Meanings of Manhood in Early Modern England

by Alexandra Shepard

Overview

This path-breaking study explores the diverse and varied meanings of manhood in early modern England and their complex, and often contested, relationship with patriarchal principles. Using social, political and medical commentary, alongside evidence of social practice derived from court records, Dr Shepard argues that patriarchal ideology contained numerous contradictions, and that, while males were its primary beneficiaries, it was undermined and opposed by men as well as women.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198208181
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/09/2003
Series:	Oxford Studies in Social History
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Christ's College, Cambridge

Table of Contents

IntroductionI. Modelling Manhood1. The Constant Age2. The Imagined Body of 'Man's Estate'3. Models of ManhoodII. The Social Practice of Manhood4. Youthful Excess and Fraternal Bonding5. The Violence of Manhood6. Respectability, Sex, and Status7. Credit, Provision, and Worth8. The 'Ancienter Sort'Conclusion: Manhood, Patriarchy, and Gender in Early Modern EnglandBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"The whole study convincingly shows that concepts of gender interacted in very complicated ways with other social distinctions based on age, wealth, status, and moral probity, allowing alternative concepts of masculinity to emerge."—Modern History

"Shepard's book makes a valuable and long-awaited contribution to British history and gender studies. Her shrewd attention to detail and innovative analytical approach not only clarify the complex and often incongruent relationship between patriarchy and manhood, but also shed light on the fragility of men's social legitimacy and access to patriarchal authority in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Shepard not only forges a new path in gender history, but also opens a window into an often neglected, but significant, facet of social change in early modern England."—Canadian Journal of History

From the Publisher