Religious women with their vows of obedience and poverty really had no reason to get involved in legal matters and were untouched in any way by the legal structure. Widows were the only women who held in legal position in the society. "She (a widow) regained her legal personality, was entitled to a certain share of her husband's holdings and, for the first time in her life, could make independent decisions." Legally, this was the best position for women. It was not without problems especially for wealthy women. These women were frequently intimidated into a second marriage or into relinquishing parts of their holdings. They had no legal recourse against this kind of intimidation in the same way that married women could not object to domestic abuse.

In conclusion, women's positions in early Medieval Society were so limited that there was essentially no opportunity to become something greater. They were tied to a societal framework, either marriage or the church, that essentially stripped them of their rights and pigeon-holed them into a specific kind of existence. At times, these women could assume a managerial role, but it was always under the auspices of some form of authority. Due to the limitations of the time period, women were unable to advance in the society.

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Delort 110.

Labarge 27.

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Time-Life 107.

Delort 110.

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Karras 154.

Karras 155.

Time-Life 118.

Labarge 75.

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Labarge 145.

Gies and Gies 145.

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