Patriarchy During The Middle Ages

Patriarchy has been the way of the world for hundreds of thousands of years, but has it always been that way? Patriarchy has evolved over the years and this evolution can be traced to its peak, and watched as started to fall like it continues to do today. Starting in near the beginning of the Christian Church with contributions from Ancient Greece until the first wave of feminism in the 19th century, patriarchy has evolved into a flow of power and resistance leading to where society stands today.

Religion has been the moral foundation of people since its’ beginning. Christianity is one of those faiths that guides millions, and in this we seen how the patriarchy maintained its’ strong holdings in ancient times. The story begins with “Genesis,”

"Women in tile Early Middle Ages" shows us the differences between different empire of the time, and here we see the first powerful sings of resistance. There was a lot of growth towards the end of the great Roman Empire, that allowed women to flourish, but only in the upper class. The Romans are part of the resistance of the era, choosing to live differently from the rest of a strengthening patriarchy throughout Europe. This is contrasted to the extreme with the firmly patriarchal Germans of the time. Women were not even thought capable of committing a crime, due to the lack of will, “The thief’s wife was herself free of guilt, “since no wife can forbid her husband to place inside his cottage what he please” (Gies 21). We go on to see that women in higher classes were more educated, and that there were extraordinary women during the middle ages. However, there was still the expectation of a care-taker, and even ensuring that women stay illiterate as seen in “The Middle Ages and After". By educating those jobs that women could never have, there was an ensured dependence and subordination. The Ancient Greeks were also firmly Patriarchal, as seen through Aristotle who chose to make a case for male superiority in "The Differences Between Men and Women,” where he makes declares that men are what give children their souls during conception, making them far more important than

Here is where the battle for women’s freedom becomes more pronounced, starting during the war itself with Abigail Adams pleading with her husband to remember women during the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. “Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife, Abigail, During the Revolution,” gives us an insight into the thoughts of women during a war for freedom. John Adams reacts to his wife’s message with, “At your extraordinary code of law, I cannot help but laugh,” showing no respect for her ideas. He goes on to compare women with discontented slaves. The sections labeled "Introduction" and "A Vindication of Rights of Women” both focus on the very early stages of feminist thought. Mary Wollstonecraft’s “Vindication” is particularly sharp look at the true loss women are suffering under patriarchy, which isn’t done by a male writer before this point. This is a marked change in the readings prior to this, which were by men. Men had to decide to fight for or confine women to the lives that men chose. These artciels hold more voice, and are more active and accurate to the struggles of women. The "Seneca Falls Declaration," "Address to the New York Legislature, 1854" and "Address...1860" are all speeches and events given by women for women. There is no ulterior motive, or undercurrent of superiority. There is not the sense of helplessness