The Status of Women in 1215
Posted on October 11, 2023
Hildegard of Bingen
Episode 20 The Status of Women in 2015
1215: Years That Changed History
Dr Dorsey Armstrong (2019)
Film Review
Armstrong makes an interesting contrast between women’s rights in Europe and those in the Mongol Empire during the 13th century. European women had some political rights prior to 1215, they lost them with Fourth Lateran Council* and the rise of the persecutory society. In contrast Mongol women, who previously were viewed as commodities, gained significant status under Genghis Khan. He used the first kuritai he called in 1216 to ban women from being bought, sold or traded. He also appointed his wives and daughters to rule over newly conquered steppes territories while he and his sons went off to conquer new kingdoms.
He appointed
his first wife Börte to rule the Tatar region around the Kherlen River
his second wife Kulan to rule the Kentil Mountain region
his third wife Yeshi to rule the Tuul River region
his fourth wife Yesugen to rule the Khangai mountain range
He had seven (or eight daughters), which he married off to his most trusted allies. They, too, would rule in their husbands’ place when they went off to battle.
After Genghis Khan died, women were largely pushed aside in favor of male rulers (whether they were qualified or not), and Armstrong believes this was a major factor in the decline of the Mongol empire.
Armstrong uses the last half of this lecture to trace the lives of three of Europe’s most powerful and influential women during the early Middle ages: Hildegarde of Bingen, Eloise and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Hildegarde of Bingen (1098 -1179) – nun and “doctor” of the Catholic church. Her parents dedicated her to the church at birth, and she entered a convent to begin religious study at age eight. She engaged in preaching tours around Germany, and both church and government officials frequently sought her advice. She preached openly against church corruption, wrote theological books, authored the first morality play, composed music and wrote scientific papers on sexuality and gynecology.
Eloise – best known for her love affair with her tutor Abelad, she was a renowned scholar, who could read and write Latin, Greek and Hebrew and was a skilled physician and mathematician. After her uncle castrated Abelard for impregnating her, the former lovers both founded separate religious orders.
Eleanor of Aquitaine – after marrying Louis VII of France and giving birth to two daughters, she somehow obtained an papal annulment and married Henry II of England. Bringing Aquitaine as her dowry, she continued to rule there in place of Henry. After she backed Henry’s sons Richard the Lionhearted and John in a revolt against him, Henry put her on house arrest between 1173-90 (Richard released her following Henry’s death). While serving house arrest, she continued to direct her own network of spies and followers.
After women came under the total control of their fathers and husbands following the Fourth Lateran Council, European women lost the ability to achieve this level of advanced education and social influence.
*See 1215: How the First Lateran Council Legitimatized Persecution
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