Working women

Working women

Urban European women of the 1300's, such as the fictional Marie de Bretagne in this feature, performed many types of work. Many women toiled as servants. Others worked in their familiesí businesses or, after marriage, with their husbands. If a woman's husband died, she might take over the business, at least until she remarried.

Some unmarried women practiced a craft on their own, and some married women maintained a business or practiced a craft independently of their husbands. Making thread and cloth was considered one of the best crafts for women. Another common craft for women was brewing beer.

A businesswoman might have one or more girls as apprentices. Usually, the woman's apprentices lived in her home. Before taking an apprentice, the woman often signed a contract with the girl and her parents. The contract could specify such things as how long the apprenticeship would last, what duties the girl would have, what the girl should be taught, and how much the girl had to pay if she wanted to quit the apprenticeship early to get married.

Source: Hanawalt, Barbara A. Growing up in Medieval London: The Experience of Childhood in History. Oxford, 1993.