Explores the variety of legal and regulatory regimes that existed in
Western Europe to control labour and how workers experienced those
controls.
Many economic historians have assumed that labour in Western Europe was
'free' after the end of serfdom in the fifteenth century. These
assumptions are increasingly being questioned and labour laws have been
identified as creating significant restrictions on workers' freedom.
This collection is the first book to look at labour laws across Western
Europe from a longer-term perspective. It is interdisciplinary in nature
bringing together studies in social, political, economic and legal
history.
Elements of labour legislation appeared before the Black Death, but were
strengthened afterwards particularly in places and periods where labour
became scarce. The collection focuses on the rural economy in the late
medieval and early modern period. It provides a series of studies which
introduce a range of approaches to labour regulation and the very idea
of labour across Europe. Uniquely, the collection offers observations on
the impact of labour laws on everyday social relations. Attempts to
regulate work and labour varied widely: in places they amounted to
wishful thinking on the part of the regional authorities, whereas
elsewhere they could impose severe limitations on individual freedoms.
Contributors: Davide Christoferi, Theresa Johnsson, Thijs Lambrecht,
Charmian Mansell, Francine Michaud, Hanne Østhus, Raffaella Sarti,
Carolina Uppenberg and Jane Whittle.
