Právne a sociálne postavenie poddaných žien
Legal and Social Position of Serf Women

Author(s): Mária Kohútová
Subject(s): Gender Studies, History of Law, Modern Age, Culture and social structure
Published by: Historický ústav SAV
Keywords: serf women; serf men; modern period; legal position; social position
Summary/Abstract: The law did not specify legal position of serf women in the modern period. It dealt only with serf men. Nevertheless, a serf woman as the head of a household or managing a farm was not an exceptional occurrence. Such women were subject to the same laws and customs as serf men. Similarly, they were restricted in their right to move away from the territory of their landlord. Women managing farms were usually widows. Some widows did not continue with managing the farm that belonged to their late husbands, but there were exceptions who would run the farm together with their sons and even those who took over all the duties and obligations connected to the management of the farm (corveé, taxes and in kind). Even if women succeeded in running a farm, it was not always advantageous for them. Their obligations to the landlord were not decreased if they had small children, though rearing children was time-consuming and obviously meant further duties. It was more advantageous for a widow to be a landless serf. Serfs of the same status were equal not only in their duties, but they were all equally punished for their possible offences and entitled to the same level of financial rewards for their agricultural work. A serf woman did not have much opportunity to decide freely about her life. She had to adjust to the customs and try not to violate them so she would not be excluded from the village community. In all the important matters, it was the landlord who wielded the clout.

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