Product Information
This study explores a crucial moment in the history of European selfhood. During the 17th century, French nobles began to understand their lives in terms of personal histories and inner qualities, rather than as the products of tradition and inheritance. This preoccupation with the self accompanied a critical view of society, monarchy and Christian teachings. It also shaped a new understanding of political realities and personal relations. Drawing from a combination of memoirs, literary works and archival sources, Jonathan Dewald offers a new understanding of aristocratic sensibilities. In detailed fashion, he explores the nobles' experience of war, career, money, family, love and friendship. In all of these areas, nobles felt a gap between social expectations and personal needs; in the 17th century this tension became increasingly oppressive. Modern French culture, Dewald argues, emerged from this conflict between tradition and the individual's inner life.Product Identifiers
PublisherUniversity of California Press
ISBN-139780520078376
eBay Product ID (ePID)88683243
Product Key Features
Publication Year1993
SubjectHistory
Number of Pages244 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication NameAristocratic Experience and the Origins of Modern Culture: France, 1570-1715
TypeTextbook
AuthorJonathan Dewald
FormatHardcover
Additional Product Features
Country/Region of ManufactureUnited States
Title_AuthorJonathan Dewald