T H E N E W M I D D L E Women’s Networks in Medieval France GENDER and COMMUNITY in MONTPELLIER , 1300-1350 Kathr yn L Reyer son A G E S The New Middle Ages Series Editor Bonnie Wheeler English & Medieval Studies Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas, USA The New Middle Ages is a series dedicated to pluridisciplinary studies of medieval cultures, with particular emphasis on recuperating women’s history and on feminist and gender analyses This peer-reviewed series includes both scholarly monographs and essay collections More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14239 Kathryn L. Reyerson Women’s Networks in Medieval France Gender and Community in Montpellier, 1300-1350 Kathryn L. Reyerson Department of History University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA The New Middle Ages ISBN 978-3-319-38941-7 ISBN 978-3-319-38942-4 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-38942-4 (eBook) Library of Congress Control Number: 2016942914 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 This work is subject to copyright All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made Cover illustration © P Eoche / Getty Images Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland This book is dedicated to Allison Reyerson, Brittany Wenzel, and women of the future PREFACE I am grateful to the University of Minnesota and the Department of History for a single-semester leave in spring 2015 and for earlier leaves that provided me with time to write, as well as for McKnight and McMillan fellowships I thank the Archives municipales de Montpellier and the Archives départementales de l’Hérault for support in my research over many years I also wish to thank the University of Minnesota Interlibrary Loan services for assistance I am grateful for the many audiences who listened to earlier versions of parts of this study in France, Italy, and Spain, at the Sorbonne in the seminar of Claude Gauvard and Robert Jacob, at the École Normale in the seminar of Franỗois Menant, at the ẫcole franỗaise de Rome, and at the Casa de Velásquez in Madrid I am indebted to colleagues Marguerite Ragnow and Ruth Karras for reading earlier versions of this book To Maggie in particular, a special thanks for all the invaluable criticism and suggestions over the years Remaining errors are my responsibility alone vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Some material included here, now considerably reworked, was originally published in: “The Adolescent Apprentice/Worker in Medieval Montpellier,” The Journal of Family History: The Evolution of Adolescence in Europe, ed Barbara A. Hanawalt, 17 (1992): 353–370 “Prostitution in Medieval Montpellier: The Ladies of Campus Polverel,” Medieval Prosopography 18 (1997): 209–228 “Public and Private Space in Medieval Montpellier: The Bon Amic Square,” Journal of Urban History, 24 (1997): 3–27 Thanks are due the Cartography Laboratory of the Geography Department of the University of Minnesota for drawing the maps ix ... the contexts in which women interacted, in business, in finance, in the marketplace, in philanthropic settings, and, of course, in the family Absent from this study is a focus on networks among... and men in medieval Montpellier.13 Scholarly interest in networks is closely linked with an interest in urban space, how it was used and what kinds of human interactions it promoted In a recent... occasional distinctions on the operation of kinship and networks Insights from these scholars will be discussed at pertinent moments in the text By networks and linkages, I am referring to connections