Lesson video

Hello.

My name's Mr. Williams.

And I'm gonna be your history teacher for today.

This is the second lesson in a unit which explores how the role of women has changed from the medieval period to the 20th century.

In today's lesson, we are going to be exploring the role of women in early modern Britain.

My role today is to help you to achieve today's learning objective.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you.

So let's get started.

In today's lesson, we're going to be learning about what made early modern Britain a patriarchal society.

There are two really important keywords for today's lesson, and they are patriarchal and aristocratic.

Patriarchal relates to a society that is controlled by men.

Aristocratic refers to a powerful and wealthy group in society who own land and have titles.

Our lesson today is going to be split into three parts.

And in this first part, we're going to be looking at attitudes towards women, and how women were excluded from positions of power and influence.

In the early modern period, attitudes towards women and ideas about the role they should play in society were still strongly influenced by religion.

The Reformation, which began with Martin Luther in 1517, split the Roman Catholic Church and led to a division between Catholics and Protestants.

Despite their differences, both Catholics and Protestants had similar views about the role of women, and used the biblical story of how Eve had tempted Adam to disobey God to support the idea that women were weaker than men and needed to be controlled by them.

Monarchs, such as Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, showed that women could wield power in the early modern period, but such women were the exception.

And Britain remained a patriarchal society, as it had been in the medieval period.

The majority of women in Britain were excluded from all positions of power.

For example, women were not allowed to become members of Parliament, MPs, or mayors, nor could they vote in elections for these positions.

Women were also not allowed to become magistrates or lawyers.

The position of church warden was the only post of responsibility that women could hold, but most chose not to because the hard work involved was unpaid.

The work done by women in the 16th and 17th centuries changed little from the medieval period.

Women's work remained centered on the home and was combined with childcare.

The majority of people in early modern Britain still lived in the countryside, and as well as working in the fields when required, some women brewed beer or spun, or weaved at home, which was increasingly widespread due to the growth of the wool industry.

As well as positions of power, women were excluded from most professional roles.

The only professional role a woman could act in officially was that of a licensed surgeon, but this was exceptionally rare.

For example, Mary Cornelius is the only woman recorded as having practiced surgery in the reign of Elizabeth I.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding.

We have a statement on the screen, and it says, "Catholics and Protestants had very different views about the role of women.

" Is this true or false?

Pause the video here, and press Play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done to everyone who said that the correct answer was false.

But we need to be able to justify our answers.

So on the screen, we have two justifications.

The first says, "Catholics and Protestants both believed that women were weaker than men and needed to be controlled.

" And the second says, "Catholics and Protestants both believed that women and men should have equal roles in society.

" Which one of these justifications shows us that our original statement was false?

Pause the video here, and press Play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done to everyone that said A was the correct justification.

There were many differences between Catholics and Protestants, but they both believed that women were weaker than men and needed to be controlled by them.

Let's take a look at another question.

Which of these positions of responsibility were women allowed to hold in early modern Britain?

Pause the video here, and press Play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done to everyone who said that D was the correct answer.

Early modern Britain was a patriarchal society.

And although there were some exceptions, women were mostly excluded from positions of power and responsibility.

The only exception was the position of church warden, but it was hard work and unpaid, so not many women took up the role.

We are now in a position to put our knowledge and understanding to the test.

Izzy has come to a judgment about early modern British society.

She says that, "Despite the fact that there are examples of female monarchs during the early modern period, Britain remained a patriarchal society like it was in the medieval period.

" I want you to identify five pieces of evidence that Izzy could use to support this judgment.

Pause the video now, and press Play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all your hard work on that first task.

You were asked to identify evidence that Izzy could use to support her judgment that early modern Britain was a patriarchal society.

You may have identified some of the following facts.

Women were not allowed to become MPs or mayors.

Women were not allowed to vote in any elections.

Women were not allowed to become magistrates or lawyers.

Women were excluded from most professions.

Protestant and Catholic churches taught that women needed to be controlled by men.

While female monarchs, like Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, showed that women could wield power in early modern Britain, British society remained patriarchal, as it had been during the medieval period, and women were excluded from most positions of power and influence in society.

Let's move on now to the second part of our lesson.

This second part of our lesson focuses on education.

Most people in early modern Britain were farmers and laborers, and did not have a formal school-based education.

However, during the reign of Elizabeth I, attitudes began to change, and there were more opportunities for boys from wealthier families to get an education.

Grammar schools were built to educate the sons of merchants, business owners, and professionals.

However, girls were not allowed to attend.

The purpose of education in the early modern period was to prepare children for the role they were expected to play in life.

Therefore, the education of girls focused on preparing them for life at home.

Girls from any social class rarely went to school, but those that did would attend a dame school.

These were schools that provided a very basic level of education, and they were so called because they were run by a local educated woman.

Aristocratic girls did not attend school, but they did receive an education from a private tutor.

They were taught skills expected of upper-class women, such as music, dancing, horse riding, and needlework.

During the early modern period, there was an increase in literature written by aristocratic women.

For example, Anne and Elizabeth Cooke, the daughters of Sir Anthony Cooke, who was tutor to Edward VI, translated many works from Latin and Greek into English.

Aristocratic women also published original writing.

For example, the first poetry published by a British women was by Isabella Whitney in 1566 to 1567.

It's time to check your understanding now.

We have a statement on the screen, and it says, "Only aristocratic women went to school in early modern Britain.

" Is this statement true or false?

Pause the video here, and press Play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was false.

But as you know by now, it's really important to be able to justify our answers.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says, "No girls were allowed to go to school in this period.

" And the second says, "Aristocratic girls were educated at home by private tutors.

" Which of those justifications shows us that our original statement was false?

Pause the video here, and press Play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, very well done to anyone who said, "B.

" During the early modern period, access to education for girls and boys depended on social class.

A relatively small number of girls were educated through dame schools, but aristocratic girls did not attend school, because their families were wealthy enough to pay for them to be educated by private tutors.

Let's have a go at this next task.

There's a question on the screen, which I would like you to answer, and the question is, what were dame schools?

Pause the video here, write a short answer to this question, and press Play when you're ready to see an example answer.

Okay, well done for all your hard work on that question.

Your answer may have included something like this, "Dame schools were schools that were run by an educated woman that offered a basic level of education for girls.

" Well done if you wrote something similar.

We can now apply our knowledge to complete our second task of this lesson.

I want you to read what Aisha and Sofia think about educational opportunities for girls during the early modern period.

Aisha says, "Girls were unable to receive an education during the early modern period.

" While Sofia argues, "Opportunities for girls to receive an education were very limited during the early modern period.

" I want you to identify who you think is correct, and briefly explain your answer.

Pause the video here, and press Play when you're ready to reflect on what you've written, and compare it to a model answer.

Well done if you said that Sofia was correct.

To support this choice, your answer may have included, "Sofia is correct, although girls did not have the same opportunities as boys, some girls attended dame schools.

In addition, private tutors educated girls from aristocratic families.

" Educational opportunities were very limited for girls, but aristocratic girls were usually educated by private tutors, while a relatively small number of girls from lower social classes may have attended dame schools.

It's important to note that the focus of education for girls in this period was to prepare them for a life at home, and this was true across all social classes.

We're ready now to move on to the final part of today's lesson and consider what life was like for married women in the early modern period.

The lives of early modern women from all social classes were still dominated by the same cycle of marriage, childbirth, and childcare, as it governed the lives of women in the medieval period.

Women were expected to marry, and when they did so, they moved from living under the authority of their father to living under the authority of their husband.

Most women did not get to choose who they married, because marriages were arranged by parents in a way that benefited their family socially or financially.

This was particularly true amongst aristocratic families, who used marriages to make alliances with other families.

In 1575, a Dutch visited to England, described the country as "a paradise for married women," because he believed that they had more freedom than in other parts of Europe.

While this might have been true in some cases, husbands in early modern Britain had a huge amount of control over their wives.

For example, women could not divorce their husband, own property, sign a contract, or make a will without their husband's permission.

Furthermore, men were to beat their wives as long as they did not kill them.

And women accused of being disobedient or outspoken could be punished and publicly humiliated, for example, by being lowered into the local pond on a chair, known as a ducking stool.

Let's check our understanding now.

On the screen is a sentence.

It reads, "When women got married in early modern Britain, they moved from living under the authority of their blank to living under the authority of their blank.

" I want you to complete the sentence by writing in the missing words.

Pause the video here, complete the sentence with the missing words, and press Play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done for your hard work on that task.

The completed sentence should read, "When women got married in early modern Britain, they moved from living under the authority of their father to living under the authority of their husband.

" Let's try this next task.

I want you to answer the question on the screen.

What was a ducking stool?

And what was it used for?

Pause the video here, write a short answer to this question, and press Play when you're ready to see an example answer.

Okay, well done for your work on that question.

Your answer may have read something like this, "A ducking stool was a chair that was lowered into a pond as a form of public punishment.

It was used to punish women who were considered to be disobedient or outspoken.

" Well done if your answer looks something like that one.

Let's do one final check for understanding now.

We have a statement on the screen, and it says, "A visitor to England in 1575 believed that the country was 'a paradise for married women.

'" Is this statement true or false?

Pause the video, and press Play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said the correct answer was true.

Now, let's try and justify this answer.

On the screen are two justifications.

The first one says, "The visitor believed that married women in England had the same status in society as men.

" The second one says, "The visitor believed that married women in England had more freedom than in other parts of Europe.

" Which one of those justifications shows us that our original statement was true?

Pause the video here, and press Play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done to everyone who said the correct answer was B.

The visitor is expressing a personal view that women in England had more freedom than in other parts of Europe.

It was absolutely not the case that women and men had the same status in early modern England or anywhere else in Britain.

We are nearing the end of our lesson now.

So for the final time, let's have a go at applying our knowledge and understanding.

Sam has come to an incorrect judgment about what life was like for married women in early modern Britain.

Sam has said, "The fact that a visitor to England in the early modern period described the country as 'a paradise for married women' meant that married women were treated well and had the same rights and status as their husbands.

" This is incorrect.

I'd like you to write a short paragraph to explain why Sam is wrong.

Pause the video here, and press Play when you're ready to reflect on what you've written, and compare it to a model answer.

Okay, well done for your hard work on that final task.

You were asked to explain why Sam's judgment was wrong.

Your answer may have included, "Sam's judgment is wrong because husbands had a huge amount of power over their wives in the early modern period.

For example, a wife was not allowed to own property without her husband's permission.

Husbands could also treat their wives badly.

For example, they were allowed to beat them as long as they did not kill them.

" We're now at the end of our lesson.

So it's a good opportunity for us to recap what we've learned today.

The Reformation did not significantly change attitudes to women, and early modern Britain remained a patriarchal society.

Women in the early modern period were excluded from positions of power and many types of work.

Women were expected to stay at home and combine work with childcare, as they had been in the medieval period.

The vast majority of women did not receive an education.

However, aristocratic women were educated by tutors.

And finally, married women had very little freedom and were controlled by their husbands.

It's been a real pleasure teaching you today.

Thank you for joining me and for all your hard work in this lesson.

I look forward to teaching you again soon.