VISUAL ARTS
There was a strong tradition of the visual arts in medieval monastic life. Though monks are typically associated with manuscript illumination, nuns and secular women also worked as painters and sculptors. In the early Middle Ages, most female artists were monastics; later, many of them were professionals. Almost all art was religion-oriented.
Women were usually the artists of the tapestries which graced the chill halls of medieval homes. Matilda of Flanders, the wife of William the Conqueror, is usualy credited with the design of the Bayeux tapestry, the depiction of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 . There is no evidence to support this, but it remains a popular belief.
THEATRE, DANCE, AND MUSIC
During
the Middle Ages, theatrical troups were groups of traveling players who
went from one town to the next, putting on plays of myths and Bible stories
and entertaining with variety acts as well. If women were included in these
groups, they were ostracised by town dwellers, as most itinerant entertainers
were. "Masterless" men and women were considered a moral, if not a physical,
threat to the community.
Dancing, formal among the upper classes and sometimes paganistic among the lower classes, was a skill cultivated by many. Traveling dancers, who made a career out of it, were probably more similar to acrobats or bellydancers. Group dances were the norm, as odancing was not yet in vogue. Most steps consisted of four lines of couples or a ring of mixed dancers.
The
ability to sing and /or play an instrument was highly valued, especially
among the upper class. Having the leisure to learn such a skill demonstrated
the wealth of a girl's family. However, those who practiced a career of
music were not considered respectable.
