Peasant Women During The Middle Ages

The greatest part of the population during the Middle Ages consisted of peasants. As described by a Laon bishop in the eleventh century, peasants were a class that "owns nothing that it does not get by its own labor and provided the rest of the population with money, clothing, and food...Not one free man could live without them" (Gies & Gies, 1978). Peasants held a major and a very important role in the society. Nine out of ten people at the time belonged in this hard working class. This social class struggled everyday to make sure their family had a roof over their heads and food to eat by working long hours in the agricultural field. Peasant women had a large contribution in the medieval society but they held a difficult position.
Peasants had to work for their lord and according to the law they did not belong to themselves. Their clothes, their houses, and personal belongings were owned by each lord. The peasant class usually lived in villages in which ten to seventy families were housed. The places that they lived were made out of stone or wood covered by layers of straw and mud. There were only two rooms in each house; a common area with a fireplace where meales were prepared and another room with
Having no access to education or any type of tutors, most of the peasant women were not able to read or write. As a result, they could not be active members of the society because they could not fight for their rights and they could not help but depend on their husbands for everyday tasks. With the ability to only communicate verbally, they were only following directions and never strived to fight for better jobs and a better position in the society. Lacking the ability to read and write they were limited only in domestic activities. Women of this class were primarily responsible for taking care of their children, cooking the food and cleaning the