Medieval Woman: Her Role in Society

¶ … Women: Luther and the Medieval Roman Catholic Church

The medieval view of women and the woman's role was essentially informed by a centuries-long, Christian informed tradition, upheld by patriarchal society. Thus, that there should exist a vast discrepancy between the views of Luther and the views of the medieval Roman Catholic Church regarding women is to perhaps wish too much. Modern feminism may be, to some extent, found in the works of Chaucer, whose Wife of Bath represents a departure from "acceptable" womanhood in the medieval world. But even a century and a half later not much has changed on this front. Luther's animus towards the Catholic Church was mainly doctrine and practice-centered. Luther had a conception of the faith that differed and evolved significantly as the Protestant Reformation got underway. Nonetheless, there can be found teachings by both Luther and the Catholic Church that can be compared for a better understanding of how said teaching influenced society and provided for a legacy that still exists in Western culture. This paper will examine these teachings and compare and contrast them.

The "nature of women" was a hot topic in the 16th century, a time when all long-standing traditions were coming under the microscope, so to speak.[footnoteRef:1] Luther's opinion on the subject can be found "in every genre of his works: Biblical commentary, sermons, polemical tracts, the Bible translation, lectures, letters, and the table talk."[footnoteRef:2] Similarly, the view of the Catholic Church may also be found in any number of sources. What is important to remember, however, is that the Church's opinion was more or less fixed; whereas Luther's changed considerably over time.[footnoteRef:3] [1: Susan Karant-Nunn, Merry Viesner-Hanks, Luther on Women: A Sourcebook (UK: Cambridge, 2003), 1.] [2: Ibid, 4.] [3: Ibid, 4.]

The Church's teaching was basically that of St. Paul's in his epistle to the Ephesians: "Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body" (Eph 5:22-23). This teaching, on the other hand, did not mean that women held no significant role in the Catholic Church. The Mother of God was given a special position in the medieval Church, and the rosary, which consisted of 50 Ave Maria's, was largely a prayer to the Virgin Mother that was adopted in the 13th century as a powerful way to petition Heaven. Indeed, this practice of praying is "still a very common devotion among Catholics and some other Christians (e.g. some Anglicans)" to this day; such is the legacy of this aspect of the Church and its stance on this woman in particular.[footnoteRef:4] But other women have played significant roles as well: many have been declared saints by the Church, such as Agnes, Lucy, Mary Magdalene, Clare, and a host of others like St. Juliana who was a celebrated "mystic" Norwich in the 14th century.[footnoteRef:5] What they are extolled for, primarily, is their virtuous lives, and their upholding of the teachings of the Catholic Church as well as their example of Christian zeal.[footnoteRef:6] Today, "Christian zeal" has different meanings for different people, as one of the consequences of the Protestant Reformation was that the meaning of Christianity became more subjective to many people, like Luther for instance, or the Anabaptists who followed.[footnoteRef:7] [4: Gerald O'Collins, Mario Farrugia, Catholicism: The Story of Catholic Christianity (UK: Oxford University Press, 2003), 57.] [5: Chad Meister, James Stump, Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction (NY: Routledge, 2010), 275.] [6: Norman Tanner, Ages of Faith: Popular Religion in Late Medieval England and Western Europe (NY: I .B. Tauris and Co., 2009), 102.] [7: Adam Darlage, "Double Honor: Elite Hutterite Women in the Sixteenth Century," Church History, vol. 79, no. 4 (Dec 2010): 753-782.]

In terms of where woman belonged (where in domestic or public spheres) Luther's attitude was similar to the Church's, which was medieval: woman's sphere was domestic.[footnoteRef:8] He viewed them as daughters of Eve who could "easily be led astray" but he also depended a great deal on his wife, which suggests that Luther's view of womanhood also held in it some degree of trust and respect.[footnoteRef:9] Most importantly, however, it was the "nature of woman" as evident in her anatomy that drew Luther to the conclusion that it was to be "their destiny as mothers rather than thinkers."[footnoteRef:10] Luther's view towards sexuality was somewhat more Puritanical than that of the Catholic Church: both regarded marriage as a way to curb concupiscence, but Luther viewed the sex act as sinful in any regard, just "worse" if committed outside marriage.[footnoteRef:11] This view, of course, has only been upheld over the centuries by the most Puritanical of Christians. Today, it is relatively unknown amongst the majority of Christians, who view sex as naturalistic and unsinful (even outside of marriage). Indeed, a concept of sexual sin today has largely been replaced by a Christian-Feminist perspective that is largely the fruit of 20th century liberation theology and burgeoning social acceptance of homosexuality.[footnoteRef:12] [8: Susan Karant-Nunn, Merry Viesner-Hanks, Luther on Women: A Sourcebook (UK: Cambridge, 2003), 9.] [9: Ibid, 10.] [10: Ibid, 10.] [11: Ibid, 11.] [12: Heather O'Connor, "Feminism and Women Religious," The Australasian Catholic Record, vol. 87, no. 1 (2010): 61-76; C.L. Nesson, "Three Theses on the Theological Discussion of Homosexuality in the Global Lutheran Communion," Currents in Theology and Mission, vol. 37, no. 3 (2010): 3.]