Making a Living in Silk: Women’s Work in Islamic and Christian Granada, Spain, 1400–1571

In the late medieval and early modern world, women’s work was universal and vital to local and international economies. Tracing the history of women’s silk work in Granada reveals that, through enormous political and cultural change, the economy continued to rely on Muslim women’s labor to such an extent that the silk industry could not survive without them. To date, scholars have underrepresented Iberia in the literature on women’s work in both European and Islamic historiography. This Iberian context highlights the connections and gaps between Christian and Islamic practice, providing a needed Mediterranean perspective that bridges formerly separate historiographies.