Domestic Culture in Early Modern England (Studies in Early Modern Cultural, Political and Social History, 24)

✍ Scribed by Antony Buxton

• Publisher: Boydell Press
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 326
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

A detailed study of the domestic life of the early modern, non-elite household

This book is a detailed study of the domestic life of the early modern, non-elite household, focussing on the Oxfordshire market town of Thame. Going beyond the exploration of the domestic economy and trends in living standards and consumption, it shows how close examination of the material context within which the household operated can provide evidence of its habitual activities, the relationships between its members, and the values that informed both. The book uses a familiar source, the probate inventory, supplemented by other contemporary written and pictorial evidence, to reveal how activities in the household were directly related to the agricultural, mercantile, and socialenvironment. It illustrates the variable and shifting nature of social relationships and shows how the early modern household was part of the wider economic and social narrative of modernism and how it responded to altered modes of production and consumption, social allegiances, and ideologies. Offering new perspectives to reinvigorate the discussion of domestic relationships and rigorously examine the vexed question of change, Domestic Culture in EarlyModern England will be of interest to scholars and postgraduate students of material culture as well as historians of the household and family more generally.

ANTONY BUXTON lectures on design history, material anddomestic culture for the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford and other institutions. He has published articles in various scholarly journals and holds a PhD from the University of Oxford.

✦ Table of Contents

Frontcover
Contents
List of Illustrations
Abbreviations
Note on Currency
Preface
Introduction
1 The Thame Household in Context
The Natural Environment and its Exploitation
The Settlement of Thame and its Market Economy
The Social and Moral Culture
2 The Early Modern Household in Context
The Domestic Group as Reproductive and Social Unit
The Household as a Residential and Productive Unit
The Early Modern Household
Social Relationships within the Household
The Early Modern Household in the Community: Proximity and
Interdependence
The Thame Dwelling House
3 Foodstuff Provisioning, Processing and Cooking
The Provisioning of the Household
Foodstuff Processing
Foodstuffs Listed in Households
Cooking – from Ingredients to Consumable Food
Preparation Implements
Cooking Processes
Evidence for the Nature of the Diet
Cooking in the Domestic Culture
4 Commensality and Conviviality
The Furniture of Commensality
Furniture Materials and Construction
Seating Furniture
Cushions
Table Furniture
Display-Storage Furniture: Cupboards
Commensal Washing Vessels
The Association of Food Preparation and Consumption
Vessels of Commensality: Eating Vessels, Cutlery and Condiments
Cutlery
Condiments
Vessels of Commensality: Drinking Vessels
Furnishings of Commensality and Hospitality
Napkins
Candlesticks
Cultural Diversions
Conclusions on Commensality and Conviviality
5 Rest and Security
Furnishings of Retirement and Rest
Sanitation
Order and Security: Storage Furniture
Personal Adornment and Looking Glasses
Summary of the Materiality, Affordance and Agency of Domestic Objects
6 The ‘Practice’ and Domestic Culture of the Thame Household
The Differentiation of and Naming of Household Rooms: Tradition,
Concepts and Activities
Halls
Chambers
Lofts
Parlours
Dressing Domestic Space: Painted Cloths, Wainscot Panelling, Portals, Window Curtains and Carpets
Kitchens
Butteries and Cellars
Service Houses
Rooms
Shops
The Interrelationship of Domestic Activities and Spaces
7 Thame Households
Agriculturalists
Artisans, Artisan-Traders and Traders
Clerics
Gentlemen
Widows
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index