https://doi.org/10.31261/SPiP.2017.13.09
The article aims at delineating the scale and level of economic activity of the female residents of the Old and New Warsaw in the first half of the 15th century. The primary sources for this research project comprise of the oldest books of lay judges and excerpts from the records of the council, which allowed to isolate a group of 470 entries concerning women. In the studied period, an increase in the economic activity of the townswomen could be observed; they figured in roughly 20—30% of the cases, which corresponds with the numbers observed in other late‑medieval towns and cities. The vast majority of the townswomen (90%) were involved as an active party in a transaction only once in their lives, but what should be underscored is the wide range of people who used the services of legal offices and the high awareness of the power of the written word in legal matters. The research showed a passive character of the economic activity, manifesting primarily in the lack of sufficient funding to invest in the market. Women were twice as much more likely to take out loans and sell properties than they were to give out loans or buy properties. Their funds were also significantly lower from the average sums figuring in contracts signed within the city, and their actions were much less dynamic. The difference in the material circumstances of townswomen can be seen, on the one hand, in the enormous (twentyfold) disproportion of the registered revenues and, on the other hand, in the index of average value of the transaction, which amounted to four three‑score in Old Warsaw and two and a half three‑score in New Warsaw. Any substantial attempt at a comparative study is, however, significantly hindered by the lack of similar study regarding other cities of the Duchy of Masovia or the Kingdom of Poland.
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Vol. 9 (2017)
Published: 2017-12-31
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