The Role of women in Renaissance

Research Paper Outline

1. Introduction
   1. The Renaissance period was an era in European history between 14^th and 17^th century which was considered as a period of revival of arts. It started from Italy in the 14^th century and expanded in Europe in the late 15^th century. By this time women were suppressed by men and were not allowed to take part in social activities.
   2. The role of women in the renaissance period and their service in the society became the reason for women empowerment which was not possible in middle ages.
2. Women in Renaissance held a high virtue about their family and their obligations
   1. Women managed to perform household jobs side by side of their household responsibilities.
      1. They worked as nurses, silk workers, and Florentine shops but also maintained their duties as wives and daughters.
   2. The noble and lower class women provided their services by taking jobs as wet nurses and in Florentine shops.
      1. They worked side by side by side with their husbands in their jobs
3. The noble women expected their political rights from the government
   1. They demanded their rights as respectable members of the society and asked for the opportunities to be provided in jobs.
   2. They demanded their rights in selecting their life partner
4. Women role in renaissance became the reason of women empowerment.
   1. Before renaissance, they were not allowed to participate in any social activity.
      1. They started participating in society jobs.
      2. They stood up against male superiority in the society.

Women English Renaissance

Introduction

The renaissance was a period from 14^th to 17^th century in Europe which is defined to be the time of the revival of arts. The renaissance started in Italy which was the hub of this revolution between fourteenth and sixteenth century, between Europe and Eurasia. In this period different art forms, sculptors, paintings, and architecture took a new turn and defined new concepts in the field of art. The period begins in the fourteenth century from the hub of revolution, Italy, and slowly progressed to all parts of Europe till the fifteenth century. The aim of this revolution is to follow the culture that was part of ancient Greek and Roman History. These new concepts of wisdom and art were initially directed towards men and women were excluded from equal involvement in the revolution. It was the time when women were distributed in upper and lower classes of which the upper class was able to take part in the activities but the lower class was extremely suppressed and was meant to giving birth to the children and serve the men as servants. This revolution resulted in the empowerment of women who were suppressed in every field of life until then. This paper is focused on the role of women in the renaissance period and how they handled their families, jobs and daily life during this time, it will also compare the renaissance women with the women of Middle age. The role of women in the renaissance period and their service in the society became the reason for women empowerment which was not possible in middle ages.

Discussion

Women were initially not an active part of the revolution and their social and economic status became a hindrance to their involvement. Until sixteenth-century women were not an active part of the revolution and their growth in new forms of art was suppressed by the strong power of male dominant society. We will further describe their roles in the period as mothers, working women and as an active part of the society.

Women in Renaissance held a high virtue about their family and their obligations. Women in renaissance were forced to look for the children and household and were suppressed by the males (Herlihy, David, 1995). They still managed to improve their way of life by presenting their daily obligations as part of their obligations. The disease outbreak of the 15^th century killed many of the people of the region and there was a need for someone to take the job roles that were necessary at that time, women started participating by performing in these jobs but they were suppressed by men. (Mitchell, Linda, 2012). In order to support families, many women took the jobs as nurses and in Florentine shops.

The noble and lower class women provided their services by taking jobs as wet nurses and in Florentine shops. Although they had their own families and own children, their service in jobs never changed their preference and they actively participated in their household works. Their high virtue in participating society motivated them to work as silk spinners, housemaids and in bakery shops when they knew these jobs should be done by men, but they had to empower themselves and their family so they resisted every movement made against them. (Ward, Jennifer, 2016).

The noble women expected their political rights from the government (Tomas, Natalie, 2017). They demanded their rights as respectable members of the society and asked for the opportunities to be provided in jobs. They demanded their rights in selecting their life partner which was a dilemma in the renaissance period and women were sold for dowry and to settle personal conflicts (Kirshner, Julius, 2015).

Women role in renaissance became the reason of women empowerment. In Middle Ages women had no rights and their roles were limited to house premises to their husbands and families. There was no framework for women teaching and they were kept ignorant on purpose (Beilin, Elaine V, 2014). There were concepts from Bible that women a reason to human mistakes and they have no rights to participate in society or the social politics. After the renaissance women stood up against male superiority in the society. They started participating in society jobs, politics and education (Tomas, Natalie, 2017). They asked for respectable positions in society and their efforts were fruitful when the government started giving them job opportunities and places in politics.

Conclusion

The women in renaissance made huge efforts for their equal rights. They were suppressed in all job role of the society and were kept ignorant on purpose. After the renaissance women started to understand their place in the society and started fighting for it. They started taking part in various jobs and learned the value of education. While they fought for the equal rights as men they never forgot their obligations and need in their family, they continued to serve their families and people depending on them and side by side worked in various jobs as servants, nurses and as silk workers.

Works Cited

Beilin, Elaine V. Redeeming Eve: women writers of the English Renaissance. Princeton University Press, 2014.

Herlihy, David. Women, family, and society in medieval Europe: historical essays, 1978-1991. Berghahn Books, 1995.

Kirshner, Julius. Marriage, dowry, and citizenship in late medieval and Renaissance Italy. Vol. 2. University of Toronto Press, 2015.

Mitchell, Linda E., ed. Women in Medieval Western European Culture. Routledge, 2012.

Shuger, Debora K. Sacred rhetoric: The Christian grand style in the English Renaissance. Princeton University Press, 2014.

Tomas, Natalie R. The Medici women: gender and power in Renaissance Florence. Taylor & Francis, 2017.

Tomas, Natalie R. The Medici women: gender and power in Renaissance Florence. Taylor & Francis, 2017.

Ward, Jennifer. Women in medieval Europe: 1200-1500. Routledge, 2016.