>>11877271‘From the earliest times, women in Germanic law were accorded a different status from that enjoyed by men.
This distinction was based, not on religious or philosophic grounds, but on their differing military and biological functions.
From the moment of her birth, when the symbolic ceremonies attributed a lesser value to her than to a male child, and in matters of law and inheritance, a girl was treated less favorably.
Key ideas:
I. Law excludes her from succession to the throne.
II. Widow required a male guardian to act in court and administer her property.
III. Husband has a right to use physical force on her. Bavarian common law 1756 states that woman ‘is not merely subordinate and subject in domestic matters, but has an obligation to perform customary and proper personal and household services, as may be demanded of her by her husband, who may, if need be, chastise her in moderation. ‘
IV. The authority of a mother over her children was lesser than that of a father. Only in the Prussian Civil Code of 1794 do they lend her more power, but still not on equal terms with that of a man.
V. Socially they did bode well, I’ll give you that, although still not on equal terms.
VI. Restrictions on women’s liberty remained in force longer in Germany than in most Western Countries.
Give me a few minutes or an hour, I'll try going in depth, with Germany alone. But the point is that they've always been seen, throughout history, by many societies and beliefs as being beneath men.
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https://archive.org/details/socialhistoryofg0000saga/page/404/mode/2upA social history of Germany, 1648-1914
Eda Sagarra (SAGARRA, Eda was born on August 15, 1933 in Dublin. Daughter of Kevin O’Sheil and Cecil Smiddy.)
