Title: Women during the Reformations
1Women during the Reformations
- How were women treated during the 16th Century?
2Medieval Period
- Highly Patriarchal
- Chauvinistic teachings and practices
- Used the Bible as evidence for mans superiority
3Catholic View
- Juan Luis Vives
-
- women are sick animals
- much more important than having a learned and
well-spoken women is having good and honest
ones (Lindberg 1996364)
4- Fray Luis de Leon
-
- women are created as an afterthought of god, as
only a helper and comfort to men, and are loaded
with the constant need to atone since from women
came the beginning of sin, and by her we all
die(Lindberg 1996364)
5- Heinrich Kramer Jacob Sprenger
- The Hammer of Witches(1486)
- Men should be wary of women
- All wickedness is but little to the wickedness
of women(Lindberg 2000272)
6- Leon Battista Alberti
- On the Family
- Certain qualities necessary for a good wife
- loving, graceful, charming, able to bear
children, and be a young girl - (Lindberg 2000273)
7John Calvin
- John Calvin
- Felt that the government of
- women was utterly at variance with the
legitimate order of natureto be counted among
the judgements with which God visits
us(Lindberg 1996364) - However he was in correspondence with noblewoman
and was theologically though not practically
open to women being ordained
8Anabaptists
- Polygamy was enforced in Münster
- Enforced male dominance
- Best way to increase population of the elect
- Emphasised that the purity of the church relied
on wives and husbands to shun apostate spouses
(Lindberg 1996364)
9Luthers reformation of womens role in society
- Luther played an important
- role in effecting the societal determinations
of what it - means to be male or female (Lindberg 1996365)
10Luther and Marriage
- Criticised the Roman Catholic Church for views
held on sex and marriage within the clergy - Marriage and sex within the marriage play
important social roles - Sex is important for procreation but above all
the context for creating a new awareness of human
community with all its pains and joys - (Lindberg 1996364)
11- He believed women should be respected
- Without women The home, cities, economic life,
and government would virtually disappear. Men
cant do without women. Even if it were possible
for men to beget and bear children, they still
couldnt do without women - (Lindberg 1996364)
- Emphasised the importance of women and marriage
in The Estate of Marriage (1522)
12- Lectures on Genesis 1535
- The male is like the sun in heaven, the female
like the moonIn the first place therefore, let
us note from this passage that it was written
that this sex may not be excluded from any glory
of the human creature, although it is inferior to
the male sex - (Lindberg 2000274)
13Luther and Prostitution
- In medieval society prostitution was accepted
they followed the teachings of Aquinas - Analogy of necessity of prostitution as to that
of a cesspit for a palace.Although it is dirty
in itself, it will cleanse the town, as without
it the town would become corrupt - Luther argued that the cure (brothels) were
worse than the disease (lust) - (Lindberg 1996365-366)
14- 1520 Address to Christian Nobility
- He criticised the toleration of brothels and
prostitution - Acknowledge their rationale but questioned
should not the government which is temporal and
also Christian realise that such evil cannot be
prevented by that kind of heathenish practice? - (Lindberg 1996366)
15- Genesis Lecture 1535
- The example concerning the houses of ill fame
which are tolerated in the large cities does not
deserve to be discussed for it is clearly in
conflict with the Law of Godit is silly for them
to suppose that outcroppings of debauchery and
adultery are reduced by this meansLust is
increased rather than cured by this means - (Lindberg 1996366)
16Anticlericalism and reformation of prostitutes
- Leonhard Beck, The Monk and the Maiden,
1523lthttp//www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/histcourse/ref
ormat/eng4/gei441f.htmgt
Monk- I must be eternally silent about this
affair, Although it is against my will to do so
Mother- O, what great mockery I must suffer, I
cry out to God for my child
Father- Monk you have deceived us, And made my
daughter leave me
Monk- Peasant I will hire your daughter, And
bring your affairs to order
Daughter- Father, I misunderstood the situation,
otherwise I would not have gone to the monk
17Luthers impactQuestions for Discussion
- Was Luthers concern with improving the rights of
women, or with rescuing man from decreasing
morality? - And how important was Luthers role in changing
attitudes?Example - In the town of Zwickau syphilis was present in
1497.It wasnt until 1526 that the brothel was
shut down. Karant-Nunn (1982) argued Venereal
disease itself did not drive them to close the
brothel. The Reformation did(Lindberg 1996366) - What role do you think the Reformations played in
impacting the change of womens roles from the
16th Century to the modern day?
18Bibliography
- Juan Luis Vives
- http//www.newadvent.org/cathen/15492a.htm
- Luis de Leon
- http//www.newadvent.org/cathen/09177b.htm
- The Hammer of Witches
- http//www.malleusmaleficarum.org/
- Leonhard Beck, The Monk and the Maiden, 1523
lthttp//www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/histcourse/reforma
t/eng4/gei441f.htmgt - Lindberg, C, 1996, The European Reformations
(Chapter 15), Blackwell Publishing - Lindberg, C, 2000, The European Reformations
Sourcebook (Chapter 14), Blackwell Publishing