Women In Early Ireland
Women and the Law in Early Ireland
Exaggerated claims have sometimes been made about the degree power and freedom enjoyed by women in early Irish society. It certainly true that women feature prominently in Old and Middle Irish literature. In the saga Táin Bó Cuailnge, Queen Medb is the leader of Connacht, and occasionally takes part in the fighting itself. Her husband King Ailill generally defers to her dominant personality, and turns a blind eye to her sexual adventures.
But in real life, the power of women was undoubtedly much more restricted. The annals provide no instances of a female political or military leader. Indeed, the male imagery which surrounds the office of kingship would seem to preclude even the possibility of a female ruler. Probably the most accurate picture of the actual position of women in early Irish society is provided by the wisdom-texts, specially the Triads of Ireland. Reticence, virtue and industry seem to be the qualities most admired in a woman. One source gives the three steadiness of good womanhood as 'a steady tongue, a steady virtue, a steady housewifery’. The types of female behaviour most consistently censured are sexual promiscuity, making spells or illegal satires and thieving. Feminine beauty - so often enthused over in the sagas - does not count for …show more content…
She is debarred from acting as a witness and she normally cannot make a valid contract without the permission of her superior (usually her husband or father). As expressed in the Old Irish Dire-text: 'her father has charge over her when she is a girl, her husband when she a wife, her sons when she is a [widowed] woman with children, her kin when she is a 'woman of the kin' (i.e. with no other guardian), the Church when she is a woman of the Church (i.e. a .nun). She is not capable of sale or purchase or contract or transaction without the authorisation of one of her
Exaggerated claims have sometimes been made about the degree power and freedom enjoyed by women in early Irish society. It certainly true that women feature prominently in Old and Middle Irish literature. In the saga Táin Bó Cuailnge, Queen Medb is the leader of Connacht, and occasionally takes part in the fighting itself. Her husband King Ailill generally defers to her dominant personality, and turns a blind eye to her sexual adventures.
But in real life, the power of women was undoubtedly much more restricted. The annals provide no instances of a female political or military leader. Indeed, the male imagery which surrounds the office of kingship would seem to preclude even the possibility of a female ruler. Probably the most accurate picture of the actual position of women in early Irish society is provided by the wisdom-texts, specially the Triads of Ireland. Reticence, virtue and industry seem to be the qualities most admired in a woman. One source gives the three steadiness of good womanhood as 'a steady tongue, a steady virtue, a steady housewifery’. The types of female behaviour most consistently censured are sexual promiscuity, making spells or illegal satires and thieving. Feminine beauty - so often enthused over in the sagas - does not count for …show more content…
She is debarred from acting as a witness and she normally cannot make a valid contract without the permission of her superior (usually her husband or father). As expressed in the Old Irish Dire-text: 'her father has charge over her when she is a girl, her husband when she a wife, her sons when she is a [widowed] woman with children, her kin when she is a 'woman of the kin' (i.e. with no other guardian), the Church when she is a woman of the Church (i.e. a .nun). She is not capable of sale or purchase or contract or transaction without the authorisation of one of her