Post for Week of Feb 1

I know this is very late, but here goes. I wanted to discuss the irony and double standards of the role of women in society to ca. 1450. There were many double standards when it came to men in society as a whole, not in just the musical world. The music, esp. poetry, found by the women of this era summarizes the idea that women want more a voice in all aspects of society. Women had no voice if they were uneducated, and it was even known that women should not be educated. That was the man's job, and women who were educated were looked down upon in society. Some of the most musically educated women in more than one culture were courtesans, another name for high-end prostitutes. They never got married, and were only paid to entertain men with their wit and charm, among other things.

We see this kind of double standard in religion as well. Some of the most educated women were nuns. If a woman wasn’t married off by the time she reached the end of her teenage years, she was either sent to the convent, or chose to go there. These women were very involved in music, and actually literate enough to notate music. One thing I found extremely ironic was the idea of why women joined Christianity in its early stages. I don’t understand how women keeping their virginity until marriage changed the role of wife and mother. Women would only be able to have children after they married, which is the traditional role of a wife, isn’t it? Feel free to comment and explain what I am missing here. That role they were trying to redefine just became reinforced by the new Christianity ideals.