Families in Medieval Europe

Families
a group consisting of one or two parents and their children

A family is something everyone has and being in different family situations, lives of people easily changed. Those who were married or born into a rich family would have led a rich life. Segregation between men and women were also found in family life, like ill treatment wives received from their husbands. Children were shaped out by their environment, especially the one their parent’s create. During the Middle Ages, the life of one person was easily reflected to how his family status was.

In Medieval Europe, marriages had almost nothing to do with love or romance. In fact, marriages were used to affect the family, the economy, and inheritance1. The affects made on the family could have been change in status or riches. As marriages were almost completely arranged, many parents would have tried to get their children to marry someone with a high status so the family could have also gotten the share of privileges. The economy would have also been affected, for example my having a daughter wed, she would have left the household and would have less people working under a certain land lord. In these cases, the family would have paid a fine to allow the daughter wed and leave the land. Inheritance came in, mostly when a family only had daughters and children. The father would have wanted to leave behind in possessions to a son, but in these cases would have passed it down to his daughter’s husband. Also, the father would also have wanted to leave inheritance to a worthy man, an arranged marriage might have taken place here too2.

Women were usually regarded less than men, and during marriage the wife was property of the husband. In some cases women were regarded as objects, and even dogs and beasts3. A wife who scolded her husband would have been beaten and kicked, being treated with very little respect at times4. Divorce was rare and was only permitted by breaking one of the three laws made by the church which were age, consent, and consanguinity. Men could have used the third law and could have had a divorce with his wife by lying that she was actually related to her (to the forth degree, marriage between relatives were not allowed) 5. However, women barely had the privilege to have caused divorce by this method.

On the other hand, women were the greatest supporters of the medieval household. Many people knew, including some men, that without the housewife, their household would never have been so convenient. As the housewife, one of her first jobs was to go shopping for food6. As there was limited methods for food preservation, people had to by their ingredients in small proportions each day. She bought her groceries as she made sure what she bought was good in quality (as some people watered their wine, bread which was not properly baked, etc.) 7. Inside the house, her other jobs were making beds, cleaning the house, cooking, and also taking care of their personal garden. However, medieval women were not only working in their house, but also worked outside, mainly practicing her husband’s craft. This was common, as women who worked in guilds mostly ended up marrying the guild master8. Women, as a house wives and workers in guilds, were great supporters of men. Sadly, not all men recognized that fact.

When having a child during the middle ages, many people preferred to have a son. By looking at who ruled a kingdom or an empire, usually sons are the ones who took over their fathers. In inheritance and the position of the head of the house, the eldest son would have been first in line9. In many cases, children were shaped by their environment of their parents. If they were farmers, then the children would naturally learn about farming. If they were nobles, then they would have learned about proper manners and learned games like hunting and chess. The sons of craftsmen would normally learn his craft and take his place, like many other sons10. The younger brothers would have gotten fewer privileges but had the option of either living with his brother or leaving the house. When he did, he would have become a servant, merchant, or even a soldier. If he was lucky, he could have gotten great opportunities of gaining high riches (either my trade or war), raising the status of which his family was in11.

Marriages were arranged by parents and children’s fate was mostly decided from a young age. Family life showed very little love to each other, but it could not be called cruel. With different family situations, it can almost be said that making a living came before love. However, wedding a daughter to a rich family or giving a proper to their children could have been one way people showed their love towards their family.