Women and Work Through a Comparative Lens: Gender and the Urban Labor Markets of Premodern Brabant and Biscay - Paperback

by Nena Vandeweerdt (Author)

Women played a crucial role in medieval and early modern urban economies, yet their labor opportunities greatly varied depending on local institutions. This book compares the guild-structured labor markets of Antwerp and Mechelen in Brabant with Bilbao's informal economy in Biscay during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. By analyzing these distinct institutional contexts, it offers a nuanced and multifaceted understanding of women's economic roles in premodern Europe. Drawing on a wide range of legislative and judicial sources, the author demonstrates how legal frameworks, socioeconomic structures, and individual strategies shaped women's activities in small-scale trade. By bridging institutional analysis and personal agency, Women and Work Through a Comparative Lens sheds new light on the interplay between labor organization and everyday practices in premodern Europe.

Author Biography

Nena Vandeweerdt studies gendered socioeconomic interactions in late medieval and early modern towns. Her work has been funded by the Research Foundation Flanders and the Spanish Ministry of Science.