Female Perseverance in the Courtroom: Gendered Litigation Patterns in Early Modern Brabant and Limburg

Abstract This article contributes both methodologically and substantially to the debates on uses of justice in early modern Europe and, more specifically, about how and to what extent women asserted their rights in the courtroom. The approach is quantitative, with an analysis involving three courts in the duchies of Brabant and Limburg during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries: the princely Council of Brabant as well as the local aldermen’s benches of the towns of Vilvoorde and Tienen. Systematically determining the proportion of women at the beginning of court cases (through the court rolls and distribution books) and comparing it to the proportion at the end of the proceedings (through the judgment books) reveals remarkable gender patterns: When women decided to go to court, they were more likely than men to litigate until a final judgment was rendered. Moreover, they sued on a narrower range of issues than men, with a preponderance of cases on inheritance, annuities, and debts. The explanation for this perseverance in court may be that women were less able to use informal forums for conflict resolution, or—more likely based on the sources that form the basis of this contribution—that they experienced a greater need to prove their rights than men.