Vagrancy in English Culture and Society, 1650-1750


Book Description

CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2017 The first social and cultural history of vagrancy between 1650 and 1750, this book combines sources from across England and the Atlantic world to describe the shifting and desperate experiences of the very poorest and most marginalized of people in early modernity; the outcasts, the wandering destitute, the disabled veteran, the aged labourer, the solitary pregnant woman on the road and those referred to as vagabonds and beggars are all explored in this comprehensive account of the subject. Using a rich array of archival and literary sources, Vagrancy in English Culture and Society, 1650-1750 offers a history not only of the experiences of vagrants themselves, but also of how the settled 'better sort' perceived vagrancy, how it was culturally represented in both popular and elite literature as a shadowy underworld of dissembling rogues, gypsies, and pedlars, and how these representations powerfully affected the lives of vagrants themselves. Hitchcock's is an important study for all scholars and students interested in the social and cultural history of early modern England.







Early Modern England 1485-1714


Book Description

The new, fully-updated edition of the popular introduction to the Tudor-Stuart period—offers fresh scholarship and improved readability. Early Modern England 1485-1714 is the market-leading introduction to the Tudor-Stuart period of English history. This accessible and engaging volume enables readers to understand the political, religious, cultural, and socio-economic forces that propelled the nation from small feudal state to preeminent world power. The authors, leading scholars and teachers in the field, have designed the text for those with little or no prior knowledge of the subject. The book's easy-to-follow narrative explores the world the English created and inhabited between the 15th and 18th centuries. This new edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect the latest scholarship on the subject, such as Henry VIII’s role in the English Reformation and the use of gendered language by Elizabeth I. A new preface addresses the theme of periodization, while revised chapters offer fresh perspectives on proto-industrialization in England, economic developments in early modern London, merchants and adventurers in the Middle East, the popular cultural life of ordinary people, and more. Offering a lively, reader-friendly narrative of the period, this text: Offers a wide-ranging overview of two and half centuries of English history in one volume Highlights how social and cultural changes affected ordinary English people at various stages of the time period Explores how the Irish, Scots, and Welsh affected English history Features maps, charts, genealogies and illustrations throughout the text Includes access to a companion website containing online resources Early Modern England 1485-1714 is an indispensable resource for undergraduate students in early modern England courses, as well as students in related fields such as literature and Renaissance studies.




The Routledge History of Poverty, c.1450–1800


Book Description

The Routledge History of Poverty, c.1450–1800 is a pioneering exploration of both the lives of the very poorest during the early modern period, and of the vast edifices of compassion and coercion erected around them by individuals, institutions, and states. The essays chart critical new directions in poverty scholarship and connect poverty to the environment, debt and downward social mobility, material culture, empires, informal economies, disability, veterancy, and more. The volume contributes to the understanding of societal transformations across the early modern period, and places poverty and the poor at the centre of these transformations. It also argues for a wider definition of poverty in history which accounts for much more than economic and social circumstance and provides both analytically critical overviews and detailed case studies. By exploring poverty and the poor across early modern Europe, this study is essential reading for students and researchers of early modern society, economic history, state formation and empire, cultural representation, and mobility.




Power and Ceremony in European History


Book Description

From oaths and hand-kissing to coronations and baptisms, Power and Ceremony in European History considers the governing practices, courtly rituals, and expressions of power prevalent in Europe and the Ottoman Empire from the medieval age to the modern era. Bringing together political and art historical approaches to the study of power, this book reveals how ceremonies and rituals - far from simply being ostentatious displays of wealth - served as a primary means of communication between different participants in political and courtly life. It explores how ceremonial culture changed over time and in different regions to provide readers with a nuanced comparative understanding of rituals and ceremonies since the middle ages, showing how such performances were integral to the evolution of the state in Europe. This collection of essays is of immense value to both historians and art historians interested in representations of power and the political culture of Europe from 1450 onwards.




Deviance and Marginality in Early Modern Scotland


Book Description

An exploration of the complex and multifaceted connection between deviant behaviour and social marginality in Scotland between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. During the early modern period in Scotland, deviant behaviour often went hand-in-hand with social marginality. Individuals might be ejected from the mainstream after breaching core behavioural standards; the experience of marginality itself often necessitated transgressive behaviour as a survival strategy; and, for some minority groups, the simple maintenance of their accustomed culture or lifestyle was understood through the lens of deviance. To be marginalised and to be deviant were, in many cases, two sides of the same coin. Focusing on a range of behaviours, including irregular sex, violent and verbal assault, petty criminality, piracy, political dissidence, and religious nonconformity, this book explores the connection between deviance and marginality in early modern Scotland, particularly in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It assesses why certain behaviours were judged to deserve social marginalisation, what mechanisms were used to enforce this, how individual and groups responded to it, and what opportunities existed for avoiding, escaping, or mitigating its effects. The result is a fresh and innovative perspective on early modern Scotland, one that not only recovers the experiences of people long excluded from historical discussion, but also offers insights into the nature of crime and deviance in the pre-modern world. Specific topics covered include sexual deviance, defining words as witchcraft, piracy and the state, the weaponisation of "marginality" in verbal violence, covenanting women, and the connection between deviance and the "common musician".sses why certain behaviours were judged to deserve social marginalisation, what mechanisms were used to enforce this, how individual and groups responded to it, and what opportunities existed for avoiding, escaping, or mitigating its effects. The result is a fresh and innovative perspective on early modern Scotland, one that not only recovers the experiences of people long excluded from historical discussion, but also offers insights into the nature of crime and deviance in the pre-modern world. Specific topics covered include sexual deviance, defining words as witchcraft, piracy and the state, the weaponisation of "marginality" in verbal violence, covenanting women, and the connection between deviance and the "common musician".sses why certain behaviours were judged to deserve social marginalisation, what mechanisms were used to enforce this, how individual and groups responded to it, and what opportunities existed for avoiding, escaping, or mitigating its effects. The result is a fresh and innovative perspective on early modern Scotland, one that not only recovers the experiences of people long excluded from historical discussion, but also offers insights into the nature of crime and deviance in the pre-modern world. Specific topics covered include sexual deviance, defining words as witchcraft, piracy and the state, the weaponisation of "marginality" in verbal violence, covenanting women, and the connection between deviance and the "common musician".sses why certain behaviours were judged to deserve social marginalisation, what mechanisms were used to enforce this, how individual and groups responded to it, and what opportunities existed for avoiding, escaping, or mitigating its effects. The result is a fresh and innovative perspective on early modern Scotland, one that not only recovers the experiences of people long excluded from historical discussion, but also offers insights into the nature of crime and deviance in the pre-modern world. Specific topics covered include sexual deviance, defining words as witchcraft, piracy and the state, the weaponisation of "marginality" in verbal violence, covenanting women, and the connection between deviance and the "common musician".ctive on early modern Scotland, one that not only recovers the experiences of people long excluded from historical discussion, but also offers insights into the nature of crime and deviance in the pre-modern world. Specific topics covered include sexual deviance, defining words as witchcraft, piracy and the state, the weaponisation of "marginality" in verbal violence, covenanting women, and the connection between deviance and the "common musician".




Begging, Charity and Religion in Pre-famine Ireland


Book Description

Beggars and begging were ubiquitous features of pre-Famine Irish society, yet have gone largely unexamined by historians. This book explores at length for the first time the complex cultures of mendicancy, as well as how wider societal perceptions of and responses to begging were framed by social class, gender and religion. The study breaks new ground in exploring the challenges inherent in defining and measuring begging and alms-giving in pre-Famine Ireland, as well as the disparate ways in which mendicants were perceived by contemporaries. A discussion of the evolving role of parish vestries in the life of pre-Famine communities facilitates an examination of corporate responses to beggary, while a comprehensive analysis of the mendicity society movement, which flourished throughout Ireland in the three decades following 1815, highlights the significance of charitable societies and associational culture in responding to the perceived threat of mendicancy. The instance of the mendicity societies illustrates the extent to which Irish commentators and social reformers were influenced by prevailing theories and practices in the transatlantic world regarding the management of the poor and deviant. Drawing on a wide range of sources previously unused for the study of poverty and welfare, this book makes an important contribution to modern Irish social and ecclesiastical history. An Open Access edition of this work is available on the OAPEN Library.




Food and Identity in England, 1540-1640


Book Description

Food and Identity in England, 1540-1640 considers early modern food consumption in an important new way, connecting English consumption practices between the reigns of Henry VIII and Charles I with ideas of 'self' and 'otherness' in wider contexts of society and the class system. Examining the diets of various social groups, ranging from manual labourers to the aristocracy, special foods and their preparation, as well as festive events and gift foods, this all-encompassing study reveals the extent to which individuals and communities identified themselves and others by what and how they ate between the Reformation of the church and the English Civil Wars. This text provides remarkable insights for anyone interested in knowing more about the society and culture of early modern England.




“Don’t Forget The Pierrots!'' The Complete History of British Pierrot Troupes & Concert Parties


Book Description

• The book demonstrates how a vernacular British performance form emerged as a hybrid of forms from Afro-American and minstrel, as well as French mime and Italian commedia dell’arte roots. • Theatre history is an essential part of theatre and drama courses across the UK and would be recommended reading. • There is no comparable book which makes critical analysis of British pierrot troupes and concert parties in existence – the only ones that do exist on the specific topic are written as reminiscence and anecdote.




The Political Thought of Thomas Spence


Book Description

The book is an intellectual analysis of the political ideas of English radical thinker Thomas Spence (1750–1814), who was renowned for his "Plan", a proposal for the abolition of private landownership and the replacement of state institutions with a decentralized parochial organization. This system would be realized by means of the revolution of the "swinish multitude", the poor labouring class despised by Edmund Burke and adopted by Spence as his privileged political interlocutor. While he has long been considered an eccentric and anachronistic figure, the book sets out to demonstrate that Spence was a deeply original, thoroughly modern thinker, who translated his themes into a popular language addressing the multitude and publicized his Plan through chapbooks, tokens, and songs. The book is therefore a history of Spence's political thought "from below", designed to decode the subtle complexity of his Plan. It also shows that the Plan featured an excoriating critique of colonialism and slavery as well as a project of global emancipation. By virtue of its transnational scope, the Plan made landfall in the British West Indies a few years after Spence's death. Indeed, Spencean ideas were intellectually implicated in the largest slave revolt in the history of Barbados.