What roles were available to women in Merovingian Gaul?

Fredegund tries to kill her daughter Rigunth. A 19th century depiction

What roles were available to women in Merovingian Gaul?

By Alice Mulhearn

Undergraduate Paper: University College London, 2013

Introduction: Representation of the roles of women in Merovingian Gaul straddle two extremes: the saintly and the sinful. Hagiographies exalt the virtues of those who found holiness within a framework of domesticity, whilst histories of queens warn of the fine line between being a subdued mediator and a power hungry ‘jezebel’. I aim to explore representations of women – largely those with aristocratic or religious standing – to understand the respected as well as the ill reputed feminine characteristics, and how these attitudes shaped the roles available to early medieval women. I will argue that stereotypical representations of women were both a source of power and a limitation on the roles available to women. On the one hand, women could exploit the roles of influence available to them within a framework of domesticity, and on the other, feminine stereotypes made many positions of political and religious power unreachable. Although information about lay women is scare, through the hagiographies of the holy and the histories of the ‘wicked’ one can draw a picture of the role of the ordinary woman in Merovingian Gaul. As Eileen Power explains, the position of women is found in three areas: the law, theory and everyday life . Through finding the areas where these domains collide and react, one can find the most accurate depiction of women’s roles. Thus, through exploring representations of women, the female position in the eyes of the law, and the actions of women with power, I hope to come to a place in between: the home of the everywoman.

Click here to read this article from Academia.edu