Memory in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1800

In early modern Europe, memory of the past served as a main frame of moral, political, legal, religious, and social reference for people of all walks of life. This volume examines how Europeans practiced memory between 1500 and 1800, and how these three centuries saw a shift in how people engaged with the past.



For early modern Europeans, the past was a measure of most things, good and bad. For that reason it was also hotly contested, manipulated, and far too important to be left to historians alone. Memory in Early Modern Europe offers a lively and accessible introduction to the many ways in which Europeans engaged with the past and 'practised' memory in the three centuries between 1500 and 1800. From childhood memories and local customs to war traumas and peacekeeping , it analyses how Europeans tried to control, mobilize and reconfigure memories of the past. Challenging the long-standing view that memory cultures transformed around 1800, it argues for the continued relevance of early modern memory practices in modern societies.