Izvestiya of Saratov University.

History. International Relations

ISSN 1819-4907 (Print)
ISSN 2542-1913 (Online)

For citation:

Chernova L. N. Women in the social life of a medieval town (based on the material of London in the 14th–15th centuries). Izvestiya of Saratov University. History. International Relations, 2021, vol. 21, iss. 3, pp. 320-329. DOI: 10.18500/1819-4907-2021-21-3-320-329

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0).
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Language: 
Russian
Heading: 
Всеобщая история и международные отношения
Article type: 
Article
UDC: 
94(410)“1”
DOI: 
10.18500/1819-4907-2021-21-3-320-329

Women in the social life of a medieval town (based on the material of London in the 14th–15th centuries)

Autors: 
Chernova Larisa Nikolayevna, Saratov State University
Abstract: 

The article examines the place and role of women in the social life of London in the 14th–15th centuries based on the material of the original sources. It is shown that, despite the restrictions fixed by custom and laws on the social activity of women, the range of occupations of the townsmen –wives and widows – was unusually wide. It is craft and trade, including the right to take apprentices, real estate transactions, and financial deals. Women did not just help men in the craft or trade shops, but also worked independently. The status of women, especially married women, who chose to participate in trade or in town production as their main occupation, was never fully developed. A significant degradation in the position of women in the public sphere in London occurred in the 16th century. The author concludes that, despite all the difficulties, a new type of woman was gradually developed in the city – energetic, enterprising, educated, who acts in society as an independent head of the family and business.

Key words: 
medieval town
London
14th–15th centuries
townswoman
wife
widow
TRADE
craft
real estate transactions
finance and credit
Reference: 
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Received: 
28.03.2021
Accepted: 
12.04.2021
Published: 
30.09.2021