Women and Work through a Comparative Lens

<p><strong>Urban Markets and Women's Labor: Navigating Institutional Boundaries in Premodern Europe</strong></p><p>Women played a crucial role in medieval and early modern urban economies yet their labor opportunities varied greatly 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 multifaceted understanding of women's economic roles in premodern Europe. Drawing on a wide range of legislative and judicial sources Vandeweerdt demonstrates how legal frameworks socioeconomic structures and individual strategies shaped women's activities in small-scale trade. Bridging institutional analysis and personal agency <em>Women and Work through a Comparative Lens</em> sheds new light on the interplay between labor organization and everyday practices in premodern Europe.</p>