University of Rochester. Accessed February

11, 2015. www.library.rochester.edu/robbins/sex-society.

Karras, Ruth Mazo. Prostitution and the Question of Sexual Identity in Medieval Europe.

Journal of Womens History 11.2 (1999): 159-177.

Karras, Ruth Mazo. Sex and the Singlewoman. Singlewomen in the European Past, 1250-

1800. Edited by Judith M. Bennett and Amy M. Froide. Philadelphia: University of

Pennsylvania Press, 1999. 127-140.

Martin, Priscilla. Chaucers Women: Nuns, Wives, and Amazons. Iowa City: University of Iowa

Press, 1990.

Rollo-Koster, Joelle. From Prostitutes to Brides of Christ: the Avignonese Repenties in the Late

Middle Ages. Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 32, no. 1 (Winter 2002):

109-144.

Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. Gender in History: Global Perspectives. 2nd ed. Malden, Mass:

Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. 36-38.

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Narrator, Woman in the Narrative. Masaryk University, 2007.