that 'it is not by chance nor by the fortuitous confluence of men that their troops. . . they are formed, but from the conjunction of entire families." Even more significant is the role of their women in awakening the souls of warriors, their importance in recognizing, inspiring and, above all at times, criticizing their value, the most eminent of virtues according to a militant culture. Thus, despite living in a world dominated by war and a strong physical bias towards the male, Anglo-Saxon women had a valuable history of responsibility for upholding family honor. Their birth relationships remained of vital importance even after marriage, since the bride never came "entirely under the control of her husband and her husband's family", while they could expect fiscal and corporal protection from their own. In this way the child's line could be traced not only through the father, but also through the mother; his social status or, more precisely, that of his family, and from which his was originally derived, was of sufficient importance to merit extreme care in any possible marital alliance, particularly between members of the aristocracy, since it possessed the potential to improve his progeny's position, as well as consolidate the power of his mate and, vice versa, also that of his relatives. If men provided “the main substance of a lineage,” women “provided the connections.” In 1045, Queen Edith, daughter of Earl Godwin, was used in this way by her ambitious politician father to further extend their clan's authority; the saint Edward, her husband, on the other hand, benefited from a union with the Danish royal house, a latent political threat, from which however the Godwin family was intimately connected and, therefore, immune. However, the woman's position within the nucleus depended largely on the strength of her character, the influence of cultural models and her personal relationship with her husband, father, brothers and children. The mother's role was probably the most illustrious, not simply because of the influence probably afforded her by doting offspring (a disposition effective really only in upper-class women), but more critically because "obedience and honor were due equally". to the mother as well as to the father." As counselor, nurturer, and protector, she was held in deep and abiding reverence, while this fundamental feminine purpose, the culminating point of the female life cycle, was celebrated by the two complementary, sometimes contrasting, traditions in Anglo-Saxon. culture: the Christian veneration of the mother, embodied in the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ, and the powerful maternal figures of a pagan past, remembered in the poem "Beowulf", especially in the characters of Hildeburh and, above all, Grendal's mother, whose monstrous portrayal is tempered and, for the most part, justified as the natural desire to "avenge the death of his son". This evident respect for sons, however, does not diminish the value of daughters to the family. As has already been noted, they maintained membership in their natal group throughout their lives and, significantly, blood could be "both asexual and gender-determined, carrying claims, in the right circumstances, to both women and men" . the lack of male heirs did not mean the death of a dynasty, but the elevation of women, whose right to control land, property, and wealth gave them economic weight, greater prestige, and even, at times, a certain independence. For example, in 11th-century Northumbria, Ecgfrida, Earl Uhtred's first wife, received six estates from her father, the holy bishop Ealdhun, which were kept "under her own control". After all, even ifwere it true that her husband had exercised direct jurisdiction over all her assets, after the divorce and after her return to her father's house, she was the one who retained the land. However, the experience of upper-class landowning women was very different from that of the majority of women in Anglo-Saxon society; just like their men, they occupied different and clearly delineated economic strata. At the time of the Domesday Inquiry in 1086, there were 706 female slaves, while many more were wives of the 33,000 males held in bondage ('about 12% of the estimated total population'). Their position depended on the kindness of their lord and, on an everyday level, more commonly their mistress; economically they carried out various tasks, working as milkmaids, weavers and domestic servants, while, both legally and socially, they were considered little more than chattels. More generally, the role played by women as heads of families differed, in reality, only marginally: archaeological evidence of grave goods includes 'thread boxes' used for spinning, the 'preeminent' occupation of 'women of all class' ', a finding which supports the idea that 'married women, whatever their social class, contributed to the economic well-being of their families', although other occupations, such as cooking and weaving, would certainly have been shared by daughters, mothers and wives, free or slave. On the other hand, the discovery of keys and latches presents a distinct image of the mature, married woman as "guardian of a house and its possessions", having access to and control of the family coffers, a responsibility that denoted a considerable economic entity . influence, albeit within a personal and domestic framework. Furthermore, like most early governments, the Anglo-Saxon system was conceived and structured primarily to best serve the needs of home and home. Therefore, it naturally follows that the central court should be a model family, only on a much larger scale, and that, at the center, a woman is at the organizational helm: a queen capable of skillfully and efficiently maintaining the balance of court. , act as an advisor to his powerful companion and, above all, manage the affairs of his royal family. Kingship in early England often meant an unusually dominant and politically active position in high society. Her great wealth, derived largely from the vast lands granted to her upon marriage, allowed her to reward followers, the main requirement of good leadership according to the predatory values of the ancient German tradition (a custom still visible in the conduct of rapacious Vikings) ) and exercise an authority based on the economic and military support of its tenants. Indeed, one of the main reasons why "seventh- and eighth-century queens had no recognized role" was because they were denied "landholdings", or because they suffered from the ancient Wessex prejudice against queens, or because their families did not belong. sufficient position to provide for them. The difference between this and their status in the late Anglo-Saxon period is reflected in Queen Edith's extraordinary possessions: the 'lands awarded to her at Domesday were worth between £1,570 and £2,000 per annum', making her 'the richest woman' in England'. However, early royal consorts were not prevented from ruling alongside, on behalf of, or in place of their husbands: for example, in 672 AD, "Seaxburg, the widow of Coenwalh king of Wessex, reigned after him for a year". These queens, however, share one very vital thing in common: their power is defined, and both created and limited, by their relationships with the men in their family. Consequentially,although the anointing of Aelfthryth, wife of King Edgar, in 973, gave a sanctified and exceptional charm to the status of queen and she alone was "of sufficient public importance to be listed among the witnesses of the royal charters", the first peer was still limited to the family; his "influence". . . she was very dependent on the support of her husband or son and could disappear as circumstances changed. The potential for political and religious authority was, in turn, almost entirely limited to royal power or aristocratic women; consequently, the great abbesses of the early Christian period were, almost uniformly, of noble blood. The illustrious figure of Abbess Hilda of Whitby (c.614 – 680), praised by the Venerable Bede as the paradigmatic leader of a devout community, was herself a member of the Northumbrian royal dynasty and, consequently, had access not only to the funds of a ruling family who desperately desired sacred sanction through the intercession of a holy relative, but also enjoyed a "highly significant political role". Furthermore, the double monastery, which she so ably commanded, was a particularly peculiar feature of the Anglo-Saxon Church during the 7th-8th centuries; Rooted in the more distinct status that women held in Germanic society, this extraordinary fusion of males and females, "living together with varying degrees of internal segregation under the general authority of an abbess," led to a unique spiritual and intellectual atmosphere of mutual respect. , guidance and admiration. As Stephanie Hollis argues, the position of these religious women in relation to men, and their active participation in a cosmic struggle against the evils of the world, reflected the heroic ideal of the 'comitatus', as well as evoking the 'comrade-warrior' model. . . from the pagan imagery of the Valkyrie'; thus, Christianity may have actively preserved the ancient pre-eminence of women, albeit within a vigorously pious and academic framework. It is also worth noting, however, that Christian ideology similarly supported the concept of the "soldier of Christ", a theme "common in patristic literature". Thus, the two most basic influences in Anglo-Saxon society, a bloody and epic culture combined with a physically passive, though mentally and spiritually demanding, system of faith, promoted the exceptional position of the early abbesses and their daughters in Christ. The age of the double monasteries, however, was gradually completely replaced by the "second phase of conversion", begun, at the end of the 7th century, by Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury, when "the changing perspectives of women were used to justify a diminution of their activities and their role.’ Their former religious status was, in many ways, largely just the product of the brief period of leniency, insecurity and desperation during the founding of the English Church, when the continuing importance of the Germanic woman allowed them to assume a certain holy authority over men, especially since a conflicting warrior code made the transition much more difficult for the male body than for the already peaceful female body. What remained was a deep reverence, common to most patriarchies, for the purity of the virgin ; a cultural attitude that had a substantial effect on the way women were perceived in Anglo-Saxon society, as well as on the prestige of some highly specialized roles. The cult of the Virgin Mary was a pervasive social and religious force in early England; in fact, "the idea of a passive Anglo-Saxon woman", dominated by her male relatives and by the misogynistic doctrines of the Christian faith, derived "from the idea that the only acceptable model for her was the Virgin". This, perhaps, was true to some extent: statusA woman's life was defined first by that of her family, then by the strength of her own moral value, judged, of course, by men. Furthermore, there is even an insidious sense, in Bede's tributes and in Aldhelm's praise to the nuns of Barking, elevated "by that special attribute, virginity...". . . considered a close relative of angelic bliss", that the only way for a woman to be recognized is to be, at the same time, "virginal, maternal, regal and holy"; a daunting criterion for all but the most extraordinary and fortunate women. Thus, the cultural perception of the period, colored by a religion obsessed with the pollution of the secular world, as well as women's inherent responsibility for its initial and ongoing corruption, seemed to have only extolled particular feminine traits, including an emphasis on noble birth; a characteristic which has necessitated the exclusion of the vast majority of the female population and explains, in part, the reasons why there is a dearth of written evidence on the status and condition of the common woman. However, the survival of epic and poetic literature does not allow us to understand some of the values that Anglo-Saxon society attributed to women, even to its extremely eminent, sometimes partially mythical queens: in "Beowulf", for example, Queen Wealtheow is evoked 'bejeweled' and 'distinguished by the quality of her mind'. The vivid reference to wealth is fundamental to understanding the role of all aristocratic ladies in dispensing treasures to their husband's faithful acolytes and, at the same time, underlines her primary duty of controller of the family's capital; the precious clothes and jewels found in some female graves can be seen as evidence of this close association. The statement regarding his mental abilities, on the other hand, indicates an unusual respect and confidence in effectiveness of the female brain, allowing for the interpretation that individual women, especially those of higher status, were positively personalized and flattered for their mental abilities. intellects; something distinctive in the Anglo-Saxon portrayal of great women, compared to the vacuous beauty and charm that the Normans later attributed to their chief maids. Likewise, each queen's status might depend on her skill with "words"; her rhetorical skill calms court conflicts, earning her the role of "symbol of [her] unity and concord", demands promises and oaths of loyalty from the men who drink from the cup of her generous hospitality, and has the vital power to mediate, a name of the grateful supplicants, with the king himself. This critical position as counselor and intercessor was almost identical to that held by Abbess Hilda, while the fundamental nature of her role was "derived not only from the nobility of [her] birth, but also from Whitby's status as an educational centre". and seminar'. Indeed, in Anglo-Saxon England, "it seems that it was women who embraced the bookish life with particular enthusiasm": their general literacy may have even surpassed that of men and, although there is no direct evidence of creative female authors, their status of intellectuals and scholars, heavily involved in education, may not be so easily ignored. The law codes of King Aethelbert of Kent and Alfred of Wessex, as well as various others, provide another useful source for the importance and situation of the majority of women in early English society. First of all, marriage was considered "in the form of a contract between the groom and the bride's relatives", a healthy economic exchange, which may have had the effect, both legal and social, of commodifying the person of the bride. Despite;.

Topic > that 'it is not by chance nor by the fortuitous confluence of men that their troops. . . they are formed, but from the conjunction of entire families." Even more significant is the role of their women in awakening the souls of warriors, their importance in recognizing, inspiring and, above all at times, criticizing their value, the most eminent of virtues according to a militant culture. Thus, despite living in a world dominated by war and a strong physical bias towards the male, Anglo-Saxon women had a valuable history of responsibility for upholding family honor. Their birth relationships remained of vital importance even after marriage, since the bride never came "entirely under the control of her husband and her husband's family", while they could expect fiscal and corporal protection from their own. In this way the child's line could be traced not only through the father, but also through the mother; his social status or, more precisely, that of his family, and from which his was originally derived, was of sufficient importance to merit extreme care in any possible marital alliance, particularly between members of the aristocracy, since it possessed the potential to improve his progeny's position, as well as consolidate the power of his mate and, vice versa, also that of his relatives. If men provided “the main substance of a lineage,” women “provided the connections.” In 1045, Queen Edith, daughter of Earl Godwin, was used in this way by her ambitious politician father to further extend their clan's authority; the saint Edward, her husband, on the other hand, benefited from a union with the Danish royal house, a latent political threat, from which however the Godwin family was intimately connected and, therefore, immune. However, the woman's position within the nucleus depended largely on the strength of her character, the influence of cultural models and her personal relationship with her husband, father, brothers and children. The mother's role was probably the most illustrious, not simply because of the influence probably afforded her by doting offspring (a disposition effective really only in upper-class women), but more critically because "obedience and honor were due equally". to the mother as well as to the father." As counselor, nurturer, and protector, she was held in deep and abiding reverence, while this fundamental feminine purpose, the culminating point of the female life cycle, was celebrated by the two complementary, sometimes contrasting, traditions in Anglo-Saxon. culture: the Christian veneration of the mother, embodied in the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ, and the powerful maternal figures of a pagan past, remembered in the poem "Beowulf", especially in the characters of Hildeburh and, above all, Grendal's mother, whose monstrous portrayal is tempered and, for the most part, justified as the natural desire to "avenge the death of his son". This evident respect for sons, however, does not diminish the value of daughters to the family. As has already been noted, they maintained membership in their natal group throughout their lives and, significantly, blood could be "both asexual and gender-determined, carrying claims, in the right circumstances, to both women and men" . the lack of male heirs did not mean the death of a dynasty, but the elevation of women, whose right to control land, property, and wealth gave them economic weight, greater prestige, and even, at times, a certain independence. For example, in 11th-century Northumbria, Ecgfrida, Earl Uhtred's first wife, received six estates from her father, the holy bishop Ealdhun, which were kept "under her own control". After all, even ifwere it true that her husband had exercised direct jurisdiction over all her assets, after the divorce and after her return to her father's house, she was the one who retained the land. However, the experience of upper-class landowning women was very different from that of the majority of women in Anglo-Saxon society; just like their men, they occupied different and clearly delineated economic strata. At the time of the Domesday Inquiry in 1086, there were 706 female slaves, while many more were wives of the 33,000 males held in bondage ('about 12% of the estimated total population'). Their position depended on the kindness of their lord and, on an everyday level, more commonly their mistress; economically they carried out various tasks, working as milkmaids, weavers and domestic servants, while, both legally and socially, they were considered little more than chattels. More generally, the role played by women as heads of families differed, in reality, only marginally: archaeological evidence of grave goods includes 'thread boxes' used for spinning, the 'preeminent' occupation of 'women of all class' ', a finding which supports the idea that 'married women, whatever their social class, contributed to the economic well-being of their families', although other occupations, such as cooking and weaving, would certainly have been shared by daughters, mothers and wives, free or slave. On the other hand, the discovery of keys and latches presents a distinct image of the mature, married woman as "guardian of a house and its possessions", having access to and control of the family coffers, a responsibility that denoted a considerable economic entity . influence, albeit within a personal and domestic framework. Furthermore, like most early governments, the Anglo-Saxon system was conceived and structured primarily to best serve the needs of home and home. Therefore, it naturally follows that the central court should be a model family, only on a much larger scale, and that, at the center, a woman is at the organizational helm: a queen capable of skillfully and efficiently maintaining the balance of court. , act as an advisor to his powerful companion and, above all, manage the affairs of his royal family. Kingship in early England often meant an unusually dominant and politically active position in high society. Her great wealth, derived largely from the vast lands granted to her upon marriage, allowed her to reward followers, the main requirement of good leadership according to the predatory values of the ancient German tradition (a custom still visible in the conduct of rapacious Vikings) ) and exercise an authority based on the economic and military support of its tenants. Indeed, one of the main reasons why "seventh- and eighth-century queens had no recognized role" was because they were denied "landholdings", or because they suffered from the ancient Wessex prejudice against queens, or because their families did not belong. sufficient position to provide for them. The difference between this and their status in the late Anglo-Saxon period is reflected in Queen Edith's extraordinary possessions: the 'lands awarded to her at Domesday were worth between £1,570 and £2,000 per annum', making her 'the richest woman' in England'. However, early royal consorts were not prevented from ruling alongside, on behalf of, or in place of their husbands: for example, in 672 AD, "Seaxburg, the widow of Coenwalh king of Wessex, reigned after him for a year". These queens, however, share one very vital thing in common: their power is defined, and both created and limited, by their relationships with the men in their family. Consequentially,although the anointing of Aelfthryth, wife of King Edgar, in 973, gave a sanctified and exceptional charm to the status of queen and she alone was "of sufficient public importance to be listed among the witnesses of the royal charters", the first peer was still limited to the family; his "influence". . . she was very dependent on the support of her husband or son and could disappear as circumstances changed. The potential for political and religious authority was, in turn, almost entirely limited to royal power or aristocratic women; consequently, the great abbesses of the early Christian period were, almost uniformly, of noble blood. The illustrious figure of Abbess Hilda of Whitby (c.614 – 680), praised by the Venerable Bede as the paradigmatic leader of a devout community, was herself a member of the Northumbrian royal dynasty and, consequently, had access not only to the funds of a ruling family who desperately desired sacred sanction through the intercession of a holy relative, but also enjoyed a "highly significant political role". Furthermore, the double monastery, which she so ably commanded, was a particularly peculiar feature of the Anglo-Saxon Church during the 7th-8th centuries; Rooted in the more distinct status that women held in Germanic society, this extraordinary fusion of males and females, "living together with varying degrees of internal segregation under the general authority of an abbess," led to a unique spiritual and intellectual atmosphere of mutual respect. , guidance and admiration. As Stephanie Hollis argues, the position of these religious women in relation to men, and their active participation in a cosmic struggle against the evils of the world, reflected the heroic ideal of the 'comitatus', as well as evoking the 'comrade-warrior' model. . . from the pagan imagery of the Valkyrie'; thus, Christianity may have actively preserved the ancient pre-eminence of women, albeit within a vigorously pious and academic framework. It is also worth noting, however, that Christian ideology similarly supported the concept of the "soldier of Christ", a theme "common in patristic literature". Thus, the two most basic influences in Anglo-Saxon society, a bloody and epic culture combined with a physically passive, though mentally and spiritually demanding, system of faith, promoted the exceptional position of the early abbesses and their daughters in Christ. The age of the double monasteries, however, was gradually completely replaced by the "second phase of conversion", begun, at the end of the 7th century, by Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury, when "the changing perspectives of women were used to justify a diminution of their activities and their role.’ Their former religious status was, in many ways, largely just the product of the brief period of leniency, insecurity and desperation during the founding of the English Church, when the continuing importance of the Germanic woman allowed them to assume a certain holy authority over men, especially since a conflicting warrior code made the transition much more difficult for the male body than for the already peaceful female body. What remained was a deep reverence, common to most patriarchies, for the purity of the virgin ; a cultural attitude that had a substantial effect on the way women were perceived in Anglo-Saxon society, as well as on the prestige of some highly specialized roles. The cult of the Virgin Mary was a pervasive social and religious force in early England; in fact, "the idea of a passive Anglo-Saxon woman", dominated by her male relatives and by the misogynistic doctrines of the Christian faith, derived "from the idea that the only acceptable model for her was the Virgin". This, perhaps, was true to some extent: statusA woman's life was defined first by that of her family, then by the strength of her own moral value, judged, of course, by men. Furthermore, there is even an insidious sense, in Bede's tributes and in Aldhelm's praise to the nuns of Barking, elevated "by that special attribute, virginity...". . . considered a close relative of angelic bliss", that the only way for a woman to be recognized is to be, at the same time, "virginal, maternal, regal and holy"; a daunting criterion for all but the most extraordinary and fortunate women. Thus, the cultural perception of the period, colored by a religion obsessed with the pollution of the secular world, as well as women's inherent responsibility for its initial and ongoing corruption, seemed to have only extolled particular feminine traits, including an emphasis on noble birth; a characteristic which has necessitated the exclusion of the vast majority of the female population and explains, in part, the reasons why there is a dearth of written evidence on the status and condition of the common woman. However, the survival of epic and poetic literature does not allow us to understand some of the values that Anglo-Saxon society attributed to women, even to its extremely eminent, sometimes partially mythical queens: in "Beowulf", for example, Queen Wealtheow is evoked 'bejeweled' and 'distinguished by the quality of her mind'. The vivid reference to wealth is fundamental to understanding the role of all aristocratic ladies in dispensing treasures to their husband's faithful acolytes and, at the same time, underlines her primary duty of controller of the family's capital; the precious clothes and jewels found in some female graves can be seen as evidence of this close association. The statement regarding his mental abilities, on the other hand, indicates an unusual respect and confidence in effectiveness of the female brain, allowing for the interpretation that individual women, especially those of higher status, were positively personalized and flattered for their mental abilities. intellects; something distinctive in the Anglo-Saxon portrayal of great women, compared to the vacuous beauty and charm that the Normans later attributed to their chief maids. Likewise, each queen's status might depend on her skill with "words"; her rhetorical skill calms court conflicts, earning her the role of "symbol of [her] unity and concord", demands promises and oaths of loyalty from the men who drink from the cup of her generous hospitality, and has the vital power to mediate, a name of the grateful supplicants, with the king himself. This critical position as counselor and intercessor was almost identical to that held by Abbess Hilda, while the fundamental nature of her role was "derived not only from the nobility of [her] birth, but also from Whitby's status as an educational centre". and seminar'. Indeed, in Anglo-Saxon England, "it seems that it was women who embraced the bookish life with particular enthusiasm": their general literacy may have even surpassed that of men and, although there is no direct evidence of creative female authors, their status of intellectuals and scholars, heavily involved in education, may not be so easily ignored. The law codes of King Aethelbert of Kent and Alfred of Wessex, as well as various others, provide another useful source for the importance and situation of the majority of women in early English society. First of all, marriage was considered "in the form of a contract between the groom and the bride's relatives", a healthy economic exchange, which may have had the effect, both legal and social, of commodifying the person of the bride. Despite;.