"Spin Spin Spindle". Coincidence or deliberate action?

Abstract

Spinning and weaving have commonly been associated with women's primary occupations. In the cosmology of many cultures, there were divine spinners of human destiny, responsible for life and death. In medieval reality, in which the division of roles was very defined and marked, any deviation from the generally accepted scheme could constitute an offense. It was at this time that specialized craft guilds emerged. Textiles, spinning, and weaving ceased to be the domain of women and became the domain of men. It was not an accident, but a conscious act. Linked to the human subconscious of deep-rooted symbolism. Socially and culturally, spinning has always belonged to women. It usually took place in the privacy of the home, where the energy of the work was directed inwards, towards the production of material for personal use. Weaving was associated with male power. The first reason was related to the changeability and ambiguity of the nature of spinning. The second was the constancy, dynamism, and movement that accompanied weaving. It is identified with outward-directed activity. With the changing economic situation, men took over the weaving market and brought it outside the home. They formed craft guilds and engaged in distribution. The takeover of the former domain of women by men was a deliberate action and a consequence of a series of symbolic events preceding this process.