Urban Markets and Women’s Labor: Navigating Institutional Boundaries in Premodern Europe 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, Women and Work through a Comparative Lens sheds new light on the interplay between labor organization and everyday practices in premodern Europe. List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements Abbreviations A Note on Numbers Introduction. Comparing Women’s Work 1. Institutions and Their Impact: The Guild Debate 2. “How Society Worked” 3. A North-South Comparison 4. Mapping the Terrain: Biscay and Brabant Bilbao Antwerp Mechelen 5. Sources 6. Chapter Organization Chapter 1. Tracing Women’s Work 1. Female Labor Sectors, Women’s Work, and Town Ordinances Bread Trade Fish Trade Itinerant Informal Traders Merchants Artisan Workers The Hidden Workforce 2. Women’s Financial Status 3. Conclusion Chapter 2. Shaping the Framework 1. The Household Economy in Brabant and Biscay Widows Spousal Cooperation Never-Married Household Members Shifting Away from the Household Paradigm 2. Craft Guilds: The Stronghold of the Brabantine Urban Economy 3. Operating Informally: Main Street or Margins? 4. Conclusion Chapter 3. Limiting Women’s Work 1. Bilbao’s Council and the “Protection of the Consumer” 2. Brabantine Guilds and Town Councils Economic Motivations, Gendered Outcomes The ‘Guild Effect’ 3. Growing Restrictions? 4. Conclusion Chapter 4. Wielding the Framework 1. Influencing Regulation Wielding Authority Direct Influence Consent, Bargaining, and Leverage 2. Going to Court Biscayan Tradeswomen in Court Risk-Taking and Forum Shopping The ‘Poverty Argument’ Group Recognition 3. Conclusion Understanding Women’s Work Bibliography 1. Archival sources Biscay Brabant 2. Printed sources Brabant Biscay 3. Secondary sources 4. Digital sources Index