The life of a medieval woman was not always an easy one. While some women were living comfortably, the majority of women were dominated by the men around them, and were required to understand what their “place” was in the society. Life in a medieval town for women was very traditional. The women were not consulted or in any type of role for the country that they lived in. Their jobs were dictated to them, and women were expected to take care of their husband and children, first and foremost.

·     History Learning Site Medieval women

·     Teacher Oz The Middle Ages, Chivalry and Knighthood

·     Robbins Library  Sex and society of the medieval woman

Day to day activities would include taking care of the children, doing all of the cooking for every meal, washing clothes, cleaning, and additional housework. This would be in addition to any job she did have outside the home. Also, since most of the land was rural, about 90% of the women of medieval times had to be involved with farm work.

·     Women in the Middle Ages The everyday life of women- resources and more information

·     Castles The role of medieval women

·     McMaster An interactive guide to women in the Middle Ages

·     Online Encyclopedia Medieval music and women’s roles

Women who did have outside jobs would be paid much less or the same job as the men who did them. There was no equality for women. For example, men who worked making hay may have been paid about 6 pence a day, while a woman doing the same job would get about 4 pence. Since the society was male dominated, a woman could not complain about this discrepancy. Another job that women were typically allowed to do outside of the home would be anything that involved the making of clothes. Education was also not encouraged for most women who lived in the medieval ages.

·     Middle-Ages Religion, clothing, people, history and more

·     Famous People Famous people, men and women, of the medieval period

·     Educational Legacy Education of women in the middle ages

The medieval woman had different forms of dress, depending on the time period. Most clothing was very long as well as full, and covered the woman on most of her body. The skirts were usually lifted up a bit at the hips, and came down to the ground. Corsets were worn by many women to make themselves appear thinner. The way a woman dressed varied greatly depending on how rich they were or poor, the time era, and their job. A poor woman’s dress was extremely simple, while the rich and noble worn the finest clothes they could buy. You can find even find adult costumes and kids costumes that reflect the dress of the medieval time period.

·     Renstore Medieval costumes

·     Medieval Life Medieval clothing

·     Romance Reader Glossary of terms concerning medieval dress

·     Middle Ages Timeline of Medieval dress

·     Yes Net Fashion of the medieval woman

Medieval women also had very little freedom in regards to their lives. They could not marry someone unless their parents gave them permission, and they were not permitted to divorce. Unless they became widows, a medieval woman couldn’t own their own property, and could not inherent land from parents if they had brothers, as the brothers would get it. Medieval women had a rough life in most regards, and many did not live past forty. The rate of death during childbirth was thought to be around 20%. The life of the medieval woman, unless born into royalty and money, was very rough indeed.