If you mentioned walls to them, they would probably think of houses or fortifications. Other than that, they wouldn't know what 'wall ranks' are.

The mind behind Ryeka, grinning at the thought

I'm just glad that women in "our" medieval world can be equal to men as far as wealth, hunting, etc., are concerned. In the real medieval era, women were pretty much considered a possession of their husband, often weren't given a choice in who they married, couldn't own property or achieve wealth.

My main character hunts, trains, does all the stuff your normal, average adventurer would do. She does, however, defer to her husband on most of the big issues, accepting whatever decision he comes to. He always listens to her, and she does change his mind from time to time, but ultimately, he does have the final say. It's hard to explain, but she doesn't see him as her "superior" in any way. She simply acknowledges that he is the head of the family and gives him the respect due him.

The fact that she's still completely nuts about and devoted to her husband, even after almost 3 years of marriage, helps too. :)

>>I'm just glad that women in "our" medieval world can be equal to men as far as wealth, hunting, etc., are concerned.

A pity...

*runs away*

>>In the real medieval era, women were pretty much considered a possession of their husband, often weren't given a choice in who they married, couldn't own property or achieve wealth.

*drops back in*

I'm in the process of inventing time travel for this very reason.

*runs away even more quickly than last time*

-Kaelh

>>>In the real medieval era, women were pretty much considered a possession of their husband, often weren't given a choice in who they married, couldn't own property or achieve wealth.<<<

Well, yes and no :)

First though, I have to say that any statement that starts: "In the Middle Ages.." is always too broad. The Middle Ages encompasses about a thousand years, and a large chunk of the western world. Traditions changed from village to village, and even more so from kingdom to kingdom.

In many ways, the woman was legally considered the possession of the husband in many of these years and places. However, this was more of a technicality than a complete concept of woman as an object.

Generally though, women could hold property and wealth just like everyone else. It depended on whether or not they were in a position to get it in the first place - a problem also held by younger sons within a family. In fact, children also had their entitlements, which we know from records in 14th century London concerning the law backing up orphans' rights (male and female.)

Most marriages were arranged to some degree, even among peasants. It was generally assumed that young people were not educated in the ways of the world enough to select mates with a clear mind for the future. However, in most places and times in the Middle Ages, the young person could disagree and put a stop to the marriage. In practice, the social pressures and realities often kept this from happening.

An interesting note along these lines, is that young noble brides were occasionally married when very young for political reasons. However, consummation was forbidden until she was of age, and when she came of age, she could cancel the marriage - but at the expense of losing her dowry.

An excellent, excellent movie that essentially deals with a young woman in the 14th century is Kristin Lavransdottar. I highly recommend it to people who find issues concerning real people's lives to be at least as fascinating as puffed up fantasy. It's quite accurate.

---Brett