Overview

Exploring women's stories of work, protest, and power in the medieval Low Countries The Middle Ages—a time often cast as a dark period when violence reigned and men dominated society. Women, as the deeply rooted cliché would have it, played scarcely any part. But this book tells a different story, one in which women step forward as the main characters. In the southern Low Countries, townswomen held substantial rights, which they used to conduct business, voice their opinions, and assert their will. Urban Women presents a different and lesser-known image of the late Middle Ages, from 1250 to 1550. The authors trace the lives of women protesting, marrying, making love, working, and engaging in the daily life of Low Countries towns. In doing so, this book gives voice to wealthy businesswomen, laborers, religious women, criminals, and sex workers, spotlighting the remarkable figures who shaped a “women’s town” within a man’s world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jelle Haemers ,  Andrea Bardyn ,  Chanelle Delameillieure ,  Andrea Bardyn
Publisher:   Leuven University Press
Imprint:   Leuven University Press
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9789462704497

ISBN 10:   946270449
Pages:   232
Publication Date:   30 April 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  General/trade ,  General ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction. A different history of the medieval city Chapter 1. From girlhood to widowhood: On the rights of women and children Andrea Bardyn & Jelle Haemers Chapter 2. Women and marriage: Choice of partner, matrimonial conflicts, and relations Chanelle Delameillieure Chapter 3. Industrious women and their life in business Andrea Bardyn Chapter 4. Pious women: Beguines and their virtuous lives together Kim Overlaet Chapter 5. Working women: women’s professional activities in and outside craft guilds Nena Vandeweerdt & Jelle Haemers Chapter 6. “Bad women”: Violence, crime, and rebellion Jelle Haemers Chapter 7. Eros and women: Sexuality, consent, and prostitution Chanelle Delameillieure & Jelle Haemers Conclusions. Of “wise women” and “witless men” Primary sources Literature About the authors

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Author Information

Jelle Haemers is professor of Medieval History at KU Leuven. His research focuses on the social history of the Middle Ages and the urban history of the Low Countries. Jelle Haemers is professor of Medieval History at KU Leuven. His research focuses on the social history of the Middle Ages and the urban history of the Low Countries. Andrea Bardyn (PhD) studies inequalities between men and women in the medieval economy and marital power relations. Andrea Bardyn (PhD) studies inequalities between men and women in the medieval economy and marital power relations. Chanelle Delameillieure is lecturer in Medieval History at KU Leuven-KULAK. Her expertise and research focus are on the social and cultural history of the late medieval Low Countries. Chanelle Delameillieure is lecturer in Medieval History at KU Leuven-KULAK. Her expertise and research focus are on the social and cultural history of the late medieval Low Countries. 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.

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