Local Identities in Late Medieval and Early Modern England

It is axiomatic that English people came to understand their places in society differently by the late seventeenth century. This collection explores how that happened by exploring how membership in communities was defined, and how individuals and corporate groups acted out their understanding of their places in society. Keith Wrightson’s powerful exploration of how concepts of neighborliness evolved as the economy changed is joined with Marjorie K. McIntosh’s work on changing identity politics in market towns. The confusions over identity and community inherent in border towns are taken up by K.J. Kesselring, while David Dean examines the mnemonic devices used in the Elizabethan Lottery to understand how people saw their communities. The overlapping worlds of London, Court and country are portrayed by Alexandra Johnston and Joseph Ward, while Catherine Patterson looks at the rhetoric of urban magistracy. The complexity of London’s communities is explored by Shannon McSheffrey in her work on the liminal place of the late medieval clergy and sexual morality; by Ian Archer in his portrait of the charity of London widows; and by Paul Griffiths in a concluding chapter on the rhetorics of London’s civil and religious identity, as seen in the discussions of growth that swirled around the building of Bridewell Hospital.