Noble Women's Role In The Middle Ages

1092 Words5 Pages

Throughout the Middle Ages, noble women played a key role in upper class life, whether it was taking care of the household or entertaining guests. Although these women were considered nobles, they still weren’t completely respected or allowed to give input on certain matters. This opinion was highly impacted by the church, which said that they were subordinate to men. Mainly, they were supposed to take care of the children, the servants, and sometimes the estate. Generally, noble women lived in castles on their husband’s property. The roles of noble women in the Middle Ages can be seen through certain aspects like their daily life, jobs and responsibilities, clothing, and historical significance. A noble woman’s day began in the early morning when her servants dressed her. Following this was breakfast and later on, lunch, which was the largest meal of the day. To eat, there was normally meat, fish, rolls, and water. Sometime after this dinner would be served, and she would go to bed. Throughout the day, she went to church to pray and watched over the young noble children that were living with her to complete their education. If, …show more content…

When her husband was away or off fighting in battle, she was expected to be loyal and take care of his estate until he returned home. She also had other responsibilities like handling the money, managing fights, and supervising the work of the servants. When guests visited, she would entertain them by preparing a large feast in their honor. If the manor at anytime was under attack, the lady of the house would sometimes even fight back against the intruders. Met Museum also provides information about noble women going into battle like in this quote, “…noble ladies-turned-military commanders, such as Countess Jeanne de Penthièvre…” Overall these women had very important responsibilities in relation to keeping the estate and other things under