Plain Lives in a Golden Age: Popular Culture, Religion and Society in Seventeenth-Century Holland [Paperback]

A. Th. van Deursen (Author), Maarten Ultee (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 1991

st comprehensive study yet published of the plain lives of a 'golden age'.f plague from the first outbreak of the Black Death in 1348 to the mid-fifteenth century. Through an innovative study of this evidence, Professor Carmichael develops two related strands of analysis. First, she discusses the extent to which true plague epidemics may have occurred, by considering what other infectious diseases contributed significantly to outbreaks of 'pestilence'. She finds that there were many differences between the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century epidemics. She then sh

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Van Deursen, a professor of history at the Free University of Amsterdam, shows us how the common people of the Netherlands lived between 1572 and 1648, a period that includes Holland's Golden Age. He explores what these folk did to earn a living, how they spent their leisure time, their relationships to their government, to their God and to their churches. Van Deursen discusses the prevailing concepts of political liberty and exposes a certain mythic aspect of the much-vaunted Dutch religious freedom. He reveals persecution of Catholics and the fact that choice of the "wrong" denomination could affect both one's social standing and career advancement. The author also successfully undertakes the difficult task of reconstructing the role of women in the society. The exhaustive footnotes and often minute statistical detail render this a book better suited to the student than to the recreational reader. Still, meticulously researched and well written, unpacking the making of the Dutch character and psyche, the book is a worthy companion piece to Simon Schama's The Embarrassment of Riches . Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Dutch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 420 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 30, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521367859
• ISBN-13: 978-0521367851
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > History > Europe > Netherlands

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