Prostitution In Medieval Europe

conjunction with their husbands. Land ownership provided some revenue and agency, but it must be placed within the context of gender norms and patriarchy.

Labor, especially in the urban centers, required an extensive labor market that created certain professions for women. With the rise of wealth from 1340-1338 in Paris and the increase in population to 210,000 peoples, there was a need for large amounts of labor. The vast majority of migrants into urban centers worked as servants and in low-skilled jobs. This type of profession for women was low-skilled and low-paid, which perpetuated the notions of gender inequality in the workforce. Many single women, especially those who migrated to urban centers, were at a disadvantage in terms of employment. As apprentices, many women left their homes and became part of their Master’s homes. This did not indicate that women or men for that

Karras argued that prostitution cannot be analyzed in the modern definition, and in Medieval Europe “it was not the exchange of money, nor even multiple partners but the public and indiscriminate availability of a woman’s body that was the defining feature of prostitution.” Society sought to restrict prostitution, but during the Roman Empire Severus Alexander continued to collect taxes on this trade. Universities often hiring older women to do laundry to restrict access to prostitution, yet the lecture halls, such as Street of Straw, students were able to engage with prostitutes. By 1300, prostitution in England came to be circumscribed to certain urban areas. The urban center of London sought to expel women from the city, and in Paris Perrenelle, a laundress, was expelled from the property of the abbey of Ste.-Geneviève for “pandering and being a prostitute.” Prostitution was part of society, yet there was considerable tension between the regulation of sexuality and the demand for