Women In The Middle Ages It Mr, Osborn in his book, "The Middle Ages" has not much' light to shed on the Dark axes, he has succeeded, in an admiffible way, im giving us a survey of what other people have thought and said. First and foremost, let it be said, he is fan enthusiast, a gallant defender an age that after 300 years of hoghet has only in recent times come to be understood.
particularly informative about the position of women in the Middle Ages, "Women," he tells us, "as a result of the incessant warfare, probably outnumbered men throughout the Middle Ages the problem of the superfluous woman' is not a result of the eivilization of to-day, as some feminists will have us believe, For the widows id_unmarried daughters of the working-class there existed a variety of occupations la country ud town alike. We find female villeins living upon same services for them: as men.
'As for the women of the upper' classes Me, Osborn reminds us that When the husband was away fighting of at court or on pilgrimiaces the wife had to look after airs, ren Mehting lawsuits (chieh involved knowledge of the miccties of finance "eolal law) and defending his fatten oxaten against the handy vel Mr, Osborn gives a deux! count of the Courts of Love, that curious medieval institution ("as a rule the judges were Indies") which and sheer licentiousness." A lover who had been unfaithful to two ladies, we are told, was prosecuted Ly both of.them in the Court of the Countess of Flanders, who delivered Judgment as follows: "Let the wretch lose both sweethearts, and henceforth let no honourable woman listen to him. For he is possessed by an ungovernable will, which the mortal enemy of true love."
There is plenty of lively reading in this little" book, and little ddmserts of information are to be found on almost every page. "Slave-markets," we read on one page," "existed everywhere, and prices were.low—in 725, for example, a woman or child could be bought for 12 or 15 gold pieces, while in Ireland fan adult woman slave was worth three cows"; on another we rend, "iron was really a semi-precious metal; so little of it was procurable that on one of Charlcmagme's great domains there were to be found only two axes, two spades, two gimlets, one hatchet, and on¢ plane." In this way does Br. Osborn turn a search-Tight on what he refuses to call the Dark Ages.—W.R, Gordon. of gracefulness instend
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.