Public and Private Space and Gender in Medieval Europe

Abstract

This essay explores ideas and practices of gender in public and private space in medieval Europe. It considers elite and religious men and women as well as the spaces used by lower-status people, and draws on historical records, literature, and archaeology. From the early Middle Ages, space was planned in order to reinforce social hierarchies, but normative rules about gendered spatial conduct also soon became commonplace. Such rules varied over time and from place to place and were often contradicted by popular behavior. Nevertheless ideals did affect vernacular architecture and the use of space by people of most social classes. Above all attitudes towards space were conditioned by religion. Radical changes in the use of domestic and street spaces often followed radical religious change. Within Christian communities the central cultural focus for the gendered regulation of space was the desire to purify material production, particularly the reproduction of children.

The gender distribution of real property ownership in late medieval Brussels (1356–1460)

“…As the ownership of landed property was a 'crucial aspect of the gendering of space' in medieval society, most historians recognise the importance of property ownership for women's position in late medieval cities. 1 But while there is an extensive body of literature on medieval women and property from a juridical perspective, either with a prescriptive focus on law codes and legal instruments, such as wills and marriage contracts, or on the presence of women in law courts, 2 other basic aspects of the relationship of urban women to real property have received little attention. The actual percentage of women among urban property holders remains difficult to determine, and there are few studies of the participation of women in urban property and capital markets beyond the anecdotal level.…”

Locating Childbirth Devotion in the English Parish Church, 1450–1580

“…More recently, there have been efforts to reject this essentialism in medieval and early modern contexts. 14 While women were more likely to work in the household, they were not strictly confined to the private domestic space. 15 Moreover, domestic space was a fluid and porous concept, highly adaptable to expressions of both personal and communal experiences.…”