In examining the lives of the various townswomen of the late middle ages, it must be noted that there was no single mode of existence throughout all of Europe. Laws and cultural traditions varied quite dramatically with geography; therefore, a manner of life which existed in Florence may not have been reflected in London or Hamburg. There is one constant among all the cases examined, however: without few exceptions, life in a mid- to large-size town was more prosperous, varied, and free for urban women than their rural counterparts. The much greater circulating wealth and occupational diversity of the towns allowed women to be well represented in the economy. To a large extent the majority of the professional work done by women was an extension of their domestic service. However, one must beware not to devalue such occupations on this basis; the work that women performed for their communities was of great importance. A woman’s civil liberties can be seen as linked with the occupational foundations of the town in which she lived. In towns whose economy is based on the trade of goods for which women are the main suppliers, a high degree of freedom and legal support is given to them. The nature of the data that have survived must here be noted. First-hand or other direct accounts of the lives of average urban women are quite rare; indeed, most of the few records that have survived that provide direct access into the experiences of urban women are literary. Therefore, one has to extrapolate from the extant data to provide a more complete picture. In doing so, however, one encounters the problem inherent in medieval data sources: they are neither complete nor continuous. Yet, an admittedly blurry picture of urban women does emerge from these sources. Many are shown to be industrious and successful, even in light of laws in certain regions which greatly prohibited their activities.
To a great extent, the move to an urban setting emancipated women from a short life of hardship and dependence. Their lifespans increased, quickly surpassing that of men. Coupled with the propensity for men to marry younger brides, there was a large number of women outliving their husbands. In order to accommodate such a situation, property and inheritance laws were gradually modified to preserve women’s liberties. The most universal and important safeguard for women was the emergence of the dowry and dot, the portion of wealth that a bride was required to bring to a marriage. The dowry kept women from utter poverty when they became widowed or were otherwise separated from their husbands as it could not be given to heirs without her consent. Additionally, while the dowry could be freely invested by the husband, it could not be claimed by creditors for any debts owed by him. In many parts of Europe, women could legally disassociate themselves from their indebted husbands and withdraw their dowry. As an adjunct to this ‘guaranteed’ wealth of the dowry, women could inherit the property of their father or husband, either whole or in part. There are many cases of women independently managing the family lands or businesses. Alternately, they might become business partners with their children, the intended heirs of the property. Importantly, women had the right to determine their marital status after the death of their husbands; they were not legally forced into remarriage. Women were also allowed to make their own wills and bequeath property at their discretion, although they frequently needed permission from their husbands while he was still alive. Even though a man had legal control over his wife’s property—indeed, in many regions she had no property of her own save her dowry while her husband was still alive—in practice many women acted independently with their wealth, buying and selling at their desire. In a few regions women had the authority to represent themselves in the courts as well, further suggesting their legal independence. They did not gain complete personal freedom in the domestic or civil spheres however. In very few regions could women engage in politics, either as guild masters or on town councils. Inheritance laws were modified to arrest the concentration of wealth within a few families. Marriages could no longer be arranged among heirs: widows were restricted from marrying a brother of their deceased husband. Indeed by marrying outside of their own households, rich women circulated wealth among the townspeople. Men could still abuse their wives and daughters with impunity, although they could not kill them. Additionally, the threat of withholding the dowry forced daughters to accept the wishes of their fathers, including the arrangement of marriages. In conclusion, it can be seen that with the advent of urban life, women gained a great deal of legal freedom, although they were far from being completely independent of men.
The modern stereotype of a woman in medieval Europe places her in domestic servitude under the authority of her husband. Yet modern scholarship has proven such a situation as unrepresentative of most of the women in the towns and cities of Europe. There was indeed a great deal of work to be done in the urban household: they had to nurse children, cook for the family and guests, manage the goods-stores of the house, spin and weave, and supervise servants. Through the high and late middle ages the role of women in ‘external’ occupations becomes ever more clear. However, the nature of the data must be examined: there is no single source which provides a true picture of the working life of an average urban woman. Thus, as an example, tax records can not be completely relied upon to determine the number of women who engaged in commerce; alternately, they do provide some insight into the extent to which women did participate. As many men performed their trade or business at home, women were actively involved in the process. By observation and participation, they would learn the techniques and intricacies of the crafts first from their fathers and later their husbands. Indeed, these skills were of crucial importance, as women would take over the business when their husbands were away. There are also many instances of women acting on their own, either alongside their husband or in their own separate business affairs. In a few cases, husbands drew up a legal agreement entitling their wives to act on their behalf; the most common of these were not documents but official seals. Women were not limited to participation in the business of their husbands however. Frequently, they established themselves completely independently, either inheriting a business from a parent or commencing one anew. The majority of occupations by which they did so can be seen as extensions of domestic labour: cloth-making, fishing, the selling of foodstuffs and other provisions, and tavern-keeping. While some men objected to dealing with businesswomen, most records demonstrate that women were indeed accepted into the economic sphere as ordinary participants.
Guilds allowed membership to women, and in certain occupations they could become mistresses, although their activities were occasionally limited. The simplest route to membership was through the husband; most guilds allowed a woman to continue practicing the craft after her husband’s death, even though she may not have been a master. As marriage provided such an easy avenue into the fellowship, members were required to have their spouses approved by the guild; it is easy to envisage men who had been rejected by the guilds seeking marriage with a widow who had membership. Several occupations, such as embroidery, brewery, and silk-spinning were almost exclusively female, and this was reflected in the restrictiveness of the respective guilds. Young girls were apprenticed in the same manner as boys, usually entering apprenticeship in their early teens, although by the late medieval period they rarely received guild membership through such means. While the guilds seemed to protect the business interests of women, they became increasingly restrictive towards them towards the end of the middle ages. Men were appropriating occupations which had largely been the domain of women: brewing and cloth-making guilds began to exclude women. The sole occupations which remained exclusively female in the late middle ages were in the silk industry. They could receive a formal education, however for the most part it consisted simply of basic literacy. Indeed women in merchant families were required to be literate to conduct the family business. Yet, with the advent of universities and grammar schools women became increasingly excluded. As many occupations began to require some form of education, women became increasingly marginalized.
The majority of the economic activity described above pertained to the middle class. However, neither the upper or poor classes remained on the fringes of economic society. Indeed, upper class women could all but remain unoccupied: their husbands possessed the majority of the wealth of the urban centres. Cases have survived which demonstrate the extent to which a woman of the upper class engaged in business alongside her husband: she might enter important trade agreements. Additionally, when they inherited the estates of their fathers or husbands, they could come into control of sizeable property and might head a highly successful business. There are several instances of women acting independently as moneylenders and tradeswomen. Women of the lower classes were more restricted in the opportunities presented to them. Domestic service was the most accessible occupation, yet it was not an easy or highly profitable life. Entering into the households of the middle and upper classes, they were expected to work hard in order to allow their masters to concentrate on the family business. These servants were frequently children of poor parents, or even orphans, who would work for their board and perhaps to receive a small wage to put towards their dowry. Distinctions among the classes were just as important to urban-dwellers as to the aristocracy. Sumptuary laws were passed to keep women from dressing ‘above their station’, and there are many records of merchant women wanting to flaunt their modest wealth. The extremely wealthy did have a very high standard of living; indeed, they attempted to live in a similar fashion as the aristocracy. Yet individuals were mobile within the social structure: an increase in wealth gave individuals more power and respectability in the town. There are many cases of men and women marrying wealthier spouses and thus elevating their social positions. This did not occur among the extremely poor and the extremely rich, however. Within this social context, women can be seen as having established themselves as solidly middle class. They were rarely part of the extremely wealthy upper class, unless they had married into or inherited wealth, but they nevertheless enjoyed financial independence. Such was not the case for rural women; it can be seen that within a social context, the city allowed a degree of mobility unknown in the country.
It is impossible to form a complete picture of the typical European urban woman of the late middle ages. The closest that one can come to this goal is to create a broad generalization which may not apply to all regions and circumstances. As has been noted above, women’s legal rights differed greatly from country to country, and even among individual towns. Yet one constant aspect of urban life can be seen throughout Europe: women gained some measure of liberty and financial independence with the move to an urban setting. Their importance in the economic life of cities has been repeatedly proven and is no longer a basis of debate. Yet, in many ways such freedoms were being curtailed in the later medieval period. Thereafter, women would not enjoy the same level of civil freedom that they had in the high and later middle ages until this century.
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