‘Schattenarbeiterinnen’. Frauen im Lebensmittelkleinhandel im Lyon des 17. Jahrhunderts : Ressourcen und Strategien

International audienceThe purpose of this article is to discuss the economic role of women in the food trade of Lyons during the seventeenth century. Recent research has demonstrated that in the early modern European cities a high percentage of economic activity took place outside the normative structure of the guilds. The role of women in the craft and retail trade has therefore to be reconsidered. It is necessary to look beyond their varied legal and professional status and try to unveil their actual involvment, for example through judicial sources, in the early modern economy, within or outside the guilds. Using both official and repressive accounts, it is possible to reposition their activity within a larger set of household strategies for survival. The hypothesis is that what takes place on the margins of the law should not only be considered as an epiphenomenon but also as an essential component of exchange. The progressive emergence and institutionalization of guilds undoubtedly but paradoxically led to the exclusion of women. However, this emergence must not hide the connections that are actually preserved between the ‘informal’ and ‘official’ economy