Do women have a history? Did women have a renaissance? These were provocative questions when they were raised in the heyday of women's studies in the 1970s. But how relevant does gender remain to premodern history in the twenty-first century? This book considers this question in eight new case studies that span the European continent from 1400 to 1800. An introductory essay examines the category of gender in historiography and specifically within premodern historiography, as well as the issue of source material for historians of the period. The eight individual essays seek to examine gender in relation to emerging fields and theoretical considerations, as well as how premodern history contributes to traditional concepts and theories within women's and gender studies, such as patriarchy.

This volume offers an integrated set of local studies exploring the gendering of political activities across a variety of sites ranging from print culture, courts, government and philanthropic bodies and public spaces, outlining how a particular activity was constituted as political and exploring how this contributed to a gendered concept of citizenship. The comparative and transnational perspectives revealed through combining such work contributes to establishing new knowledge about the relationship between gender, citizenship and the development of the modern town in Northern Europe.

Do women have a history? Did women have a renaissance? These were provocative questions when they were raised in the heyday of women's studies in the 1970s. But how relevant does gender remain to premodern history in the twenty-first century? This book considers this question in eight new case studies that span the European continent from 1400 to 1800. An introductory essay examines the category of gender in historiography and specifically within premodern historiography, as well as the issue of source material for historians of the period. The eight individual essays seek to examine gender in relation to emerging fields and theoretical considerations, as well as how premodern history contributes to traditional concepts and theories within women's and gender studies, such as patriarchy.

This volume offers an integrated set of local studies exploring the gendering of political activities across a variety of sites ranging from print culture, courts, government and philanthropic bodies and public spaces, outlining how a particular activity was constituted as political and exploring how this contributed to a gendered concept of citizenship. The comparative and transnational perspectives revealed through combining such work contributes to establishing new knowledge about the relationship between gender, citizenship and the development of the modern town in Northern Europe.