Women in the public space through Spanish-Hebrew poetry: limits and regulations

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to present and analyze poems that deal with women in the public space and that were composed in al-Andalus by Jewish poets, proposing this literary medium in order to obtain social and historical information. These texts preserve the memory of women who distanced themselves and placed themselves, voluntarily or by force, outside the limits of the ideal model that Hispanic-Hebrew society granted them in medieval times, participating in the different socio-professional activities and occupations of economic value. indisputable: slave women, singers, dancers, prostitutes, and others who have dedicated themselves to domestic service and craft activities. We will see to what extent this poetry reflects real life, and we will assess whether we can use this poetry as a reliable mirror of social and historical facts.