It is not often realized that women held a high place in southern European societies in the 10th and 11th centuries. As a wife, the woman was protected by the setting up of a dowry (嫁妆). Admittedly, the purpose of this was to protect her against the risk of desertion, but in reality its function in the social and family life of the time was much more important. The dowry was the wife’s right to receive a tenth of all her husband’s property. The wife had the right to with hold consent, in all transactions the husband would make, and more than just a right; the documents show that she enjoyed a real power of decision, equal to that of her husband. In no case do the documents indicate any degree of difference in the legal status of husband and wife.
The wife shared in the management of her husband’s personal property, but the opposite was not always true. Women seemed perfectly prepared to defend their own inheritance against husbands who tried to exceed their rights, and on occasion they showed a fine fighting spirit. A case in point is that of Maria Vivas. Having agreed with her husband Miro to sell a field she had inherited, for the needs of the household, she insisted on compensation. None being offered, she succeeded in dragging her husband to the scribe to have a contract duly drawn up assigning her a piece of land from Miro’s personal inheritance. The unfortunate husband was obliged to agree, as the contract says, “for the sake of peace.” Either through the dowry or through being hot-tempered, the wife knew how to win herself, with the context of the family, a powerful economic position.
小题1: Originally, the purpose of a dowry is to_________.
A give a woman the right to receive all her husband’s property
B help a woman to enjoy a higher position in the family
C protect a woman against the risk of desertion
D both A and C
小题2: According to the passage, the legal status of the wife in marriage was__________.
A higher than that of a single woman
B higher than that of her husband
C lower than that of her husband
D the same as that of her husband
小题3: Why does the author give us the example of Maria Vivas?
A To show that the wife shared in the management of her husbands personal property.
B To show that the wife can defend her own inheritance.
C To prove that women have powerful position.
D To illustrate how women win her property.
小题4: The compensation Maria Vivas got for the field is____________.
A some of the land Miro had inherited
B a tenth of Miro’s land
C money for household expenses
D money form Miro’s inheritance
小题5:The author’s attitude towards Maria Vivas is_____________.
A sympathetic B disapproval C indifferent D objective
