Women, Christianity, And Power In The Middle Ages: Hroswitha

The Middle Ages was an era in Europe that lasted since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE until the beginning of Renaissance in the 14th century (History). Throughout those centuries, literature arose as a way of spreading out religious topics through Europe being Latin the most popular language. Hroswitha was one of the several numbers of authors that appeared at that time. She was a canoness in the 10th century and considered the first German poet (Britannica). Hroswitha’s plays were related to religion and women; even though, most of her plays were named after men, they were all about women. In Gallicanus and Dulcitius, Hroswitha portrays how women, Christianity, and power were in the Middle Ages by explaining it through the events of the plays and giving strong characters to the main female characters.
As many authors in the middle ages, Hroswitha portrayed the context she lived in through her plays. The first message that the author is trying to convey within the two plays is how strong the devotion to Christianity at that time. An example is how at the end of Gallicanus, Gallicanus changes his mind of getting married with Constance to fully devote himself to God. Likewise, Constance decides to keep her vow of virginity and not …show more content…
They often speak about religion and disconformity with the decision of the male characters. In Gallicanus, Constance talks about religion when speaking to Gallicanus and Constantine, her father. She refers to God as the one who made Gallicanus renounce to getting married with her. Even though Constantine is not an adversary, Constance speaks about her disagreement of getting married with Gallicanus since she wants to remain as a virgin. In Dulcitius, the three sisters refer to the Christian religion in almost every sentence they say in the play. Specifically, they emphasize their Christian faith when speaking to