During the Middle Ages, the role of women was determined by the attitudes of the Catholic Church and the nobility. Women were supposed to be obedient to men. Women’s inferior status was often blamed on the Biblical Story of Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

The church, as well as society, viewed women as inferior to men and were not seen as equals. Their primary role in society was to bear and raise children and support their husbands.

Medieval people lived in extended families. Nobles maintained large households; related peasants lived close to one another. Women of all social classes gave birth to a large number of children, by many children died during infancy.

Women’s lifestyles varied according to their social status. Noble women spent most of their time in prayer and domestic chores such as sewing and embroidery. Among the nobility, only a handful of women received an education. Among the peasants, a close partnership often existed between a husband and a wife. Both worked side by side in the fields. Women ran the home and looked after the livestock