Wife's Land example essay topic

How should a wife serve her husband? He is "to be unshod before a good fire, to have his feet washed and fresh shoes and hose, to be given good food and drink, to be well served and well looked after, well bedded in white sheets and nightcaps, well covered with good furs, and assuaged with other joys and de sports, priv ities, loves and secrets... And the next day fresh shirts and garments". (Halshall 1996). Goodman further counsels the wife to "remember the rustic proverb, which saith that there be three things which drive the goodman from home, to wit a leaking roof, a smoky chimney and a scolding woman". (Halshall 1996).

The Goodman continues his treatise with instructions on all the housewifely deeds: how to capture fleas and keep the bedchamber relatively flea free, how to prevent flies from swarming in the home, how to treat a man after he has been exposed to the cold, and even direction that the man's hounds should have their feet greased after a hard day at the hunt. Who will do these deeds? Why, the wife of course. Should she fail to understand the seriousness of these dictates, the Goodman provides her with a dissertation on why men leave their wives or mothers and turn to prostitutes or women of ill repute. The Goodman also tries to make his young wife understand that she will need to look for a second husband after he has died, and that the second husband she acquires may want her to do less dancing and flower arranging, and be more of a wife! If the sociology of the time made the woman a servant of the marriage, how were women protected by law in the courts?

The first of two important legal documents which attempted to transform English common law into civil law was known as Glanvill. Glanvill is believed to have been produced in the late 12th century. Glanvill was written, or formalized, with the intent of being used in both civil and church courts. It appears to have been written for a practitioner who already had an idea of what the laws were.

The document is broken down into sections, and section 6 is addressed here, for this is the section that deals with women and the courts. The law of the time was terribly unforgiving when it came to women. In Glanvill 6.2, the court makes it clear that a woman is the subsidiary of the man, nothing more than a piece of his furniture or his cattle. A husband could give 'dower rights' at the church door if he wished, but there was absolutely no law stating that he was required to do so. If the husband granted dower rights as a sort of wedding gift, it was not an 'unconditional' gift. If the husband wished to sell his wife's dower rights, he could, and she could not after his death ask for the land back.

Conversely, the laws specficially stated that if she opposed her husband when he wished to sell HER land, she would lose all claims to the land. Under this section of law, then, it becomes clear that at this time in history the woman 'couldn't win for losing'. She lost her rights if the husband chose to sell them; she lost her rights if she complained about it. Glanvill 6.1 clearly states that the dower rights of the woman were kept at 1/3 of the estate. Even if a man wished, he could not give his wife more than 1/3 of his own property! Finally, in Glanvill 6.3 the law states that a woman cannot dispose of her dower property while the husband is alive.

In essence, the husband could sell the wife's land, but the wife could not sell her own land. If the wife objected to what her husband was doing, she could lose her land. And, under some circumstances, the sheriff could take the land. Women, it appears, had very little if any actual rights to property, even personal property (Palmer 1188). What could women do in medieval times? Women were midwives; they were healers (though they were normally confined to treating members of their own households), they were authors and illustrators.

A few women were merchants, or helped their husbands in his business. Women who were merchants or business persons normally became so after they became accustomed to helping their husbands and he died. In the lower classes, women took in laundry, served as nannies and wet nurses, scullery maids or servants, and of course, gave men comfort they lacked at home (in the eons-old field of prostitution). A woman who utilized her healing skills outside of her home or her husband's fiefdom risked being prosecuted for being a witch. Even in the 1600's, women were clamoring for equality, or at least for more reasonable treatment. The London's women's petition of 1649 stated: The Humble Petition of divers well-affected women of the Cities of London and Westminster, etc.

Shew eth, that since we are assured of our creation in the image of God, and of an interest in Christ equal unto men, as also of a proportional share in the freedoms of this Commonwealth, we cannot but wonder and grieve that we should appear so despicable in your eyes, as to be thought unworthy to petition or represent our grievances to this honorable House.