Changing Identities In Early Modern Fran

Changing Identities in Early Modern France offers new interpretations of what it meant to be French during a period of profound transition, from the outbreak of the Hundred Years War to the consolidation of the Bourbon monarchy in the seventeenth century. As medieval notions were gradually replaced by new definitions of the state, society, and family, dynastic struggles and religious wars raised questions about loyalty and identity and destabilized the meaning of andquot;Frenchness.andquot;

After examining the interplay between competing ideologies and public institutions, from the monarchy to the Parlement of Paris to the aristocratic household, the volume explores the dynamics of deviance and dissent, particularly in regard to womenandrsquo;s roles in religious reform movements and such sensationalized phenomena as the witch hunts and infanticide trials. Concluding essays examine how regional and confessional identities reshaped French identity in response to the discovery of the New World and the spectacular spread of Calvinism.

Contributors. Charmarie Blaisdell, William Bouwsma, Lawrence M. Bryant, Denis Crouzet, Robert Descimon, Barbara B. Diefendorf, Richard M. Golden, Sarah Hanley, Mack P. Holt, Donald R. Kelley, Kristen B. Neuschel, J. H. M. Salmon, Zachary Sayre Schiffman, Silvia Shannon, Alfred Soman, Michael Wolfe

andldquo;This volume presents both new material and new interpretation. The scholarship is superior. Historians will welcome its publication.andrdquo;andmdash;Jonathan Dewald, State University of New York at Buffalo

andldquo;Changing Identities in Early Modern France is an outstanding volume. Michael Wolfe has done a superb job.andrdquo;andmdash;Carolyn Chappell Lougee, Stanford University

Changing Identities in Early Modern France offers new interpretations of what it meant to be French during a period of profound transition, from the outbreak of the Hundred Years War in the mid-fourteenth century to the consolidation of the Bourbon monarchy in the seventeenth century. These essays consider a period when medieval notions were gradually giving way to new definitions of the state, society, and family; when dynastic struggles and religious wars raised new questions about loyalty and identity; when the meaning of 'Frenchness' was very much in flux.

The collection begins by examining the interplay between competing ideologies and public institutions, from the monarchy to the Parlement of Paris to the aristocratic household. The volume then shifts to explore the dynamics of deviance and dissent, particularly as they involved women's roles in movements for religious reform, as well as topics such as the sensational phenomena of the witch hunts and infanticide trials. Concluding essays speak to the complex ways in which, in response to the discovery of the New World and the spectacular spread of Calvinism, regional and confessional identities reshaped French identity.

Avoiding the historicist trap of imputing a certain inevitability or sense of progress to actions taken long ago, this important volume questions the notion that modern national identities represent the culmination of long developments that stretch back seamlessly to the Middle Ages. Changing Identities in Early Modern France will be valued for its incisive exploration of questions at the leading edge of the most recent historical methodologies and will be of particular interest to students and scholars ofFrance, the early modern period, and the history of religion.

“Changing Identities in Early Modern France is an outstanding volume. Michael Wolfe has done a superb job.”—Carolyn Chappell Lougee, Stanford University“This volume presents both new material and new interpretation. The scholarship is superior. Historians will welcome its publication.”—Jonathan Dewald, State University of New York at Buffalo