Urban Economies

Abstract

Women's experience in the towns of medieval Europe was framed by the nature of the urban economy and the legal system in place. Women operated everywhere within a patriarchal system, but the limits and possibilities of their economic participation varied across time, marital status, social status, family ties, and training. Elite women managed households, but in some cities they can be found investing in trade and industry, engaging in financial operations, and exploiting real property. Middling women engaged in sales of luxury goods and agricultural commodities, in real-estate transactions, in partnerships and apprenticeships. Rarely did they enjoy guild membership, but they contributed to medieval artisanal industry. Poor women, domestic servants, prostitutes, and slaves were everywhere the disadvantaged in medieval cities, though some, such as hucksters, could overcome the makeshift transient economy of which they were a part. Gender dictated the fate of urban women, however historical assessments might differ.

Contextualizing bilateral asymmetry and gender: A multivariate approach to femoral cross‐sectional geometry at rural Medieval Pieve di Pava, Italy

“…Historical evidence from the medieval period in Europe supports our finding that females on average are “generalized” in their mechanical signatures because they contributed to a wide array of domestic and agricultural tasks and have individually complex reproductive histories (Reyerson, 2013; Riccomi, 2021; Whittle, 2013). Manuscript illuminations from Northern Italy (nearly contemporaneous with our study site) depict medieval women harvesting crops like spelt alongside men in agricultural fields, in addition to illuminations depicting cooking and pasta making.…”

“…Gender‐based divisions of labor were not strict in rural contexts and women frequently supported men in agricultural activities in addition to performing domestic labor, such as laundry, pasta‐making, and other food preparation activities (Reyerson, 2013; Whittle, 2013). Sex and gender‐based differences in occupation, physical activity, and daily chores are documented in bioarchaeological studies of rural Medieval Europe (Dewitte, 2012; Kinkopf et al, 2021; Reitsema & Vercellotti, 2012; Smith et al, 2019; e.g., Sofaer Derevenski, 2000), although these studies show that differences are nuanced and context‐specific.…”