This article examines English women who were engaged in wholesale long-distance or international trade in the later Middle Ages. These women made up only a small proportion of English merchants, averaging about 3 to 4 percent of the mercantile population, often working in partnership with their husbands. The article systematically quantifies, for the first time, women's penetration into this male-dominated trade and adds new perspectives to our understanding of women and trade in the Middle Ages by using both debt and customs records. It poses important questions about women's economic roles, the nature or distinctiveness of their businesses, and the ways that their actions fitted within mercantile activity more broadly. It examines the extent to which wives acted as equal economic partners with their husbands and also assesses the extent to which women's economic potential or agency in wholesale trade was shaped, or indeed constrained, by economic and patriarchal forces. It concludes by arguing that patriarchy certainly limited female access to wholesale markets, particularly after 1300, along with other linked features that also shaped women's economic trading endeavors. These features included status, access to capital, and the advantages to working within dynamic, extensive, and busy markets such as those found in later medieval London.

中文翻译：

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女商人？中世纪晚期英格兰的妇女、债务和贸易，1266-1532 年

本文考察了中世纪后期从事批发长途或国际贸易的英国妇女。这些妇女只占英国商人的一小部分，平均约占商业人口的 3% 到 4%，经常与丈夫合作工作。这篇文章首次系统地量化了女性对这种男性主导的贸易的渗透，并通过使用债务和海关记录为我们对中世纪女性和贸易的理解增加了新的视角。它提出了关于女性经济角色、她们企业的性质或独特性以及她们的行为如何更广泛地适应商业活动的重要问题。它考察了妻子在多大程度上作为与丈夫平等的经济伙伴，并评估了妇女在批发贸易中的经济潜力或代理权在多大程度上受到经济和父权制力量的塑造或实际上的限制。它最后认为，父权制确实限制了女性进入批发市场，尤其是在 1300 年之后，以及其他也影响了女性经济贸易努力的相关特征。这些特征包括地位、获得资本的机会，以及在充满活力、广泛和繁忙的市场中工作的优势，例如在中世纪后期的伦敦发现的那些市场。它最后认为，父权制确实限制了女性进入批发市场，尤其是在 1300 年之后，以及其他也影响了女性经济贸易努力的相关特征。这些特征包括地位、获得资本的机会，以及在充满活力、广泛和繁忙的市场中工作的优势，例如在中世纪后期的伦敦发现的那些市场。它最后认为，父权制确实限制了女性进入批发市场，尤其是在 1300 年之后，以及其他也影响了女性经济贸易努力的相关特征。这些特征包括地位、获得资本的机会，以及在充满活力、广泛和繁忙的市场中工作的优势，例如在中世纪后期的伦敦发现的那些市场。