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 help us understand how past societies functioned. We want to understand how people lived, why they valued certain ideas over others, and how these values changed overtime. Although the article, "St. Bernardino of Siena: Two Sermons on Wives and Widows," is but one piece of evidence, it supports the hypothesis that, indeed, women of the middle ages were severely limited by oppression and callous and reflective sexism.
             St. Bernardino was born Bernardino degli Albizzeschi on September 8, 1380 in Maritima, Italy, the son of the Sienese governor of the town. Bernardino was a charismatic preacher with thousands of listeners flocking to hear him preach; the majority o...