Women of the Middle Ages / Catherine Called Birdy

             In the Middle Ages, women had many rules and regulations that they had to follow. Some of them were to their benefit and others were not. In Catherine, Called Birdy, by Karen Cushman, Catherine is upset by the way that she is instructed to behave. Women in the medieval society were sometimes treated fairly and sometimes not.
             If a person in the Middle Ages was female, then she had a certain set of roles and a policy of etiquette that she had to follow. Some of those roles were to her benefit. Some medieval women held jobs. They included blacksmiths, merchants, pharmacist, crafters, and dressmakers. For these jobs, the women got paid. They were paid minimum wages, which was almost always less than men. Women would usually be paid about half of whatever the men were paid for the same job. Even though the pay was low, it was still income, which would be to her benefit. Another good thing about being a woman in the Middle Ages was that, on the contrary to Catherine, Called Birdy, most women married men of their own age. They were treated as equal partners in marriage. Marriage was a better option than joining a nunnery for a woman, which Catherine considers in her journal. There was more freedom for a woman in a marriage. Those are a few of the roles of women in the Middle Ages that were for the benefit of the women.
             On the other hand, there are some bad things about being a woman in the Middle Ages. In Catherine, Called Birdy, her mother tells her that "ladies, it seems, never have strong feelings, and if they do, never never let them show" (Cushman 67). That means that women are not supposed to feel opinionated about something and if they are, they are supposed to never let anyone know this. Also in the book, Catherine lists a set of things women are never allowed to do. They include "go(ing) on crusade, be horse trainers, be monks, laugh very loud, wear breeches, drink in ale houses, cut their hair, piss in the fire to make it hiss, wear nothing, be alone, get sunburned, run, marry whom they will, (and) glide on the ice" (83-84).