Social History of Death: England 1500-1750

From Lecture Notes and Wiesner-Hanks Textbook

How did marriage change in Early Modern Europe?

Marriages for love/affection became more common rather than being purely economic arrangements, although economic and social considerations were still important

What was the structure of households like in Early Modern Europe?

They were sites of production with extended families, servants, apprentices, and the elderly all living together

What vulnerable groups became more visible in Early Modern Europe?

The elderly, widows, and orphans all became more visible in social and legal contexts as their needs and rights were more recognised

How did gender roles shift in Early Modern Europe?

Roles remained patterns with women being kept in domestic settings, but there were shifts in women’s economic activity, legal status (especially for widows), and increased visibility in records

How did generational conflict emerge in Early Modern Europe?

Age-specific norms, transitions, and statuses began mattering more and the ‘life-cycle service’ pattern increased with young people leaving home for work without being married

How did social hierarchy exist in Early Modern Europe?

They remained strong, however some fluidity emerged in some regions with trade, urban areas, and colonial ventures offering new opportunities

How did law reflect interest in social order?

There was increased legal regulation of status (unmarried, beggars, inheritance, etc.) with new laws emerging 

How did the government and state interact with families and individuals in Early Modern Europe?

• Government/local authorities began to intervene in family life (marriage contracts, dowries, inheritance rules, guardianship for orphans, etc.)

• State and church documenting, regulating, and monitoring individuals (laws governing household organisation, laws regarding dress and behaviour, etc.)

How did population growth and urbanisation impact households?

There were more single people, increased number of nuclear households, as well as more complex family networks

How did gendered labour exist in Early Modern Europe?

Women’s labour in the household, textiles, and small trade was essential (but undervalued) and men continued to dominate public roles

What factors changed patterns of family dependency and support in Early Modern Europe?

• Migration from rural to urban areas as well as colonies

• Service away from home working in households or as apprentices

Why are shifts in individuals and households important in Early Modern Europe?

They help to explain broader transformation in Early Modern Europe such as:

• Rise of centralised states

• Growth of markets and trade

• Spread of literacy and documentation

• Changing social relation

What does the expanded visibility of marginalised groups indicate about Early Modern Europe?

It signals growing interest of states, churches, and scholars in controlling and understanding populations, including those who were women, elderly, and unmarried

How is focus on individuals important to understanding Early Modern Europe?

It better shows how large-scale change was rooted in and impacted everyday life: how people lived, worked, aged, and died

What was a major stressing and difficult factor prevalent in Early Modern Europe?

The prevalence of death, which was easy to see in streets due to a lack of systems to care for/dispose of dying/dead, as well as high crisis mortality rates such as with the Plague (20% mortality rate, estimated death of ~1/3 of Europe)

What was timing of death like in Early Modern Europe?

Although life expectancy was 70, dying of old age was uncommon, and people usually died without any ‘retirement’, still with responsibilities and often children that needed to be raised

What was the fundamental theory in medicine of Early Modern Europe?

The four humours: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm → needed to be kept in balance, with imbalances in certain humours causing various ailments and having treatments to rebalance the humours, e.g. blood letting, leeches, purging, etc.

How was medical treatment sought in Early Modern Europe?

Often religious treatment was either preferred or placed as equal to medical treatment → medical treatments very unpleasant and don’t encourage seeking medicine

What social impact did the high prevalence of death and disease have in Early Modern Europe?

It promoted religion, which gave people comfort due to the idea of an afterlife that would be better than the hard life on earth, gave meaning to a fleeting life, and granted a sense of control in an unpredictable, hostile world