Society and culture in early modern France : eight essays

This classic collection of essays has already established itself as a rich source of material for students of sixteenth and seventeenth--century France. Natalie Davis focuses on the lower social orders -- peasants, artisans, the poor generally -- and in a series of brilliantly penetrating cast--studies throws fresh light on some of the great issues of social change: the impact of printing, the rise of protestantism, the role of women, power--relations between groups and classesa .