Showing posts with label the middle ages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the middle ages. Show all posts

September 26, 2012

Peasant Women – Real Heroines of the Middle Ages



The medieval society has various classes such as royals, nobles, farmers, peasants and many others. Among them, the lives of the peasants were hardest, as they had to do the tough labors in the fields of others. Several other hard works were also assigned to these peasants, also known as serfs. Earning their livelihood was the major focus of lives of the serfs, so they had no scope of the artistic activities. The medieval costumes of these peasants used to have very simple and basic.

As a matter of the fact, the lives of peasant women were much harder than men. They had to help their husbands in their works, plus they had to manage the household works such as cooking the meal. The daily life of a woman in a peasant family would start at 3 A.M. First, she had to prepare breakfast in the morning for the family. In the day time, she had to go the fields with her husband for harvesting and other works of the farms. Moreover, she also had to make arrangements for the daily lunch and dinner.

Besides, it was also expected from women to take care of the small animal such as geese and chicken. Moreover, mending the clothes, weaving and spinning were also part of the life of the females. Collecting the berries and herbs was also under their responsibility. Moreover, they were also required to have knowledge of basic herbs for the nursing the family. Similar to most of the cultures, taking care of the children of the family was also the responsibility of the women.

Working hours in the summer days used to have longer as compared to the winter season. Most of the time of the women was spent in fields, household works and children, so they had very little leisure time. The medieval dresses of the women would be made up of wool, and the lifestyle used to be simple.

The abovementioned facts state that the role of peasant women was much important than men. They were in the center of households, and life for men was almost impossible for them. Therefore, it will not be wrong to say that females had much significant role in the uplift of the society in the medieval era.

Moreover, the role of women in the other sections of the society apart from peasants can also not be denied. Still, there was discrimination with women – it is really shocking.