This reader brings together original and influential recent work in the field of early modern European history.

Provides a thought-provoking overview of current thinking on this period.Key themes include evolving early-modern identities; changes in religion and cultural life; the revolution of the mind; roles of women in early-modern societies; the rise of the modern state; and Europe and the new world systemIncorporates new scholarship on Eastern and Central Europe.Includes an article translated into English for the first time.

James B. Collins is Professor of History at Georgetown University, and Chair of the History Department.

Karen L. Taylor is Lecturer in History at Georgetown University.

Acknowledments.

Introduction: Interpreting Early Modern Europe: Karen L. Taylor and James B. Collins.

Part I Evolving Early Modern Identities.

Introduction.

1 The Legacy of Rome: Anthony Pagden.

2 Europe and the Atlantic Slave Systems: David Eltis.

3 History, Myth and, Historical Identity: Karin Friedrich.

4 The Theresian School Reform of 1774: James Van Horn Melton.

5 The Evil Empire? The Debate on Turkish Despotism in Eighteenth-Century French Political Culture: Thomas Kaiser.

Part II Changes in Religion and Cultural Life.

Introduction.

6 Ira Dei super nos: Denis Crouzet.

7 Charitable Activities of Confraternities: Maureen Flynn.

8 The Sins of Belief: A Village Remedy for Hoof and Mouth Disease (1796) David Warren Sabean.

9 Dutiful Love and Natural Affection: Parent-Child Relationships in the Early Modern Netherlands: Sherrin Marshall.

Part III The Revolution of the Mind.

Introduction.

10 A Possible Support for Irreligion: The Sciences: Lucien Febvre.

11 The Material Culture of the Church and Incipient Consumerism: Richard A. Goldthwaite.

12 From a Culture of Science toward the Enlightenment: Kathleen Wellman.

13 Contesting Possession: Patricia Seed.

14 Ritual and Print Discipline and Invention: The Fête in France from the Middle Ages to the Revolution: Roger Chartier.

Part IV The Roles of Women in Early Modern Society Introduction.

15 Political, Economic, and Legal Structures: Merry E. Wiesner.

16 Women before the Bench: Female Litigants in Early Modern Normandy: Zoë A Schneider.

17 Review of The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800, by Lawrence Stone: Alan Macfarlane.

18 Illegitimacy and Infanticide in Early Modern Russia: David L Ransel.

19 Public Leisure and the Rise of Salons: Deborah Hertz.

Part V The Rise of the Modern State System.

Introduction.

20 The Crisis in Assumptions about Political Thinking: Felix Gilbert.

21 From Contractual Monarchy to Constitutionalism: Gerhard Oestrich.

22 Paradoxes of State Power: John Brewer.

23 The Power of the King: Antonio Feros Feros.

24 The Royal Government, Guilds, and the Seamstresses of Paris, Normany, and Provence: Clare Haru Crowston.

Part VI Research Paradigms, Old and New.

Introduction.

25 The Courtization of the Warriors: Norbert Elias.

26 Women on Top: Natalie Zemon Davis.

27 The Contrasts: Alfred W. Crosby.

28 Transcending East-West Dichotomies: State and Culture Formation in Six Ostensibly Disparate Areas: Victor Lieberman.

29 Introduction to The Great Divergence. China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy: Kenneth Pomeranz.

30 Between Carnival and Lent: Paula Findlen.

Index