Anglo—Saxon Women’s Life and Rights

1. Anglo-Saxons Womens Daily Duties

What was the Anglo-Saxon England like？ Actually it was rather a sorry one. Due to the withdrawal of the Roman legions and the Germanic invaders to Britain， the population began to shrink， houses were abandoned， towns diminished in size and importance， international economic and commercial life declined. Womens life under such circumstances was surely not easy. Besides the routine duties of cooking， washing and child-bearing， what else did an Anglo-Saxon woman also hold as her daily duties？ The answer is up to her social rank， dwelling position and historical stage.

Cloth-making was womens job， and the word wif （wife， woman） might be related to weaving. In wills， the male line was called w?pnedhealf （weapon half） or sperehealf （spear half） and the female line was wifhealf （wife half） or spinelhealf （spindle half）. Traditionally， men played the roles of warriors or hunters， while women cloth-makers. Moreover， the feminine occupational suffix “-stere” was used to form words such as “seamster”， “spinster” and “webster”， which all had something to do with cloth-making. Anglo-Saxon womens weaving duties also provide a term frí?webba which means peace-weaver to their political role. This term was used to describe a woman who married someone from an enemy tribe in order to establish peace between her family and his. The marriage was a political arrangement to hopefully end hostility between warring tribes.

During meals or banquets in the Anglo-Saxon household， food was prepared by women and male slaves， but preparing and serving drink was womens job. They carried the cups of mead around the hall and offered them to the warriors. This is confirmed by surnames such as “Brewster”， “Maltster” and “Tapster”. Female birele （cup-bearers） were also mentioned in ?thelberts laws 14： If a man lie with an eorls birele， let him make bot with twelve shillings. And in heroic poetry， the lady is always the one to serve the drink. In Beowulf， the Queen—Wealhtheows cup-carrying practice to her husband King Hrothgar and Beowulf is not only an honorable reward and compliment but politically meaningful. Wealhtheow here is weaving peace between Beowulf and her sons by politely warning the king of the possible threat their sons may meet from Beowulf and requiring the valiant Beowulfs promise to be good to her sons. Here we can see womens advice and counsel were indeed very necessary when their men were overwhelmed by alcohol or excitement. Tacitus in his The Agricola and Germany mentions： They even believe that the sex （women） has a certain sanctity and prescience， and they do not despise their counsels， or make light of their answers （1877： 90）. In reality， Anglo-Saxon society did show great respect to women for their wisdom， bravery and magic （which they believed women held inside their bodies）.

When the men went out for hunting， fighting， or were exiled， dead， or anyway could not take up their responsibilities as protectors， it was naturally womens responsibility to take care of their children and oversee the safety of their families. Sometimes when war was coming， a few women even attended the warriors line and became fighters for the defense of their tribes. But the Anglo-Saxon women were not trained to be warriors. Their weapon usually turned out to be words rather than swords. Judith in Judith， Juliana in Juliana and Helen in Elene， as well as Grendels monster mother in Beowulf served as warriors of this kind. These heroic literary women weave peace for their people or themselves not through marriage and child-bearing but through boldness， wisdom or even violence. Tacitus in his The Agricola and Germany reports Anglo-Saxon womens participation in the warfare in their own way：

Tradition says that armies already wavering and giving way have been rallied by women who， with earnest entreaties and bosoms laid bare， have vividly represented the horrors of captivity， which the Germans fear with such extreme dread on behalf of their women， that the strongest tie by which a state can be bound is the being required to give， among the number of hostages， maidens of noble birth.

Helen Damico categorizes these kinds of women into the type of valkyrie. She remarks： “In general， however， the treatment of the female warriors of Old English heroic poetry—Elene， Judith and Juliana—corresponds closely to the treatment over the Old English heroic male warriors”. This means women of the Anglo-Saxon society had to follow the comitatus values as the men did. Further， in his The Agricola and Germany， Tacitus draws us a picture of rather a male-centered Anglo-Saxon England. And in a society so dedicated to warfare， women would play secondary roles. Germanic women， he says， were close at hand in warfare， and their presence served to deter cowardice， making men conscious of their honor. The men were said to seek womens advice and to act upon it， crediting women with prescience—a quality attributed to Germanic women. The men were more concerned for their womens safety than for their own. To insure peace， young women taken from noble families made the best hostages who were treated not as prisoners but as members of the court， playing a diplomatic role. Tacitus emphasizes the wifes role as partner of her husband in hard work and war， suffering and daring together with him.

2. Anglo-Saxons Womens Marriage， Rights and Sex

As far as marriage was concerned， Anglo-Saxons generally had clear and sensible legislation for the rights of women. Contrary to the Roman custom， the husband brought a dowry to the wife. The husband was to pay morgengifu （morning gift） in money or land to the woman， and she would have personal control over it to give away， sell or bequeath as she liked. Place names such as Morgay Farm and Morgay Wood were probably given as morgengifu. The husband offered to his wife oxen， horses， shields and spears. Jane Chance argues： “these gifts are symbolic of heroic life in which she is expected to share.” Tacitus mentions： “It is number （of cattle） that is chiefly valued； they are in fact the most highly prized， indeed the only riches of the people”. Therefore， we may detect that oxen and horses as morning gift offered by husband symbolize wealth， while the traditional Anglo-Saxon weapons of shields and spears symbolize protection. When they got married， the husband would offer the wife wealth and protection. With generous wealth distribution， an Anglo-Saxon woman， especially a woman as peace-weaver might win favor from her husbands people. With protection she might boldly give her advice in the hall and her other legal and political rights would get guaranteed.

Marriage agreements were made between the two families， however， the girl did have a say in who would be her husband， and her kin mainly acted as legal and financial advisers and supporters. Because people were allowed to choose their spouses， marital relationships could be very enjoyable. The word “friendship” was often used for the relationship between husband and wife. In The Wifes Lament， the exiled wife calls her husband freond （friend）. For the purpose of protecting married women， the Anglo-Saxon had a law that a wife should not be held guilty for any criminal activity of her husband. Thus in The Wifes Lament， the wife is less possibly exiled for her husbands crime. Widows were protected in the issue of inheritance： ?thelr?ds law stated that they should not be forced into second marriages.

Anglo-Saxon sex life is still not clear to us. But in both The Wifes Lament and Wulf and Eadwacer， the women narrators implicitly mention their feelings towards sex life. In the former poem， the wife contrasts her exile situation in an earth hole to a lovers rest place （bed）， thus expresses the missing of her past sex life with her husband. In the latter， the woman describes her closeness with Eadwacer is both joyful and hateful， a true female feeling when women are having sex.

3. Anglo-Saxon Womens Family and Kinship

Kinship was the primary bond for Anglo-Saxon society. And marriage was considered a contractual relation between families. Anglo-Saxon literature frequently describes how peoples loyalty could shift from their own kin to their spouses kin， which could cause problems if the relationships between the families went tense. For example， in the poem Wulf and Eadwacer， Wulf goes to the womans tribe to seek shelter after his affair with the woman. The woman narrator worries about whether her people will accept Wulf who is from another tribe.

A peace-weavers family and kinship were usually complex. Sometimes， her special identity as one from the rival tribe made her an “extra” and “stranger” in her husbands family. We may safely conclude that these women might often feel being in dilemma in front of the conflict of her people and her husbands. In Beowulf， Hildeburh can not take either side but to suffer from the killing between her brother and her husband and son. In the cases of exiled women， the family is no longer a family but a trap， a prison， and these women are the prey， the prisoners.

Judging from the survey of Anglo-Saxon womens life and rights above， we may find out daily life was far from easy for women in Anglo-Saxon England. In addition to the daily housework， they might have to play and fulfill their political roles as peace-weavers inside or outside their families and tribes for good or for bad.

【作者簡介】姚刚，上海政法学院外国语学院，上海师范大学人文学院。