Weapons+and+Gender

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In the Elizabethan times it was imperative for a man to carry weapons where ever he went. If a man were to walk out in public unarmed he was more likely to catch the eyes of robbers. The way the government system worked at the time meant there was a lack of police and law enforcers so men had to carry weapons, usually rapiers, to protect their families and themselves. Sometimes men would carry a parrying dagger as well as a rapier. Since most people had to fend for themselves, all the males in a family would be armed t o provide protection.  Mainly men who owned land and that were of nobility carried weapons But even people of lower class carried something to defend themselves with. Females would almost always go out with male protection because Women rarely carried weapons since weapons were mainly in a mans domain. Back then, it was a very male dominate society, which is like many other cultures. Women depended a great deal on the men to provide what is needed and to make choices. It was embedded in Elizabethan society that women were supposed to act passive, patient, and obedient where as men were generally expected to act more independent and aggressive. As a part of chivalry knights and men who fallowed it's rules had to treat ladies respectfully and have regard for the weaker and poorer.  ([|source]) ( [|source]) ([|source])