Gender and Medieval History Notepad
1. Intro
2. Gender and Commerce
a. Intro
i. Martha Howell, “The Gender of Europe’s Commercial Economy”
ii. Gendered understanding of redemption of Commercial Life
b. The Evils of Commerce
i. An Illegitimate pursuit
ii. Commerce as moral hazard
iii. Bans on usury
iv. In need of Redemption
c. Removal of Women from Market Production
i. More Prominent role in beginning of Middle Ages
ii. Gradual Exclusion from Market Production
1. Guild Exclusion
2. Popular Culture Imagery
3. An uneven retreat
d. Gendered Efforts to Redeem Consumption
i. Critiques of Consumption
ii. Women as Responsible Managers of Consumption
e. Gendered Attempt to Redeem Production/Money-Making
i. Commerce evil when “underground”
ii. Fiction/Plays
iii. Lawmakers
iv. Academics: “Just Price”
v. Merchant as Male Hero
f.
Conclusion
i. Commerce becomes accepted
ii. Why?
iii. Gendered Ideals for responsible Production/Consumption
3. The Woman Warrior
a. Woman Warriors in Medieval Society
i. A male pursuit
ii. Evidence in the Sources
b. A change in attitudes
i. Legislation and Ridicule
ii. Around 12th/13th, more criticism of woman warriors in sources
iii. History of the Danes excerpt
iv. Why? Increased Attention to Role Definition
c. Decline of the Woman Warrior
i. Attitude Change not enough
ii. By Late Middle Ages, few references…
iii. Why? Warfare goes from Domestic to Public Sphere
1. Feudal warfare as domestic
2. Women as part of domestic sphere
3. Changes in Warfare
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