Thursday, January 3, 2008

 

Introduction

 

“Women in Early Modern Europe”—all of these terms are under contestation.

 

  1. Women: what does it mean to talk about women? Are we looking at a certain group of people, and if so, what do they have in common? What might the variables among this group be? Are we talking about men? Women and gender–two different yet related ways of approaching the subject.
  2. Early Modern: when does this begin, when does it end? What does it mean to be modern? Question of periodization.
  3. Europe: what region is this? What variations might exist?

 

Traditional periodization: Ancient—Medieval—Early Modern or Renaissance

 

  1. Pagan antiquity of Greek and Rome
    1. Plato and Aristotle.  Body/Mind dualism; concept of women as deficient men.
    2. Athenian Greece: most restrictive customs anywhere. Xenophon.
    3. Roman law: highly influential, yet Rome less restrictive than Athens.

 

  1. Christianity
    1. Judaism
    2. Gospels
    3. Pauline epistles
    4. Church fathers

 

  1. Germanic traditions
    1. Concept of wergeld makes distinction among class, gender, age
    2. Women useful in establishing relationships among tribes (“peaceweavers”)
    3. Still, polygamy was common, as well as brutality (Gregory of Tours)

 

  1. Medieval period
    1. Blending of these three sources.  Warrior aristocracy; celibate priesthood; beginning in 1000 or so, rising importance of bourgoisie
    2. Feudal landholding: courtly love tradition.
    3. Peasants
    4. Convents
    5. Town life

 

  1. Humanism and the Renaissance
    1. Joan Kelly-Gadol uses four criteria to judge the status of Renaissance women: regulation of female sexuality as compared to male; women's economic and political roles; cultural roles as shapers of society, access to education and outlets; ideology about women.
    2. On all counts, she’ll conclude that the Renaissance was not something that applied to women.

 

  1. Reformation
    1. More positive view of sexuality; celibacy not a virtue
    2. Convent no longer an option. Affirmation of patriarchy.

 

  1. Rise of the modern state
    1. Greater regulation of sexuality
    2. More central control

 

Questions to consider:

 

  1. What does it mean to be a feminist?  Is this a term that is viable for premodern people?
  2. What is misogyny?  What is patriarchy? Is patriarchy intrinsically misogynistic?
  3. In looking at the past, are we aiming to tell the story of women’s oppression?  What kind of message does this send?  Do we want to talk instead about empowerment?  What about telling the truth—or is this possible?

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: January 3, 2008

Disclaimer