Chatelaines, Castles and Chastity Belts
while their lords were away. In many cases they were away often - at the Crusades or fighting in the wars with France.
Single women and widows of this class did have many legal rights. They could accumulate property, make wills and contracts and sign documents with their own seals. However, upon marriage a woman forfeited her land and rights to her husband.
Unless one's husband was uncommonly decent, marriage in those days was probably not pleasant. Married men were entitled to strike their wives if they felt that it was deserved. The lady's friends and relatives would usually take his side. Although a common theme of 12th century romances was the lonely knight in search of a beautiful lady woe betide any wife guilty of adultery. A husband's adultery was regarded as par for the course; this was certainly not so for wives. Separation was, however, allowed in cases of gross cruelty, fornication and apostasty, i.e. abandonment of one's religious faith.
CHASTITY BELTS
Now we come to a more controversial topic. Did medieval
wives really wear chastity belts? They are, indeed,
mentioned in many medieval poems and were supposed to
be invented by the Italians. However, two British historians
argue that they're nothing more than Victorian myths, and
an example of a medieval chastity belt has been removed
from the British Museum.
1. Burke, John. Life in the Castle in Medieval England. B.T. Batsford, London.
1978. p. 53.
2.Hibbert, Christopher. The English: A Social History 1066-1945. Guild
Publishing, London. 1987. p.107.
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