Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe

TheconceptofculturalhistoryhasinthelastfewdecadescometotheforeofhistoricalresearchintoearlymodernEurope.DueinnosmallparttothepioneeringworkofPeterBurke,thetoolsoftheculturalhistorianarenowroutinelybroughttobearoneveryaspectofhistory,andhavetransformedourunderstandingofthepast.Firstpublishedin1978,thisstudyexaminesthebroadsweepofpre-industrialEurope'spopularculture.Fromtheworldoftheprofessionalentertainertothesongs,stories,ritualsandplaysofordinarypeople,itshowshowtheattitudesandvaluesoftheotherwiseinarticulateshaped-andwereshapedby-theshiftingsocial,religiousandpoliticalconditionsofEuropeansocietybetween1500and1800.ThisthirdeditionofPeterBurke'sgroundbreakingstudyhasbeenpublishedtomarkthethirtiethanniversaryofthebook'spublicationin1978.Itprovidesanewintroductionreflectingthegrowthofculturalhistory,anditsincreasinginfluenceon'mainstream'history,aswellasanextensivesupplementarybibliographywhichfurtheraddstotheinformationaboutnewresearchinthearea.