20 Eerie Details About Medieval Women That History Books Completely Left Out
So how much do you really know about the lives of women during the medieval period, the centuries between about 500 and 1500 A.D? We’ve done some deep research into the subject and many of the facts we’ve uncovered are truly fascinating — and in some cases quite shocking. Read on to find out the truth about how women lived during the Middle Ages…
20. Weird hair habits
Women through the ages have removed hair from various parts of their bodies: they were even at it 5,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt! There they used sharpened seashells or sugary waxes to remove unwanted hair. Medieval women were no different when it came to shaving, although they did have their own specific fashions.
Shaving or plucking?
Aristocratic women in France and the Lowlands had their own particular shaving habits which look more than a little peculiar to our eyes. They sought to have a hairline as high above the eyebrows as possible. So they plucked hairs at the front of their heads. England’s Elizabeth I was another who indulged in this habit, although she shaved rather than plucked.
19. Education
Only women higher up the social scale would have much chance of getting any meaningful academic education. The one possible exception to this would be those who committed their lives to a nunnery. But few clergymen saw any point to teaching nuns to read and write. All too often they were left illiterate and had to learn their prayers and catechisms by rote.
Practical skills
That’s not to say that medieval women got no education at all, even if they were from the peasant class. Even if book-learning was unavailable, the poorest women still had to learn a range of practical skills, often passed on from their mothers. These crafts would include sewing, cooking, and spinning. Then there were the whole range of farming skills a peasant woman needed.
