Aristocratic women had a different story from that of peasant women in terms of their financial and political power. Marriage would mark a stage of financial dependence for aristocrats, according to Antwerp poet, Anna Bijns. “But one who earns her board and clothes/ shouldn’t scurry to suffer a man’s rod” implies that an economically self-sufficient woman would turn into a financially dependent woman when she gets married. The husband would take control over the household and the finance, which leaves the woman financially dependent, without property. On the other hand, the stage of being widowed, was when aristocratic women were considered most powerful with procurement of land, income, and political power. For instance, dowry land would be returned to her. In addition, the widowed woman would acquire income from one third of the dead husband’s estate. This would give her more financial independence than when she was married. This was a true case for Christine de Pisan who was widowed at the age of 25 during late 14th century. She paid for her children from proceeds. Not only in terms of the financial aspect, but also in terms of political power, she gained more as there is no man to speak for her in court or make political decisions. She voiced her opinion in lawsuits and was successful in protecting her lands. To further support the statement that aristocratic women gained financial power when their husbands died, there is a case study of Mahaut of Artois. She inherited a country from her father in 1302, after her husband and brother were both killed. Recorded bailiffs show her organized and effective management of finance. She determined her own legal procedure and constructed a method of electing municipal magistrates. She managed to protect her land against the Church in a court in Paris. She even judges internal disputes in town. The elevation in her legal status is undoubtedly clear with her political stabilisation being clearly visible. She sets up her own cultural centre of manuscripts as well as religious institutions and hospitals. Although this is an extreme case of an aristocratic widowed woman rising drastically to unmeasured power in so many different aspects, this implies that widowed women in the aristocratic class had the potential to gain their social status in society when they became widows.
In urban areas, where farming and domestic work were not the norm for women, “being financially dependent, without property” doesn’t necessarily hold true. Women were involved in occupations such as moneychangers or lenders. In 1368, six out of eleven moneychangers were women according to Williams and Echols’ Between Pit and Pedestal Women In The Middle Ages. Many prosperous women were into direct investments in shipping enterprises and trading careers. One of many was Alice Horsford who owned half of the vessel, Saynte Mariebot. Even when they were widowed and had to close business deals that their husbands had started, they did not call into financial instability nor were they denied their legal status. In the case of Margery Russell, widow from Coventry, she lost one of her ships from pirates. However, her legal status was maintained or even elevated as she received letters of marque against Santander. This would allow her to capture goods from pirate’s city-licensed ships around the same amount in value to what she had loss. Her wares added up to around £800, which she used to purchase two Spanish ships. Businesswomen were allowed to make legal transactions; however, were not allowed to participate in “town governments or security systems”. It can be disclosed that the legal status of prosperous women in urban areas was restrained to a certain extent with some of these cases being extreme and rare.
On the other hand, the story was different for unskilled women works who had arrived into the cities. They weren’t able to form guilds due to their low paid jobs. Some guilds permitted men to discriminating women such as in the guild of Parisian chandlers where Guillemette Olivier barred a female worker from practicing the specific craft due to her lack of aptitude. The level of discrimination and treatment of women varied between guilds but the court eventually “curtailed her business”, which highlights her restricted political and legal status. Even on the financial side of female crafts, men frequently exploited them. The middlemen would cut off supplies or significantly raise prices, which would hit the women’s finance significantly. In France, women were traditionally paid less than men, mostly half of men’s wages. The poorest members of cities were the single or widowed unskilled women worker, which links back to the women being financially dependent. In 1410 Frankfurt, 33.6% of women were below the poverty line, which clearly shows that many unskilled women workers were living completely different lives from the prosperous widowed women in the city centres.
In conclusion, women of different social statuses had different standards of life in terms of their financial, political, and legal status. It also had a lot of relevance to the woman’s current marital status. Except for peasant women and unskilled women workers in the cities, women of other social classes seemed to show financial independence, and obtained more political and legal power when they became widows. They became more independent and could voice their opinion in public and actively became involved in the financial sector of society. Although there are a few cases of women becoming very successful as they turned into a widow, most lay women were restrained financially, politically, and legally to a certain degree.
by
jameskim (student)
