Addresses Early Modern representations of chastity and adultery, as well as matrimony and its dissolution in both the private and public realms, including the most well known marital dissolution, that of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Addresses Early Modern representations of chastity and adultery, as well as matrimony and its dissolution in both the private and public realms, including the most well known marital dissolution, that of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Addresses Early Modern representations of chastity and adultery, as well as matrimony and its dissolution in both the private and public realms, including the most well known marital dissolution, that of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Addresses Early Modern representations of chastity and adultery, as well as matrimony and its dissolution in both the private and public realms, including the most well known marital dissolution, that of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Addresses Early Modern representations of chastity and adultery, as well as matrimony and its dissolution in both the private and public realms, including the most well known marital dissolution, that of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Women, Property, and the Letters of the Law in Early Modern England turns to these points of departure for the study of women's legal status and property relationships in the early modern period.

Robert Zubrin: "Zimmerman's ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says." The human race is about to go to the stars. Big rockets are being built, and nations and private citizens worldwide are planning the first permanent settlements in space. When we get there, will we know what to do to make those first colonies just and prosperous places for all humans? Conscious Choice answers this question, by telling a riveting and accurate history of the first century of British settlement in North America. That was when those settlers were building their own new colonies, and had to decide whether to include slaves from Africa. In New England slavery was vigorously rejected. The Puritans wanted nothing to do with this institution, desiring instead to form a society of free religious families, a society that became the foundation of the United States of American, dedicated to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. In Virginia however slavery was gladly embraced, resulting in a corrupt social order built on power, rule, and oppression. Why the New England citizens were able to reject slavery, and Virginians were not, is the story that Conscious Choice tells, a story with direct implications for all human societies, whether they are here on Earth or on the farflung planets across the universe. What others are saying: Rand Simberg: "In its '1619 Project,' a false and libelous narrative of America's past has recently been promoted by the New York Times. In a useful corrective, Zimmerman's book provides well-documented and new historical insights into the true history of slavery in colonial English America, with a cautionary warning for future settlers off the planet." Douglas Mackinnon "When humankind finally does venture forth to colonize the moon, Mars, and beyond, it is essential that each colonist have this book downloaded onto their tablet. It will guide them and most likely save them." James Bennett: "How was slavery born in the deep south of the United States? Robert Zimmerman's book Conscious Choice provides the answer, in a well-researched, detailed, but readable book free of academic jargon. He shows that slavery was not predetermined but was instead a series of conscious choices made by key individuals of that day. He also shows that it was not necessary, as demonstrated by the decision of the northern British colonies to reject it. "Zimmerman then uses this history to show how it provides lessons to future explorers when they found their own new colonies in space."

Despite the importance of the subject to contemporaries, this is the first monograph to look at the institution of godparenthood in early modern English society. Utilising a wealth of hitherto largely neglected primary source data, this work explores godparenthood, using it as a framework to illuminate wider issues of spiritual kinship and theological change. It has become increasingly common for general studies of family and religious life in pre-industrial England to make reference to the spiritual kinship evident in the institution of godparenthood. However, although there have been a number of important studies of the impact of the institution in other periods, this is the first detailed monograph devoted to the subject in early modern England. This study is possible due to the survival, contrary to many expectations, of relatively large numbers of parish registers that recorded the identities of godparents in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By utilising this hitherto largely neglected data, in conjunction with evidence gleaned from over 20,000 Wills and numerous other biographical, legal and theological sources, Coster has been able to explore fully the institution of godparenthood and the role it played in society. This book takes the opportunity to study an institution which interacted with a range of social and cultural factors, and to assess the nature of these elements within early modern English society. It also allows the findings of such an investigation to be compared with the assumptions that have been made about the fortunes of the institution in the context of a changing European society. The recent historiography of religion in this period has focused attention on popular elements of religious practice, and stressed the conservatism of a society faced with dramatic theological and ritual change. In this context a study of godparenthood can make a contribution to understanding how religious change occurred and the ways in which popular religious practice was affected.

The texts reproduced in facsimile in the three volumes of 'Legal Treatises' reconstruct the legal status of the early modern Englishwoman. To facilitate a reading of the treatises by broadly defining many of the laws discussed in great detail in the treatises, a general introduction to the laws of the period provides concise overviews of the structure of the English legal system; the legal education of practitioners of the law; the kinds of legal literature produced in the period; and the legal position of early modern Englishwomen. A bibliography of important secondary scholarship devoted to the early modern Englishwoman's legal position assists the reader in obtaining more specialized knowledge. In addition to the general introduction, a separate introduction to each of the reproduced works is provided, including information about each work's publication and authorship, intended audience, content and reception. In order to provide this framework for the years 1600-1750, this first volume of 'Legal Treatises' reproduces The Lawes Resolutions of Womens Rights (1632), the first known treatise devoted to the legal rights of women. 'The Womans Lawyer,' as the treatise's running headline and spine title read, was published anonymously in 1632; the title page fails to identify the original author of the work, and its authorship remains in question today. At over 400 pages, the text represents a massive effort of consolidation, organizing the disparate and hitherto uncompiled aspects of the common law applicable to women into a logical framework. It is unusual among early modern legal treatises in its stated goal of providing a 'popular kind of instruction' to its readers.