It has long
been held that the Renaissance began in Florence, Italy in the 14th century
mostly because of the social and civic uniqueness of the city at that
time.  The Renaissance was a cultural
movement that saw the rise of literature, science, art, religion, and politics.
It was an intellectual transformation that bridged the Middle Ages and the
Modern era.

Women in the
Renaissance were primarily the domestic caretakers of the children and the
household. They were subordinate inferiors of men. Only a few wealthy women
escaped the tasks of making clothes, the overall maintenance of the home, and
production of food. In the Middle Ages master craftsmen worked out of the
family home. The women of the house not only did their womanly chores but also
took on responsibilities in the family business. In the 13th century, the
family business was removed from the home to larger shops in a different
location.  It’s during this time that
crafts became a man’s trade thus removing women from participating. There were fathers
and husbands who stood to profit from the careers of their daughters and wives
were didn’t oppose their participation. It wasn’t a common situation but it did
happen. Historians believe women filled a greater variety of professional
roles, had more responsibilities, and made more of an economic contribution
during the Middle Ages rather than the Renaissance.  

Like the
Middle Ages, women of the Renaissance were denied all political rights and
considered legally subject to their husbands. A woman was controlled by her
parents throughout her childhood, and then handed directly into the hands of a
husband, whom she most likely had not chosen herself, and who would exercise
control over her until her death or his. Unmarried women were not emancipated but
lived under the rule of a male relative or in a convent where she could become
a nun, the only profession allowed to her.

Some of the
great women of the Renaissance didn’t see boundaries but saw opportunities. They
were women who influenced politics, literature and the art worlds. It is women like them that should be honored and remembered. To quote Heather Formby of the Financial Mail,
“Women can be powerful if they have a passion, a mission and maybe even a
rage.”