Medievalists usually distinguished medieval public law from private law: the former was concerned with government and military affairs and the latter with the family, social status, and land transactions.
Topic
Relationship of medieval women to the law
Framework
Challenge a Position
Main Point
The distinction between public and private law is overly simplistic, because women were largely excluded from public roles but wielded a lot of political (public) power via their control of land (which was governed by private law).
Passage Map
Paragraph 1 Opens with the Position being challenged. (whenever we hear "X's usually say/think ____", the author will usually go against that point of view)
The 2nd sentence reveals the Author's Purpose. (yo, this position is overly simplistic)
The rest of the paragraph establishes the Author's Main Point. (woman had lots of political power via their control of land, which they acquired through a variety of legal means)
Paragraph 2
This paragraph just lists some of the legal means through which women got control of land. (partible inheritance, dower, jointure)
Paragrap 3
This paragraph comes back to reinforcing the power that women have. (widows > oldest son, women were landlords, widows could appear in court)