Women, Violence, and Power in Medieval Europe, 850-1400

by Adam Matthews and Carly Quijano

Popular culture and internet discussions of gender in medieval European society portray women as helpless victims of violence with few legal protections and ultimately subject to the aggressive impulses of their male kin. Similarly, these discussions portray men as particularly willing and/or prone to acts of violence toward women. Though there is evidence that women were at times victims, this is far from the monolithic experience of most individuals. Such cases are only a small part of a broader story, in which medieval women held far greater agency than their Classical era predecessors or women later did in the Renaissance. This article, detailing source material from the ninth century to the fifteenth century, will discuss three medieval sources that demonstrate women’s agency and legal protections, as well as the affection that existed between wives and husbands. 

The first source comes from Lombard Law (a northern Italian legal system) in the eleventh century. It is a written contract between two families on the event of a marriage, and follows the usual customs of this period and place. The contract mandates that a wife receives one fourth of her husband’s current and future property the day after marriage, and that she has complete freedom to do what she wishes with it. This property would be transferred to her by another written contract, addressed directly to her. Furthermore, if the husband denies her this property and contract, he will be fined harshly and will still have to give her the property. The contract also includes a clause for the physical protection of the wife. If the husband mistreats her and cannot acquit himself with an oath on the Bible, he will then be forced to pay a harsh penalty (in money or property) to her relatives. Another document from the same period shows the enforcement of this clause in a marriage contract, as an abusive husband is forced to hand over substantial landholdings to his aggrieved wife. 

An exploration of these Lombard contracts demonstrates that medieval women were not at the complete mercy of their husbands. There were legal and financial pressures that could check abusive behavior by a husband toward his wife. There were real consequences for a man if he mistreated his wife, and societal expectations enshrined his care of her into law. Furthermore, upon entering a marriage a wife gained control over assets and financial status of her own, granting her economic and social power. These circumstances were far from exclusive to Lombard law. Across Europe in the central Middle Ages (1000-1300), women–particularly those from aristocratic families–held landed property in their own right, giving the women a voice in the political dynamics of the period. We see a significant degree of economic and political agency among women across the continent, but women’s autonomy and influence was felt on what has been characterized as the fringes of the medieval world, as well.

An examination of Icelandic literary sources detailing blood feuds (honor-based disputes involving reciprocal slayings of members of an opposing household) reveals that women were generally not principal targets of violence. Instead they had powerful voices that helped to direct the course of the conflicts. Scholars have pointed to numerous examples, but no other text better displays the leading role women could assume than the events portrayed in Njal’s Saga, a principal text of the medieval Icelandic literary corpus.

This source is a lengthy prose narrative from the thirteenth century that details the interaction of multiple families in southern Iceland from the ninth through eleventh centuries. As the story unfolds the reader sees the full gambit of family life over the course of generations. This gives us a good overview of the various beliefs concerning gender and the relative power of men and women in rural Iceland. At the center of the story are the opposing families of Njal Thorgeirsson and Gunnar of Hildarendi. The wives of these two men, Bergortha and Hallgerd Hoskuldottir (respectively), are central characters and leaders in the story. The two men are great friends, but animosity between Bergortha and Hallgerd escalates until multiple families are embroiled in the conflict. Numerous men are killed in reciprocal killings, but the women themselves are never targets of the violence. Despite the best efforts of Njal and Gunnar, the men in the story are powerless to stop the feud. Their wives were the determinants in whether familial honor had been upheld. 

This dynamic and female leadership in feuding is a common theme in Icelandic Sagas. It is important to note that this role for women was not always seen as positive–with Njal and Gunnar assuming the role of tragic heroes–but women’s ability to guide the action and shame their male kin demonstrates their power and influence in the household life. Despite their leadership, they were not targets in the structure of blood feuds. This tells us much about how women were viewed in Icelandic society that conforms to broader patterns across medieval Europe.

Beyond the legal protections afforded to women, as well as their agency in conflicts, the sincere affection between men and women must also be taken into account. A fourteenth-century French handbook for soon-to-be wives illustrates the reciprocal and harmonious relationship that was expected to form between man and wife. Written from the husband’s perspective, it encourages a couple to love and care for each other, even going so far as to be completely willing to forgive adultery (no matter which party cheats). This source repeatedly emphasizes the respect husband and wife must show to one another, and furthermore, it is clear that in terms of adultery, the behavioral standards are equal for both sexes.  

In comparison to women of the modern world, medieval women possessed less control over their lives, with individual circumstances varying in relation to social class, region, and period. However, they were far from helpless victims at the mercy of male kin. Legal codes, property exchange documents, records of political events, and literature all show that women could be highly respected by their families and rise to leadership positions in society. This marks a strong contrast to both preceding and subsequent periods in European history. 

References/Further Reading:

Lombard Law: 

Medieval Italy: Texts in Translation. Katherine L. Jansen, Joanna Drell, and Frances Andrews. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009.

France:

The Good Wife’s Guide (Le Ménagier de Paris). Gina L. Greco, Christine M. Rose. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 

Iceland:

Njal’s Saga. Edited by Robert Cook. London: Penguin Books, 2002. 

General Works on Women and Medieval Violence:

Nira Gradowicz-Pancer, “De-gendering Female Violence: Merovingian Female Honour as an Exchange of Violence,”  Early Medieval Europe 11 (Feb. 2003): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0254.00098

Howell, Martha. “Marriage in Medieval Latin Christendom,” in A Companion to the Medieval World. eds. Carol Lansing and Edward D. English. Malden, M.A.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.