Firstly, it analyzes the social conditions of the Italian Renaissance, through the important role of marriage in this period and the historical changes in the status of women. The dowry disposal method and the relationship between longevity wives and dowry, another group of women, are analyzed. A wife's ownership of the dowry affected those around her. one. The economic, political and cultural redevelopment of Italian Renaissance society

Engels once commented on this era, "This is the greatest and progressive change that mankind has ever experienced. And Italy was the birthplace of this great era. The cradle of the Renaissance. The Renaissance movement originated in Italy and took the lead in breaking the silence and calm of medieval Europe. The Renaissance was one of the most significant social transformation periods in the history of mankind.

From a cultural perspective. , the Renaissance is usually divided into three periods: the initial Renaissance in the 14th century and the early and high literary and artistic development in the 15th and 16th centuries. The characteristics and content of this period are not the focus of this article. The political, economic, cultural and social life conditions of Italy during the Renaissance period, and the impact on women of different social classes at different stages of their lives under this background. 2. Why were the status of women in the Italian Renaissance low?

On the whole, Italy during the Renaissance was politically fragmented and turbulent. Medieval Italy was nothing more than a geographical term. The central part is ruled by the old Papal State, the southern part is under the control of France and Spain, and the northern part is under the control of feudal countries such as Savoy and Filiuri. In addition, there are several cities***. and the Kingdom.

By the Renaissance, there were five roughly equal powers on the Italian peninsula, Milan, Venice, Florence, the Papal Territory and the Kingdom of Naples. As Larna said: "In the 14th century. Italy is not a political unit but merely a cultural concept. The greatest representatives of the Italians at that time did not regard Italy as a country but just a province of the Roman Empire. These city-states practiced different political systems. But there was no peace within the Florentine country, and rebellions broke out in its subordinate cities from time to time.

Venice is a city-state with relatively stable aristocratic rule. The country of Milan was not stable either, and there were frequent quarrels between various factions of the nobles in the city. No matter what kind of government system these cities implement, whether it is a monarchy or a monarchy, they often do not have feudal legitimacy.

At the same time, the rulers of these city-states, whether they are individuals or a party, are not in a stable position in power, and they can easily perish in the struggle between city-states. In this way, the illegality and temporary nature of power require these rulers to deal with the various situations they face objectively and realistically, and rely on their strength and flexible use of various means to achieve the survival of the country and the stability of their own rule.

The city-state governments of the Italian Renaissance actively implemented reforms and formulated strategies to manage the country. This was a significant feature of this period. From Machiavelli's cunning and fierce monarch image to Burckhardt's description of "political work becoming an art", it shows that the monarchs who ruled the city-states during this period were no longer completely monarchs in the sense of feudal society.

On the one hand, they have used violence and power politics in the process of gaining, maintaining and losing power. On the other hand, from external military diplomacy to social stability within the city-state, their ruling policies were more flexible, handling affairs with a new spirit, and being keen on change. This new political spirit is reflected in all aspects and determines the implementation of various policies and the formulation of legal principles in the city-state.

The end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century were the period of formation of border city-states in Italy. A large number of new administrative positions and rules and regulations began to be implemented, especially the management and supervision of marriage affairs were strengthened. City-state governments actively promote the formation of marriage for the following reasons: to avoid the occurrence of sexual humiliation incidents that disrupt social order. Women have very little honor to lose, but the occurrence of this lost honor will endanger the interests of society and family.

On the one hand, sexual crimes related to women, such as rape, fornication, adultery, etc., harm the interests of male authority. On the other hand, it destroys the stability of social order and is not conducive to social development. Therefore, from the perspective of maintaining social stability, the government actively promotes the implementation of marriage policies.

Therefore, Italian society after experiencing the ravages of the Black Death focused on the continuation of the male lineage, and procreation was regarded as the primary purpose of marriage. Strengthen government and family ties through less involvement in marriage. During the Renaissance, in order to maintain the stability of political rule, the Italian city-state governments gradually extended their governance policies to family affairs and strengthened the management of individuals and families in social relations and public life.

Marriage is the basis for forming a family and is the place where participation in family affairs is relatively concentrated. As a result, the government has strengthened the supervision and management of marriage affairs. The government penetrated into family affairs by formulating a series of normative principles, and marriage became the realm that connected the relationship between the city-state, the family, and individual men and women. Florence created the dowry fund system in 1424-25 to provide families with a government-guaranteed investment method to help them prepare the dowry essential for their daughter's marriage.

City-state governments used this system to delve into family affairs.

2.? Economic life affects women’s status

The 13th century was a period of rapid economic development in Europe, and urban economic development was outstanding. The Italian urban economy developed rapidly during this period. The economic development of Italian cities is closely related to its geographical location. Italy borders the Mediterranean Sea and is at the center of the Mediterranean route.

The Mediterranean has always been an important maritime route for trade between Western Europe and the East. Bari, Naples and Amalfi in southern Italy all conducted maritime trade with the East and became an important hub for the development of trade between the East and the West. The products of large-scale maritime trade have superior sales markets. "Such a superior geographical environment provides convenient conditions for the development of overseas trade in northern Italian cities, the most important of which is Venice.

Venice became a huge maritime empire including Crete, and maritime trade was very active. The Venetian gold coin, the ducat, was the common form of currency in the regional market at that time.

However, the development of the Italian economy was not smooth sailing at this time. It suffered a heavy blow from the epidemic that broke out in 1348. The outbreak of the epidemic plague, the Black Death, interrupted the continuity of the original economic life, and the most direct impact was a sharp decline in population. The sharp decline in population has caused a shortage of labor, resulting in a large number of social job vacancies and a state of social and economic chaos. In order to change this situation, city-state governments actively promoted the formation of marriages to supplement the population deficit caused by the epidemic.

In addition, Italians who survived the plague also had a new understanding of the value of life and property. Europeans experienced this death as never before, and they pondered their own established way of existence... On the other hand, those who survived the disaster aroused their pursuit and happiness for their own existence from the fear of death of others. Cherish the power of life in every possible way.

As the Black Death raged and life became impermanent, people intensified their attention to property. In the more than ten years after the Black Death, the number of wills increased dramatically, and the number of women making wills gradually increased. Women from different groups, such as women who should remain single and nuns, can write wills during this period. In particular, pregnant mothers are more likely to have wills.

They have a deep fear of the uncertainty of life caused by pregnancy, childbirth and scar diseases, and are worried about dying without leaving a will. Most of the wealth in their hands is their dowry. The dowry husband who follows a woman into marriage has only control over her but no ownership rights. When they make a will, they will distribute the wealth in her hands.

In their wills, unlike men, their wealth distribution is more driven by emotion and takes into account different lineages, including their children, husbands, and other lineage relatives in their father's family. . The increase in the number of women making wills and the way their people distribute wealth shows that women who hold a certain amount of wealth in this period have the right to dispose of wealth, reflecting the gradually expanding social influence of women. Conclusion

Dowry throughout a woman’s life has had a profound impact on women’s marriage, career, identity construction, and property status. Although the law protects women’s rights to their dowry, they are not active participants in the series of operations of dowry.

They will take members of different lineages into consideration when dealing with the family, thereby enabling relatives of different lines to gain economic benefits and strengthening the consolidation and stability within the family and society. Women's possession of dowry enables them to obtain part of the property of their father's family. Although they do not enjoy the same inheritance rights to family property as men, it has a sheltering effect on women and provides them with the necessary resources for remarriage after divorce or widowhood. economic basis.

Moreover, in a social context that experienced the ravages of the Black Death, Italians paid more attention to property, and women also had the opportunity to make wills, which shows that Italian women's right to control wealth was affirmed at that time. With the degree of recognition, the influence of women in society gradually increases. However, women had little say in the city-state's formulation of policies and laws regarding dowry issues and in fathers' decisions about their daughters' marriages.

Fathers provide dowries for their daughters who are about to get married, and city-states care about women's dowries mainly to protect the family's property and honor, maintain social stability, and thereby strengthen the male group's ruling authority over the entire society. Therefore, although women in Renaissance Italy were protected to a certain extent by the dowry system, they still could not escape the control and influence of patriarchy.