Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe: Edition 4

First published in 1978, this study examines the broad sweep of pre-industrial Europe's popular culture. From the world of the professional entertainer to the songs, stories, rituals and plays of ordinary people, it shows how attitudes and values shaped – and were shaped by – the shifting social, religious, and political conditions of European society between 1500 and 1800. This fourth edition has been updated throughout with more information on the unconventional/non-academic scientific culture of women, Jewish popular culture, the culture of children and youth, and the culture of captives in the Mediterranean. It also includes a new introduction and afterword exploring and responding to the problem of the “popular”, the notion of “culture”, the rise and fall of “the early modern”, and Europe as a category in the face of global interconnections.

Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe is essential reading for all students of early modern Europe and cultural history.