This paper examines the figure of deaconesses in the history of canon law, with particular attention to Late Antiquity and the medieval period. Through an analysis of normative sources and ecclesiastical practice, it shows that the role of deaconesses in early Christian communities did not entail a true sacramental ordination, but rather constituted a form of service and assistance tailored to the charitable needs of local Churches. In the medieval era, their figure is still attested in legal sources -most notably in the Decretum Gratiani and the subsequent decretist tradition - where references to deaconesses reflect both the memory of an institution that had long since disappeared, and the effort to systematize its significance within the canonical order of the period. The paper thus offers a historical-legal reconstruction of the ministry of deaconesses and its doctrinal development, emphasizing its functions, limits, and normative legacy.