, is found in their surprisingly progressive early codes of law. Ellis discusses the Celtic woman's freedoms in some detail. First, children had status and worth, they also had the opportunity for education, with no discrimination against gender. Children were to be brought up by both parents. If the child was a product of rape, the child had to be the responsibility of the man alone. Most importantly, however, was: the woman's eligibility to inherit property; retain the wealth she brought into a marriage; take part in the military and political activities of the clan; divorce (in eleven different cases); engage in polygamy for almost any reason ; seek recourse for rape or assault; and face the same punishment as a man for homicide.is easy to point the finger at men and their violent ways as reasons for the disruption of peace in the world, but of course matters are not so simple . We can see some evidence of the violence of women as well. It is certainly not limited to men alone. Equal status for women is important and almost always elusive in any society. Perhaps some (myself included) wish to look to the past for evidence of a better time for women and the world. We look for reasons as to why the world has become so violent and blood thirsty. It is indeed grasping at straws to lay the blame on one particular group for causing all of the world's problems. br/>
2. Women status in the Middle Ages
Women were seen by many to be inferior to men during the middle ages. The church taught them that they should be meek and obedient to their fathers and husbands. In reality however very few of the women could stay quietly at home because most had to work for a living in the fields beside their husbands and fathers whilst at the same time feeding and clothing their families. The wives and daughters of craftsmen were frequently employed and operated as tradeswomen in their own right. However very few women became powerful enough to have any bearing on national events.the towns, women worked in a variety of occupations. They might be shopkeepers, spinners, bakers or "alewives" who brewed ale. Both married and unmarried women were expected to work for a living, Often they would combine several jobs as they were paid less than men.single women often wore their hair loose but married women were expected to keep their hair covered at all times in a linen "wimple" as a sign of modesty. Single women often earned a living from spinning cotton, using hand held spindles (the spinning wheel didn't arrive from India until the 13th Century). They subsequently became known as spinsters and this name has stuck over the years to mean unmarried woman.unmarried women entered convents and nunneries where they lived their lives in a similar way to a monk. Nunneries offered women the opportunity to lead a devout life and also to obtain an education and ta...
