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... s made from flowers, herbs, spices, and vinegar helped to cover up these filthy smells. Commoners were not subject to wear these extravagant clothing items. Egotistical upper class women did not appreciate lower class women trying to imitate them. Laws were passed forbidding the amounts of gold cloth to be used by the richer middle classes.
Peasant women were forbidden to wear any silk, except for bonnets and ribbons in their hair. They wore aprons, kerchiefs, wide sleeves and skirts of heavy durable cloth on an everyday occasion. During the summer some women wouldnt wear shoes to save their wear and tear for the cold winter months. Merchant class, or middle class, women were similar to those of the noble class. Even though they were without the money the nobility possessed, their life styles are comparable. Marriage was arranged in the basic same sort of fashion.
Only some men began courting women during the Renaissance period. Suitors paid court to women whom they chose for either themselves, or who were chosen for them. Young girls were only seen at church. A young man seeing a pretty girl, would take an interest in her and find a way to meet her after the service. A relationship got serious when he serenaded a girl from the window of her room. Although they would never see each other outside of special events and festivals, the young man would always make it a point to find his maiden.
He would dress very nicely and always wear a dagger as a proof of his manliness. In order him to marry, he would ask the girls parents permission for her hand in marriage. If he was found acceptable, the families would come together for a festive meal. The young man would give his fiancee a gold ring as a token of his love and affection. Daughters of the wealthier side of the merchant and nobility were given the opportunity to receive a formal education. Throughout the renaissance womens literacy rates remained lower then mens.
A womans education generally corresponded more or less to their position in society and to what was expected of them. Women could only truly rise through education and struggle. Men didnt believe that women were capable to apply what the learned to assist them in their everyday life. An Italian philosopher remarked, I allow women to learn but to teach, never. But through this woman still learned and taught others what she knew. Academies were formed by women where members of both sexes could come and read orations and essays, or participate in debates.
The women who did excel in some demonstration of learning or wisdom were repeatedly said to have exceeded their sex or achieved the virtue of a man. These stereotypes first made a regular appearance in the works of male humanists. Chess was considered an exercise worthy of fine wits and noble birth, and yet women from middle and higher classes partook in the games. Wives of merchants tended shops, helped keep accounts or managed other business records. A wife was considered good if she placed her husbands wishes and well-being before her own. The wife was to direct the whole household with his comfort in mind.
A merchants wife obeyed his demands and took care of the household while he provided the income. Shopkeepers wives looked after customers and helped with the bookkeeping in addition to their household chores. Domestic duties were arduous and very time consuming thus keeping women from considering careers outside the home. These families would typically have one to two servants to wait on them, but rarely more.
Poorer working families lived in small overcrowded rooms in the city. Steep and narrow stairs would lead from one floor to the next. Plumage and structure were repeated problems. Money was tight and little could be done to solve these types of homing malfunctions. Domestic women worked hard tending to the laundry and cooking all day. Women who did chose to work found occupations of hard labor, dressmaking, or attempted artistry.
Women were considered inferior to men and therefore were not given high paying jobs. Noble families would employ up to one hundred servants at a time. Service could be recruited at local hiring fairs, or more commonly was by recommended by neighbors. Both men and women took serving jobs, but the desire and need for men were greater than it was for women. Lowlier households implemented more women because they were worth less and could be easily afforded. Women were given the less public tasks and behind the scene jobs like cooking and cleaning.
Women also received only half of the low wage that male servants received. These servants were expected to work all through the day receiving little to no time off. Their employers completely controlled their lives. Because the servants were so dependent on them, the employers would often beat and punish their servers. Young women saw domestic service as a way to save enough money for dowry to attract a husband. This meant contributing many years of their life into service.
Young ladies were forbidden to get married. In some cases this was by law, and in others just by custom. If a female servant became pregnant, she would be directly dismissed. The masters of the house usually provided board and lodging, but hardly ever separate quarters. Poorer homes could sometimes only provide a closet beneath the stairs, or a space on the kitchen floor. Peasants lives were un comparable to those of the nobility and merchant classes.
If a girl was born to peasant parents, the family was greatly disappointed. Boys were needed to help out on the farms and take care of themselves. Infant girls were often abandoned if family was exceptionally poor. This was simply because girls could not earn as high wages as boys. In cases like this, the father would ship the daughter to a convent to become a nun. This was the only way to ensure the young girl would not get married and need dowries.
Other families would send their girls out to become servants for the rich once they reached the age of seven or eight. Peasants who kept their children trained the males and females in the essential and ageless agricultural skills. Peasant women performed manifold duties, from tending to fowl, sheep and the vegetable garden to brewing beer and assisting with the harvest. On top of all this they still had the children to raise and a husband to take care of. Unless they could afford pewter or copper pots, peasant women cooked their food in clay pots. Meals were insufficient and bland to the tongue in most cases.
Furniture was scarce in their homes. Most houses only had straw-stuffed beds and a kitchen table with chairs to fill up the room. In conclusion, the age of the Renaissance affected everyone in society, especially the roles of women in the household, city, and in court life. I believe that women were underestimated in their jobs during this time.
The highest praise which could then be given to a woman was that she had the mind and the courage of men. Although they did earn some rights, women were still forbidden to hold office, paternal powers in the family, receive inheritance and many other things. The wealthy women who were fortunate enough to receive a small form of education potentially could have done much more if they were given the same opportunities that men were given. Labor class women who did everything around the house, from shearing the sheep to raising the children, were also highly depreciated. The Renaissance in Western Europe brought forward new ideas and as Renaissance is defined, the revival or rebirth so was the circle of society surrounding the women. Women were given the chance to take the higher step in society, which they tried jumping on, but were often pushed back down.
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Research essay sample on Peasant Women Young Man
