Handmaiden

Handmaiden

A handmaiden (or handmaid) is a female attendant, assistant, domestic worker (servant), or slave.

Contents

Domestic work

Typically, royalty and nobility would have handmaidens.

Religion

Norse goddesses (such as Frigg) had handmaidens, [1]. The biblical Mary referred to herself as "the handmaid of the Lord" in acceptance of becoming pregnant by the Holy Ghost.[2] A man might use a handmaiden as a concubine to bear his child if his wife was infertile. For example, the biblical Rachel, the childless wife of Jacob, gave her handmaid Bilhah to her husband to produce children for her. Jacob's first wife Leah later did the same.[3]

In Ancient Egypt, the role of handmaiden was important to Egyptian religious practices. One of the early gods, Atum, was supposed to have brought the world into being through self-fornication. In subsequent ritual, a priestess would assist the priest in the ceremony, through the use of a carving representing Atum's penis. These female priests were important within the ritual for they assisted in the creation of the world.[citation needed]

There are numerous references to prostitutes near or within the religious buildings. This is a mistaken representation of their role, for the priestesses were, as well as of being 'handmaidens', performed 'sex magic' rituals related to sacred prostitution in the goddess temples. It was believed that the culmination of the process of sex brought the participants closer to the higher plane where they could gain enlightenment. In this role, these handmaidens were essential to the religious practices.[citation needed]

Other uses

A handmaiden was the common term in Victorian times for a wooden, hinged clothes airer having two rectangular frames hinged vertically and with three horizontal rails on each frame for drying and airing clothes, often in front of a kitchen fireplace.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ [3]
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  • handmaiden — UK [ˈhændˌmeɪd(ə)n] / US or handmaid UK [ˈhændˌmeɪd] / US noun [countable] Word forms handmaiden : singular handmaiden plural handmaidens Word forms handmaid : singular handmaid plural handmaids 1) old fashioned a woman who is someone s servant… …   English dictionary

  • handmaiden — [hand′mād΄ n] n. 1. Archaic a woman or girl servant or attendant 2. that which accompanies in a useful but subordinate capacity [law is the handmaiden of justice]: Also handmaid * * * …   Universalium

  • handmaiden — [hand′mād΄ n] n. 1. Archaic a woman or girl servant or attendant 2. that which accompanies in a useful but subordinate capacity [law is the handmaiden of justice]: Also handmaid …   English World dictionary

  • handmaiden — [[t]hæ̱ndmeɪd(ə)n[/t]] handmaidens 1) N COUNT A handmaiden is a female servant. [LITERARY, OLD FASHIONED] 2) N COUNT: N of/to n If one thing is the handmaiden of another, the first thing helps the second or makes it possible. [FORMAL] He disliked …   English dictionary

  • Handmaiden — Handmaid Hand maid (h[a^]nd m[=a]d ), Handmaiden Hand maid en (h[a^]nd m[=a]d n), n. A maid that waits at hand; a female servant or attendant. [WordNet sense 2] [1913 Webster] 2. Something or someone serving in a subordinate position; as,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • handmaiden — hand|maid|en [ˈhændˌmeıdn] n also hand|maid [ˈhændmeıd] 1.) old fashioned a female servant 2.) formal something that supports an idea, system, or way of life handmaiden of ▪ Science must not become the handmaiden of the state …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • handmaiden — also handmaid noun Date: 13th century 1. a personal maid or female servant 2. something whose essential function is to serve or assist < criticism is not the enemy of art but rather its handmaiden Gary Michael > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • handmaiden — also hand.maid noun (C) 1 old use a female servant 2 formal an idea, principle etc that has an important part in supporting or helping another idea etc (+ of): Militarism, Ross wrote, is the handmaiden of imperialism …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • handmaiden — noun 1. in a subordinate position theology should be the handmaiden of ethics the state cannot be a servant of the church • Syn: ↑handmaid, ↑servant • Derivationally related forms: ↑serve (for: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • handmaiden — noun Variant spelling of handmaid …   Wiktionary

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