Women and work through a comparative lens : gender and the urban labor markets of premodern Brabant and Biscay /

"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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Vandeweerdt, Nena (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Leuven : Leuven University Press, 2025.
Series:Mediaevalia Lovaniensia ; 51.
Subjects:
Description
Summary:"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."--
Physical Description:247 pages : illustrations, maps, charts ; 24 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references (pages [225]-240) and index.
ISBN:9789462704947
9462704945