Early Modern European Society, Third Edition

by Henry Kamen

A new edition of a seminal work—one that explores crucial changes within Europe from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century

The early modern period was one of profound change in Europe. It was witness to the development of science, religious reformation, and the birth of the nation state. As Europeans explored the world—looking to Asia and the Americas for new peoples and lands—their societies grew and adapted.
 
Eminent historian Henry Kamen explores in depth the issues that most affected those living in early modern Europe—from leisure, work, and migration to religion, gender, and discipline—and the way in which population change impacted the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and the poor. The third edition of this pioneering study includes new and updated material on gender, religion, and population movement. Richly illustrated, this is essential reading for all those interested in early modern European society.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Henry Kamen is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London and an emeritus professor of the Higher Council for Scientific Research in Barcelona.

Reviews

[Mictter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro de historia sin dinastías ni batallas siempre es mejor. En este caso, hace un repaso de la sociedad de la Edad Moderna: vida familiar, laboral, clases sociales, educación… un buen repaso.

Algunos capítulos me han gustado mucho (por ejemplo, el de la educación) y otros se me han hecho muy largos. Tiene la mala costumbre de soltar listas de ejemplos que, aunque informativos, interrumpen totalmente el hilo de la lectura. Una cosa buena es que deja claro que en esa época España no era un país muy distinto al resto, al menos en cuanto a las costumbres de sus habitantes.

[Tony Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Book.Really compact and a tightly packed summary. A good overview of the time period.Covers almost all the topics of the period and tries to give various perspectives and sometimes breaks some
older myths about the time.It may get a little slow here and there and then there is always that benefit of the doubt on the data given.All in all a satisfying 4/5.

[Shane Goodyear · Rating 4 out of 5]

* A book about the social, political, economic and religious structures in early modern Europe
* Generally 3 classes of people. Peasant/ laboauer, rising middle class
* Nobility
* Peasants worker/ farms and industries
* Middle class/ traders more skilled labourers investors, some business owners
* Nobility men of war/ office and social rank
* Average for most people between 35-40
* Average calories even for the poor was 3000 calories however food was not varied
* Early in the centuries many wars and rebellions to do with taxes, food shortages and so forth
* Confessional age and the disruption that caused.
* For wealthier families the beginning of the private and the the public
* Law and order big theme. Community justice vs state justice
* The state trying to gain a monopoly on violence
* Small local villiage spolices themselves with social norms and sexuality and theft
* The rise of the absolute state and it mediating between competing social forces- the protection of property by the rising middle class and the nobility
* Worked less and had mor leaguer time in one degree depending on the seasons especially for argricultural workers
* Court, community celebrations where role inversion was common nobles becoming peasants etc women men.
* Overall a fascinating book for context on this era however a bit of a hard and slow read

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read, though somewhat dry. Filled with percentages and averages, Kamen strives to present a more fact-based view of history which, it seems to me, is most at odds with the romanticising of the past by the recent generations of ideologues.