In medieval times the marriage bargain held men responsible for the physical labor outside of the home, while the women provided nourishment and comfort inside.
A distaff was a rod used to hold wool during weaving and became a symbol of honor and respect to the value of a woman’s work toward the family’s well-being.
The equal to the female “distaff-side” is the male “spear-side.”
The word distaff comes from the Low German word “dis”, which means a bunch of flax, connected with staff.
