In past centuries, women usually had significantly fewer rights than men and were disadvantaged in many ways. However, even in the Middle Ages they were not defenseless against sexual assault and abuse by men, as historical records from a Spanish monastery now reveal. They document several cases in which abused women bring charges against the perpetrators - and get justice.
To this day, it is difficult for women in many countries to defend themselves against sexual assault and get justice. In some cultures, their word is inherently less credible than that of men, while in others there is a lack of authorities to whom those affected can turn. Even in our Western societies, which are supposed to be equal, female victims of sexual assault are often not believed or have to endure hostility - especially if their accusation is directed against people with power and influence.
Case reports from early medieval monastery records
But what was it like before? According to popular belief, the situation for women in the Middle Ages was even worse. Society back then was male-dominated, and women's roles were limited to the household and the children. In addition, there were no forensic methods at the time to prove rape, for example. Nevertheless, back then women certainly had the opportunity to defend themselves against sexual assaults and to report them officially, as historian Abel Lorenzo-Rodríguez from the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain has discovered.
For his study, he evaluated medieval records from the Celanova monastery in Galicia. “These documents, called Cartularia, are an excellent source of information about early medieval society in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula,” reports Lorenzo-Rodríguez in The Conversation. The records, some of which date from the 10th and 11th centuries, also contain descriptions of legal cases in which women turned to the monastery or other authorities to report sexual assaults. “These written testimonies show that this was possible despite legal, social and even family hurdles,” he said.
Abuse and attempted rape
As an example, Lorenzo-Rodríguez reports a case that occurred towards the end of the 10th century. According to the records, a young woman, probably a teenager, contacted the monastery to report sexual abuse by her grandfather, Tusto. According to medieval reports, the accused grandfather was then summoned and admitted his guilt. As punishment, he had to hand over some of his possessions to the monastery. “The report is surprisingly explicit in identifying family relationships and acknowledging guilt,” said Lorenzo-Rodríguez. “At the same time, he demonstrates that despite this relationship, the girl had the chance to report the perpetrator and that action was taken as a result.”
The historian discovered a second case in a document from the 11th century. In this, a woman and her daughter Jimena asked a local magnate named Alvitu Sandizi for help in a case of attempted rape. A man named Juan Arias tried to commit violence against the daughter and enter into a relationship with her against her will. Mother and daughter handed over goods to the magnate and asked him for protection against the attacks. Here too, the women were heard.
According to Lorenzo-Rodrígue, these cases demonstrate that even in the Middle Ages some women were able to defend themselves against sexual assault - a kind of "MeToo" of the Middle Ages. “The two cases listed here are the clearest examples of this, but by no means the only ones,” writes the historian in “The Conversation.” It is impossible to determine how many cases of sexual assault there have been over the centuries and in how many or few cases these were successfully reported. Nevertheless, in his opinion, such examples can help to show the ways and mechanisms through which women were able to defend themselves despite the many hurdles.
Source: Abel Lorenzo-Rodríguez, The Conversation; Specialist article: Study Historica. Historica Medieval, doi: 10.14201/shhme392103130