Margery Kempe

During the late Middle Ages a woman’s prominent economic role is one found within the family unit. This was apparent in both England and Germany. Although, in both countries there were clear exceptions to this case, displayed in the early artisan guilds dominated by women within cologne and the economic independence granted to women by the London council. The main function of a woman’s economic role between 1350 and 1700 was the household as due to the household being the key economic unit in that much of its production was consumed by the family. Although there were some cases of exceptional women becoming independent when it comes to contributing to the economy, this was rarely done whilst they were married. An overwhelming majority of the …show more content…
Being widowed in early modern Europe undoubtedly gave a great amount of empowerment to women and allowed them to contribute considerably more towards the economy than they had previously. Many women recognized this liberation that came when they were widowed and chose to remain unmarried. Although the majority of women were still dependent on men in some form due to their ability to trade solely relying on the fact that they are widowed it was still a great amount of independence. “Widows who had inherited money or property from their husbands or who had received their dowry back at his death were often relatively free to invest it or dispose of it as they wished” The attitude towards widows was the same in Germany as it was in England as “Lübeck allowed the same legal position to women in their business affairs as it did to men as early as the thirteenth century; and indeed how it came about that women could be members of workers’ guilds” The most extraordinary development of women’s contribution towards the economy was that of the women’s artisan guild in cologne. “Three of the guilds, the yearn makers, the gold spinners, and the silk makers produced high quality export goods of great value to the city’s economy and with only a few exceptions, the women of these guilds did so as independent, highly skilled artisans with their own shops, their own apprentices and their own materials” However alike to the cases in England the silk mistresses had typically obtained their positions through their families. Of the 68 most active, all but one were married or widowed, many silk mistresses were married to (or widows of) silk merchants. This is remarkably different and marks a significant change in the economic role of women in Germany as even