Critical Assessment of St. Bernadino of Sienna: Two Sermons
The Medieval period is an interesting and important part of history. Understanding 15th century medieval times is relevant to an understanding of how we got to where we are today. St. Bernardino in, "St. Bernardino of Sienna: Two Sermons on Wives and Widows," throws light on medieval conditions threw his sermons on marriage and widowhood. Historians have started to look at women in history in new ways over the past thirty years. Up until that point, historical narrative often ignored women because the men who wrote history decided what was historically significant and what was not. Usually, war and politics were at the top of their list, while things like social relationships, marriage and family - those areas that women were traditionally involved in tended to be outside the scope of male historians' inquiries. The article "St. Bernardino of Sienna: Two Sermons on Wives and Widows," contains extracts of St. Bernardino's mission-sermons as he preached in the great public square of Siena, during August and September of the year 1427. St. Bernardino scorned men on their ill treatment of women, and advising both of the love and affection each should have for the other. One important reason for studying histories is to hel
" Women of the fifteenth century did not have many options open to them. Comparing the mistreatment of women to hens and pigs while using the analogy that though the pigs may squeal you still do not beat them because they are worth more alive and unharmed than dead, likewise is your wife. We want to understand how people lived, why they valued certain ideas over others, and how these values changed overtime. Employing men to find a "good" wife as she will look after him and his possessions better than anyone else will. " With this knowledge, one would assume that marriage offered more opportunities in light of the present conditions. Renowned as a peacemaker, his sensitivity to the demands of secular life led him to try and negotiate between Christian ethics and a conflicting code of honour that stressed retaining face in a public world. In an age before mass media, Bernardino's popularity among society was effective as an important persuader and opinion leader. Business from the start could be based on this "partnership", the commitment of the wife was essential to the co-operation of the enterprise. This discrimination of women for cheap, efficient labour is often at the center of Bernardino's sermon. " While preaching in the great public squares of Siena, Bernardino's sermons were recorded verbatim by Benedetto di Maestro Bartolomeo, a native of Siena. It is through this interrogation of various works that we are able to have a more complete picture of the sufferings of medieval women and appreciate the struggles they must have endured. "Canon law also supported traditional views of the subordinate status of women in relation to men and endorsed placing women sub virga et potestate, literally "under the rod and in the power" of their husbands who had legitimate authority over them in both legal and domestic matters. Bernardino's sermon shed light on the harsh conditions that women were enduring at the hands of their husbands and the economic conditions that prevailed. Likening marriage to a business proposition, if you look after your business (marriage), then your profits will be great.
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