The art of weaving and the art of embroidery: Jewish women’s professions in a medieval European perspective

This contribution surveys the way Jewish women’s crafts and professions are described in a variety of Hebrew, Latin and vernacular sources from medieval Europe, and seeks to incorporate this information into discussions of women’s roles in the medieval economy and economic institutions of the Christian majority. Situating the evidence both within the historiography of Jewish occupations and trades in the Middle Ages and within the context of accepted practices among their Christian neighbors, this piece points to different ways in which this double contextualization can lead to new research questions both for scholars who are interested in women’s work and those interested in the role of Jews in the medieval European economy.