Since women could own land in this early culture, morgengifu (dowry gifts) like money or land were given to a women to persuade her to marry. These gifts would be hers if she agreed to marry, and many women became landowners through marriage. Husband and wife had the same rights, so everything they owned was equally shared and a marriage contract was often written to show the agreement the man made with the woman (Fell 58). When Anglo Saxon family's had children, sons and daughters were considered equally important and both would be heir in their parents wills (Brown 63). If there were conflicts within the marriage, the people of the community took it upon themselves to help settle them and would always try to help any unhappy marriages because it was not only the problem of the husband and wife, but also of the community (Anglo Saxon Women 1). If the couple could not resolve their issues and were disrupting everyone around them, they were allowed to divorce.
Anglo-Saxon women were given many opportunities to work, although they were not typically involved in any hard labor. They were not cooks, which is the stereotypical woman's job of more recent times. Instead, they prepared and served the drinks when there were guests (Brown 24). Although there were times when women were needed in a laborious job, men were the ox-herders, laborers, swine-herders, and so forth, and the women were charged with daily chores around the house, overseeing the slaves and storerooms, making clothes, baking but not cooking the meals, making and serving drinks, and entertaining when there were guests (Brown 25). Women's work roles were limited and distinct from men's roles, but they were respected and valued by society.
Other advantages that women had, include legal protection from rape and sexual abuse. If a woman was raped or sexually abused, there were punishments and the victim "received appropriate compensation for crimes that were committed against them, which were paid directly to them" (Brown 17-18).
