A Cultural History of Early Modern Europe examines the relationships that developed in cities from the time of the late Renaissance through to the Napoleonic period, exploring culture in the broadest sense by selecting a variety of sources not commonly used in history books, such as plays, popular songs, sketches, and documents created by ordinary people.
Extending from 1480 to 1820, the book traces the flourishing cultural life of key European cities and the opportunities that emerged for ordinary people to engage with new forms of creative expression, such as literature, theatre, music, and dance. Arranged chronologically, each chapter in the volume begins with an overview of the period being discussed and an introduction to the key figures. Cultural issues in political, religious, and social life are addressed in each section, providing an insight into life in the cities most important to the creative developments of the time. Throughout the book, narrative history is balanced with primary sources and illustrations allowing the reader to grasp the cultural changes of the period and their effect on public and private life.
A Cultural History of Early Modern Europe is ideal for students of early modern European cultural history and early modern Europe.
Author(s): Charlie R. Steen
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 390
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of illustrations
Introduction
1. The end of the Renaissance, 1480–1519
Introduction: events and people
The forces of nature
European exploration
Defining European borders
Urban culture, housing, food, and private life
Urban growth and initiative
Thought and cultural life
Redefining political power
Innovation in art
The art of the common person
Other issues and conflicts arising from social distress
Music of court and city
Architects
Travel for culture, commerce, and pleasure
Notes
2. Reformation culture, 1520–1559
Introduction: individuals who challenged their culture and major events
Adapting to achanging climate
New maps of Europe and of the world
Europe confronted by the Turks
City lives and interests
Ambitious politics in an uncertain time
The Reformation
The effects of the reformation
Art expressed in challenging and unconventional ways
Science and the study of nature
Music
Travel
Notes
3. Culture in peril: The religious wars, 1560–1599
Vital people and deeply troubled times
Harsh weather
Images of an expanding European interest in the world
Exploration and colonization
The continuing Turkish attack on Europe
Urban culture, housing, food, and private life
Changes in the cities
Building a
modern Europe: the power of architecture
Renewal of civil and religious strife
Confused political order
The example of Tournai
Near collapse in France
Major writers
Drama, poetry, and prose
Philosophy and science
Major artists
The restoration of peace: cities at the end of the century
Travel accounts
Rapid development in music
Notes
4. Baroque culture in a disordered Europe, 1600–1649
Striking individuals and horrific events
The impact of nature
A
broader world view
Popular housing, food, and entertainment
The patterns of society
Thought and cultural life: science and philosophy
The study of nature
Urban life: developing adistinctive culture
The culture of politics: emergence of divergent political views
Political theory
Prose literature
Dramatic literature with enduring cultural value
Architects
Visual impressions from 1600–1650
Musicians
Notes
5. Classical culture, 1650–1699
Prominent events and individuals
Repeated calamities caused by the climate as summer became
more like winter
Measuring the earth: description, exploration, and increased
world travel
People, places, houses
Food, wine, and brandy
Travel for profit and interest
European conquests
Efforts to control the environment
Conflicting political theories
The different expressions of power in architecture
Restrained, mixed forms of rule
Political theories with profound cultural consequences
Cities hosted a
flowering of European civilization
Perfecting Paris: Louis XIV and the plan of Bullet and Blondel. 1675.
Restored London
The golden age of Amsterdam continued
Society 1650–1699
Measuring nature and the sky: giving new direction to philosophy and science
Leading artists
Change in musical composition, instruments, and performances
Candid views in memoirs and from travelers about Paris
New challenges
Notes
6. Culture of the Rococo and the Enlightenment, 1700–1749
Major figures in challenging times
The influence of nature: a
period of violent storms
Changing perceptions of the world in fact and fiction
City housing, diet, and private life
Rapid growth of London, Paris, and Amsterdam
Staging history: theater testing the ways of the old regime
Challenges to social conventions
Novels
Developments in science
Intellectual life and culture: the early Enlightenment
Conflicting influences in political life
Architects dedicated to reason and classical form
Images of authority
Artists of the Rococo
Music and the increased popularity of public performances
Travel accounts
Notes
7. The culture of the Age of Reason, 1740–1784
Events and people
The effects of nature
The world view and European culture
London and Paris become dominant centers
Literary culture
Intellectual life and culture
Religion and Enlightenment culture
Restless political life
Architecture
New challenges to old forms in art
Classical music
Travel literature
Notes
8. The culture of revolution and war, 1785–1820
Important individuals
The weather: a
time of harsh storms and ash-filled skies
Viewing the world and the universe
Describing nations
Global travel: conquest, trade, religion, and science
Daily life
Housing
Dramatic change in city life
Living in the cities
Nurturing crisis, 1785–1789
The growing importance of intellectual life
The years of revolution
The Revolution and the culture of Europe
Revolutionary culture
The epoch of Napoleon Bonaparte 1799–1815
The cultural character of Napoleonic civilization
Religion and revolution: renewed cultural conflict
Intellectual life: greater place for science
Album of the Napoleonic period
Music in the Napoleonic era
Festivals
Travel accounts
Cultural life after Waterloo
The Restoration
Notes
Index
