medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Driving in the US in small towns, particularly in the South, you can
occasionally come across remnants of 19thC churches with two doors, one for
men, one for women.
DW
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
In a message dated 28/09/2005 13:26:06 GMT Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
<<I am not aware of any
suggestion that the sexes were separated in this way in England.>>
Nor was I (I thought it was a conceit of _High Noon_), but see _Carved
Mediæval Bench Ends of South Somerset_ by Bob Osborn, at
(_http://www.southsomersetmuseums.org.uk/benchends/_
(http://www.southsomersetmuseums.org.uk/benchends/)
)
<<It was customary for the congregation to be segregated, with men on the
south side of the church and women to the north and, as seating was
introduced,
this custom continued. In fact most congregations were separated until
well
into the 17th century. >>
...which does not prove anything except that the idea is out there.
Thank you everyone for the continuing response to my query. It has been
fascinating, and very useful; I await the arrival of my copy of Roberta
Gilchrist's _Gender and Material Culture_ (a more academic approach than
the Osborn
quoted above) and will let the list know what light it sheds.
Susan
[log in to unmask]
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|