Two tendencies that appear to have been relevant for most parts of Europe. First, there was a general process of increased spatial segregation in the High and Late Middle Ages within the homes and work places of the different social groups or estates. The spatial segregation included both different social groups and genders, and homes and work places were increasingly constructed to increase female seclusion. Especially in elite environments female seclusion added to aristocratic justifications of their rank in their competition with the rising bourgeoisie. Second, while there were pronounced ideologies regarding how gender should be enacted at home in different social contexts, realities contested these ideologies. As there were many ways of dealing with reality, it is likely that there existed competing conceptions for how gendred behavior should play out when confronted with real life challenges. In daily life, women transgressed increased spatial segregation when they worked in the fields, herded cattle, performed handicrafts, practiced (small-scale) trade, and defended castles. Instead of a clear dichotomy of public equals men and private equals women, there were hybrid ways of gendering life.