GHDI logo
German History in Documents and Images
return to system

The Harvest (c. 1620)
For most of the year, a gendered division of labor prevailed in the village. The house and the garden were the domain of women; field work was the preserve of men. The chief exception came at harvest time, when both men and women worked in the fields. Even then, tasks were gender-specific. Men reaped the grain while women bundled it for drying and threshing. Copper engraving by Nicolaes de Bruyn (1571-1656), c. 1620.