Anglo-Saxon women

I know the Anglo-Saxons have been getting a lot of attention at SHM
lately, so sorry to add to the pile. However, I've been curious to
know what all of you think about the actual status of Anglo-Saxon
women. I've read recent articles/essays/books in which authors declare
that Anglo-Saxon women had many rights...more than the women after the
Conquest. However,
from some of the contemporary sources (and I'm not going to bother
quoting tonight) I've read, I find it a little hard to believe. A bit
idealistic I'd say. In the text on Edward the Confessor's life (I
think called "Vita Edwardi"--excuse my mistakes, I'm sleepy), there are
references to his wife Edith always sitting at his feet, and this seems
to be a praisworthy thing. Also, I clearly recall reading that women
were not allowed to talk in Church. Similarly, women are often
referred as "adornments" or "ornaments"--just decorations for men.

I guess what I'm getting at is this: did Anglo-Saxon women really have
all that many rights equal to men? We all know that they could own and
sell land, but other than that, wasn't this just a really patriachal
society?

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