Womens Literacy During the Middle Ages :: European History

During the Middle Ages, women were considered to be inferior to men and were not formally educated. It was common for women to be uncapable to read and write in their make language. Even though a few(prenominal) were fortunate enough to be taught how to read, some were still unable to write. Women were not usually taught how to read Latin, the language of young-begetting(prenominal) scholars and people of the Church, who also happened to be male. In the later Middle Ages, regular(a) most nuns were not able to learn Latin. Partially literate women became progressively common in the later Middle Ages but very few women were given the opportunity to learn to read and write. wizard of the most notable women readers , the Virgin Mary was often portrayed in medieval paintings and illuminations delineation the declaration, for example. Illustrations would show Mary before or beside an open Bible, implying that she was able to read. Pictures of the Annunciation were common, and peop le would most likely come across pictures of Mary cultivation in their Bibles or payer books. Mary was not the only char to be portrayed with an open book beside her. For example, a painting by Jean Bourdichon shows Anne of Brittany kneeling before an open book. Another painting by Robert Campin and his assistants shows a woman reading in a painting of the bloody shame and child with saints. In the schools of the Middle Ages, reading and writing were taught separately slightly aristocratic women were taught to read but might not be able to write themselves. Some of the most notable women during the Middle Ages were able to read. One of the greatest queens ever to rule England was Eleanor of Aquitaine who could read but not write. She compensated for that by have people called scribes to write for her. During her reigns as the butt of England and France, Eleanor was very concerned about the literacy of people living in Aquitaine . The famous poet Marie de France may have perform ed or presented her stories to the court of Eleanor and her second husband, Henry II. Marie wrote fables and lais for a living, and her stories became so popular during the Middle Ages that her works entertained both the cut and English courts and were translated into some(prenominal) different languages. Throughout the Middle Ages, nuns were taught to read portions of the Bible, and many of them were able to write as well.