women during the middle ages?

Women were daughters, then wives and mothers. Almost the only alternatives were to be a nun or a prostitute. Some in the servant class were a little more vague, but generally their chastity was not held in much regard.

However, within the context of these limited roles, some of them had a great deal of influence. Most of those beautiful tapestries which we marvel at in museums were actually original works of art by noble ladies who could afford to spend many hours a day at work on them. What they depicted, and the way in which they depicted it, has influenced religion, art and heraldry for centuries. Their influence on their husbands and sons cannot be calculated, but was clearly great in many cases.

It is a mistake to believe most women were mistreated in medieval Europe. They were very protected, which has a constraining effect, but most of them had no thought of stepping outside those constraints. There are also many tales of great heroism when the lord was away at the wars and the lady protected the household from invaders. Also, at a time when virtually everything was made at home, since trade was so limited, they were very resourceful and managed large and complex households.

You are having a hard time finding information about middle-class women during the middle ages because there was no middle class in existence at the time - anywhere on earth. The middle class is a product of industrialised societies, not agrarian ones.

JUST A WARNING--WHEN WRITING THIS PAPER DO NOT TAKE A FEMINIST POINT OF VIEW! I DID THIS IN COLLEGE ONCE AND FAILED! ON THE SURFACE YOU WOULD THINK THAT WOMEN WERE OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE AND MOSTLY CONSIDERED AS CHATTEL. WHILE THIS IS IN SOME ASPECTS TRUE, DAILY LIVING WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE SAME IF WOMEN DID NOT WORK ALONGSIDE THE MEN(OFTEN IN THE FIELDS) IN FACT IF YOU DO YOUR RESEARCH YOU WILL FIND SOME WOMEN EVEN OWNED PROPERTY. THE MIDDLE AGES WERE ABOUT MORE THAN THE CONCEPT OF "CHILVALRY".