In medieval literature women use men to further their agendas. Women influence men to do their dirty work. For example in the book “Macbeth” Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to kill his friend, King Duncan, so they could rule Scotland. Her influence being to call his manhood into question.
Henry was also well known as being France’s enemy (Bard). Within two years after their marriage, Henry and Eleanor were crowned king and queen of England after Henry’s agreement to the English authority upon the passing of King Stephen (Eleanor of Aquitaine). Eleanor and Henry produced five sons and three daughters, a total of eight children. Although Eleanor’s second marriage seemed to have gone better than her first, she and Henry still argued very often. “After Henry publicly displayed his love for another woman, Rosamond Clifford, Eleanor left him” (Kaplan 75).
Expectations for men and women in their role in society have been apparent in European history. During the Renaissance, The Book of Courtier explains that men are expected to participate in scholarly, political, and civic activities while the roles of women are limited to taking care of the children and household. Scripture depicts a similar idea of social roles in terms of authority between women and men which have also influenced the attitudes of society. However, when someone, specifically a woman, does not conform to those expectations, there is resistance from men to accept them. Female rulers such as Queen Elizabeth I had to rule with an unwavering assertiveness and shrewdness to maintain dominance over the chauvinistic opposition.
Today brides are often identifiable by their dress, however, a modern woman’s marital status is not apparent from her clothing. A Renaissance woman’s marriage, on the contrary, would be marked by her acquisition of a wardrobe reflecting her change of status from maiden to matron and her transition from her father’s household to that of her husband’s. A woman’s clothing was thus specifically associated with matrimony in Renaissance Italy, from the beginning of her marriage to its end.
In his, essay, "The Dead Baby Mystery," Gawande mentions a child abuse court case that involves the deaths of eight children of Marie Noe that no one could explain. As an example of how no one could explain the deaths, Gawande writes, "some of the most respected pathologists of the time, could find no explanation for the crib deaths" (202) and "Foul play was strongly considered, but no evidence was found" (202). With the use of these points in his essay, Gawande presents a broader sense that cases, like Marie Noe, for child abuse do not have an easy outcome in determining guilt. Even three decades later — Marie Noe's case was reopened, and the judged charged her — one of the officials wrote back to Gawande explains "that there was no direct
Catherine only gave Henry one surviving child, who later became known as Mary I. She miscarried all her male babies. Henry believed that God was punishing him for having married his brother’s wife. He found a passage in the bible that backed his belief. The passage said, “If a man shall take his brother’s wife, they shall be childless”.
Arranged marriages are not a new concept, having been around since the ancient times, nor are they extinct in today’s world. The general idea behind it is guaranteeing the parents’ choice of a spouse for their children and they take into account multiple variables when choosing a potential mate for their children. “The Family” by Alessandra Strozzi reveals the behind the scenes of a proposed arranged marriage in the Italian Renaissance. While today, it seems silly to Western civilizations to have arranged marriages, doing so in that period was common. Whether it was for convenience, power or just simply keeping up the prestige of the family, we know of these types of marriages occurred through these documents.
These help convey King Henry’s state of mind because he
Henry’s desire for a new heir is evident, and he deserts his own blood in order to satisfy this want. With the selfish desire to keep England united, he deceives the love-struck and astounded Alais by first mentioning the beauty of love in their potential marriage. By playing with her emotions, Henry had utilized his trickery to veil his ulterior motives under the notion of love. Rather than solidify their relationship through matrimony, Henry’s selfish want caused him to play the game of deceit against his family as well as his own partner Alais, the only one who stayed faithfully on his side amidst the drama’s tangle of
Women of the Medieval Times Women have always had a significant role in history even though they were treated horrible in most cases. During the Medieval Times was really the first time women were allowed to become more than just a house wife. The fight for equality has always been a struggle and even in today’s society is still an ongoing battle. Although women of lower and middle class were treated poorly in the Medieval Times, some powerful women held great responsibility and were looked up too by both men and children; despite being admired, “men were thought to be not only physically stronger but more emotionally stable, more intelligent, and morally less feeble” (Hopkins 5). “The position of women in the Medieval Society was greatly influenced by the views of the Roman Catholic Church” (Heeve).
Once he sets a goal, he uses every resource and focuses all his energy on accomplishing that goal; clearly, he takes his position as a king very seriously. He claims that he does not have the privilege of the ‘untroubled’ sleep of a common man indicating that he is dedicated to fulfilling his obligations as a leader. Furthermore, Shakespeare intends for us to view Henry as a hero by making him seem so committed to his responsibilities above his own personal feelings. (Source B)
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, it does appear to me that Shakespeare presented us with a picture of an imperfect king who possibly struggled with being a Christian and being a king. King Henry was not perfect. As a prince, he was not perfect. As king, he had improved because of his experiences as many of us do throughout our lives. Still, he is a man with a sinful nature and he is imperfect.
Arranged Marriages of the Nobility During the Renaissance period, arranged marriage was very common due to the fact that money, political power, and land would result from the marriage. Even though arranged marriages are depicted as an incompetent commodity there are benefits of the marriage for both the husband as well as the wife and that is why there are still arranged marriages today. An arranged marriage is where a third party selects the couple to married. In Renaissance time non-arranged marriages were almost unheard of with the nobility.
The next wive was Anne of Cleves and due to the fact that she barely spoke English and had a lack of romance with Henry, Henry began looking for his next wife almost immediately. Henry’s fifth wife has a very
During medieval times, women were expected to be mothers, wives, and peace weavers, none other than that. They were required to be pure, good, and attractive in order to be portrayed as the “greatest gift to mankind.” Otherwise they would be looked upon as evil, witch-like, and monstrous. Women were expected to be adorned in jewels, well-liked, and respected by all. They shall cause no conflicts and should bow to their male authorities.
