Women in Anglo-Saxon society
Important figures in the history of studying early medieval women include Christine Fell, and Pauline Stafford.
Fell summarises that, in general, women were "near equal companions to the males in their lives, such as husbands and brothers, much more than in any other era before modern time".
[2] Women led religious houses, an important example being the abbess Hilda of Whitby (Hild), and at the time such a position meant having significant political and cultural influence.
[citation needed] Women carried out a range of duties in a household, with tasks changing through the seasons due to climate and weather constraints.
[1] An important figure in poetry, especially the Beowulf poem, high status women are depicted serving drinks for company and family.
[1] In the early English Catholic church, women could be raised to sainthood, and this was most keenly observed immediately following the acceptance of Christianity.
[4] This level of authority did not survive the Viking invasion of 789,[10] although women continued to play important roles in the church in late Anglo-Saxon England.
[5] In nunneries, women would undertake duties across the household, including raising animals, working in the gardens, making textiles, and scribing.
[1][11][12] Although there were some equal opportunities for men and women in the Christian Church in Anglo-Saxon England, scholars including Fell and Pasternack suggest that it is still important to look at the role of the "Patriarchs of the Bible.
[13] Furthermore, churches in Anglo-Saxon England stressed doctrines that preached about virginity as a virtue and faithful monogamy; this is believed to have limited some people's chances of acquiring political power and property.
[17] Emma of Normandy, who married first Æthelred the Unready and then Cnut, and was the mother of Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor, was 'a major force in the turbulent politics of 11th-century England'.
[1] Æthelraed's 1008 code states that widows shall remain unmarried for 12 months after the death of her husband, at which point they have the freedom to choose.
[1] A prospective husband had to offer his wife a valuable gift called the morgengifu, a "morning-gift," which consisted of paying money or giving land for the ladies' hand in marriage.
[1] An example of the law committed by a man was King Æthebald of Mercia who was punished for numerous reasons, including violating holy nuns who were virgins consecrated to God.
Leaving property by means of a will was not restricted to kin; it could also be left to servants, religious figures, and churches.
[23] Some of the items that women would commonly receive via trust or inheritance were real property estates, slaves, livestock, household furnishings, clothing, jewels, and books.
