Erika Uitz (1931–2009)

Through a careful examination of documents (letters, wills, deeds, contracts, and other public documents) Uitz traces the growth of new urban centers in Europe in the twelfth through fourteenth centuries. The lifeblood and reason for being for these towns and cities was commerce. Their life came into being and depended on the new trade routes that opened during this era. The demand for trade goods resulted in the growth of craft guilds that governed the lives of craftsmen and their families. The guilds, in turn, were governed by the town burghers--similar to present-day city councils, but far more powerful in dictating the details of the lives of town citizens. Women's lives were radically changed by the economic demands of production for export. Both the need for women's labor in creating goods and conducting business and the partnership aspect that grew within marriages because of this need resulted in widespread changes in law that allowed women to own property, conduct business, and participate in the decisions about their lives. Though it could not be said, from the evidence offered by Uitz, that women were treated as equals, the economic characteristics of the middle ages created the first opportunities in modern history for women to experience some degree of independence and begin the centuries-long process of escaping chatteldom. This is a carefully crafted academic study, allowing readers the kind of solid documentation that will make this work a classic reference. (December 1994)… (mer)