The Extraordinary and the Everyday in Early Modern England : Essays in Celebration of the Work of Bernard Capp

This fascinating collection of essays written by renowned and emerging scholars of the early modern period explores the relationship between the extraordinary and the everyday to provide a greater understanding of and new insights into the mental and material worlds of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. By juxtaposing cases that struck early modern people as irregular or strange with things that they found perfectly usual, everyday matters such as household relationships, farting, drinking and exchanging insults are shown to reveal extraordinary aspects of early modern life, while seemingly exceptional events and beliefs -- such as those involving ghosts, prophecies, and cannibalism -- illuminate something of the routine experience of ordinary people. The contributions present not one worldview, nor adopt one way of approaching or illuminating the past. Rather, they demonstrate that categories such as the strange and the commonplace should be and were the subject of constant renegotiation, just as they are now. Contents......Page 6 List of Illustrations......Page 8 Abbreviations and Conventions......Page 9 Notes on the Contributors......Page 10 Introduction: The Extraordinary and the Everyday in Early Modern England......Page 14 Part I: The Extraordinary in the Everyday......Page 20 1 Bodily Control and Social Unease: The Fart in Seventeenth- Century England......Page 22 2 The Ambition of a Young Baronet: Sir Thomas Isham of Lamport, 1657–1681......Page 44 3 Robert Robertes and Little Cis: An Extraordinary Relationship Ralph Houlbrooke......Page 61 4 Punishing Words: Insults and Injuries, 1525–1700......Page 79 5 The World of Poor Robin's Intelligence: Comedy and Communication in Late Stuart London......Page 99 6 The Strangeness of the Familiar: Witchcraft and the Law in Early Modern England......Page 118 Part II: The Everyday in the Extraordinary......Page 138 7 Ann Jeffries and the Fairies: Folk Belief and the War on Scepticism in Later Stuart England......Page 140 8 Wyclif's Well: Lollardy, Landscape and Memory in Post- Reformation England......Page 155 9 'Boiled and Stewed with Roots and Herbs': Everyday Tales of Cannibalism in Early Modern Virginia......Page 174 10 Glimpses of the Obscure: The Witch Trials of the Channel Islands......Page 190 11 The Extraordinary Case of the Blood-Drinking and Flesh- Eating Cavaliers......Page 205 12 Mother Shipton and the Devil......Page 224 13 'Bleedinge Afreshe'? The Affray and Murder at Nantwich, 19 December 1572......Page 237 Publications by Professor Bernard Capp, FBA......Page 259 Index......Page 264 This fascinating collection of essays written by renowned and emerging scholars of the early modern period explores the relationship between the extraordinary and the everyday to provide a greater understanding of and new insights into the mental and material worlds of sixteenth-and seventeenth-century England. By juxtaposing cases that struck early modern people as irregular or strange with things that they found perfectly usual, everyday matters such as household relationships, farting, drinking and exchanging insults are shown to reveal extraordinary aspects of early modern life. At the same time, seemingly exceptional events and beliefs - such as those involving ghosts, prophecies, and cannibalism - illuminate something of the routine experience of ordinary people. The contributions employ a variety of different approaches to engage with and illuminate the past, demonstrating that categories such as the strange and the commonplace were the subject of constant renegotiation, just as they are now. --Book Jacket A fascinating collection of essays by renowned and emerging scholars exploring how everyday matters from farting to friendship reveal extraordinary aspects of early modern life, while seemingly exceptional acts and beliefs – such as those of ghosts, prophecies, and cannibalism – illuminate something of the routine experience of ordinary people. Edited By Angela Mcshane, Garthine Walker. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.