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Medieval Welsh Law Of Women Analysis

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'Women are not notable for their visibility in historical records, even in a later medieval context ', claims Goldberg.1 Whilst this indeed represents the general tendency in European texts, The Welsh Law of Women2 sheds considerable light on the lives of women in medieval Wales. The value of the law text is all the greater given the overall paucity of written sources from the period. Indeed, it has been argued that of the available materials the Welsh Law of Women succeeds best at uncovering what a life as a medieval Welshwoman must have been like.3 This essay, therefore uses the law text as a source to explore the social, legal and domestic status women had in medieval Wales. Particular emphasis will be placed on the divorce process which in itself adds a valuable insight into the position of a woman in the medieval Welsh …show more content…

Whilst medieval men were usually classified according to their professions, women were recognised mainly by their sexual statuses.33 The Welsh law particularly emphasises the importance of virginity upon marriage. In the marriage arrangement the girl was seen as 'the prime commodity ' which lost its value if the husband discovered she was not a virgin.34 In that case she would lose her share of the marriage-wealth if the couple should separate in the initial seven years of their union.35 As Irish law text contains no such information, it can be interpreted as a sign that in Gaelic society girl 's virginity did not affect her 'market-value '.36 Stacey is convinced that it was shameful for a woman to get married for a second time37 and non-virginal ladies would struggle to find a new spouse.38 However, considering how flexible was divorce (as we will see shortly) and the thoroughness with which the procedure and post-divorce arrangements were recorded, one gets the impression that divorce and re-marrying was a common possibility and one would struggle to find the proposed hints of shamefulness

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