Notions of Privacy in Early Modern Correspondence
Edited by Michael Green Edited by Lars Cyril Norgaard
Private letters are intimate and seem not a matter of public opinion. Yet they offer an opportunity to fashion oneself and one’s experiences within a cultural context. Letters thus tell the story of our lives. Through ten case studies, this volume demonstrates how such ambiguities of privacy are attested in early modern correspondenc
Our modern notions of privacy have their roots in the early modern period. When studying this historical background, one of the most important sources is correspondence. Letters sent from one person to another reflect specific situations, ideas, thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Contextualizing an epistolary exchange provides information about the world and values of past individuals. This volume presents essays that deal with a variety of early modern correspondence. The letters analysed, written in French, Dutch, German, and English, speak to very different contexts and cultural codes. While each of the letters in question has its own unique story to tell, all contributions come together by focusing on notions of privacy. From the intimacy that unfolds in educational exchanges to specific letter-writers and their strategic use of the private, this volume offers ground-breaking insights that will be relevant to many different researchers and their respective fields: the history of science, the history of Christianity, the history of travel writing and education, gender studies, and the history of diplomacy. In addition, the contributions also tackle the issue of publishing letters in the early modern period, both as a cultural phenomenon and as a material praxis. Together, the essays show how ‘privacy’ was an ambiguous term in the early modern period; the letter as literary genre and a means of communication demonstrates how privacy was perceived both as valuable and as a potential threat.
- Edited by Michael Green
- Edited by Lars Cyril Norgaard
Other Titles in this Series
Inter-Ethnic Relations and the Functioning of Multi-Ethnic Societies
Cohesion in Multi-Ethnic Societies in Europe from c. 1000 to the Present, II
Volume 18
Legal Norms and Political Action in Multi-Ethnic Societies
Cohesion in Multi-Ethnic Societies in Europe from c. 1000 to the Present, III
Volume 20
Republicanism, Sinophilia, and Historical Writing
Thomas Gordon (c.1691-1750) and his 'History of England'
Volume 4
Memories in Multi-Ethnic Societies
Cohesion in Multi-Ethnic Societies in Europe from c. 1000 to the Present, I
Volume 15
Historiography and the Shaping of Regional Identity in Europe
Regions in Clio's Looking Glass
Volume 16
Sociability and its Discontents
Civil Society, Social Capital, and their Alternatives in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe
Volume 1
Communicating the Passion
The Socio-Religious Function of an Emotional Narrative (1250-1530)
Volume 21
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Circulation, Use, Impact
The Consumption of Architectural Books in the Early Modern Eastern Adriatic
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Naples as Laboratory / Laboratorium Neapel
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Students, Scholars and Their Books at the University of Louvain (1425-1797)
Studium Lovaniense: Learning across Borders, 1
Volume 17
Tradition, Interpretation, and Change
Developments in the Liturgy of Medieval and Early Modern Ashkenaz
Networking through Biography
Constructing Intellectual Junctions in Antiquity, the Renaissance and the Arabo-Islamic World
Volume 19
Art and Mysticism in Silesia in the Baroque Period
Angelus Silesius, Bernhard Rosa, and Michael Willmann
Building the Presence of the Prince
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From Europe to Overseas
Saints, Martyrs, Heroes, Models and Soft Power in an Early Modern Global Perspective
Jheronimus Bosch, Conservation and Restoration
From Former Glory to Changing Appearances (Volume 1: Text, Volume 2: Images)
