Contested spaces of nobility in early modern Europe

1. The spaces of nobility / Matthew P. Romaniello and Charles Lipp -- 2. The early modern European nobility and its contested historiographies, c. 1950-1980 / Hamish Scott -- 3. Negotiating for Agnes' womb / Erica Bastress-Dukehart -- 4. Contested masculinity : noblemen and their mistresses in early modern Spain / Grace E. Coolidge -- 5. Inventing the courtier in early sixteenth century Portugal / Susannah Humble Ferreira -- 6. Sepulchral monuments as a means of communicating social and political power of nobles in early modern Russia / Cornelia Soldat -- 7. Il monastero nuovo : cloistered women of the Medici court / Katherine L. Turner -- 8. The question of the imprescriptibility of nobility in early modern France / Elie Haddad -- 9. All the king's men : educational reform and the restoration of the service nobility in early seventeenth-century Spain / Ryan Gaston -- 10. "Of polish'd pillars, or a roofe of gold" : authority and affluence in the English country house poem / Sukanya Dasgupta -- 11. Nobility as a social and political dialogue : the Parisian example, 1650-1750 / Mathieu Marraud -- 12. Challenging the status quo : attempts to modernize the Polish nobility in the later eighteenth century / Jerzy Lukowski -- 13. Resilient notables : looking at the transformation of the Ottoman Empire from the local level / M. Safa Saracoglu.

In recent years scholars have increasingly challenged and reassessed the once established concept of the 'crisis of the nobility' in early-modern Europe. Offering a range of case studies from countries across Europe this collection further expands our understanding of just how the nobility adapted to the rapidly changing social, political, religious and cultural circumstances around them. By allowing readers to compare and contrast a variety of case studies across a range of national and disciplinary boundaries, a fuller - if more complex - picture emerges of the strategies and actions employed by nobles to retain their influence and wealth. The nobility exploited Renaissance science and education, disruptions caused by war and religious strife, changing political ideas and concepts, the growth of a market economy, and the evolution of centralized states in order to maintain their lineage, reputation, and position. Through an examination of the differing strategies utilized to protect their status, this collection reveals much about the fundamental role of the 'second order' in European history and how they had to redefine the social and cultural 'spaces' in which they found themselves. By using a transnational and comparative approach to the study of the European nobility, the volume offers exciting new perspectives on this important, if often misunderstood, social group.

The spaces of nobility / Matthew P. Romaniello and Charles Lipp -- The early modern European nobility and its contested historiographies, c. 1950-1980 / Hamish Scott -- Negotiating for Agnes' womb / Erica Bastress-Dukehart -- Contested masculinity : noblemen and their mistresses in early modern Spain / Grace E. Coolidge -- Inventing the courtier in early sixteenth century Portugal / Susannah Humble Ferreira -- Sepulchral monuments as a means of communicating social and political power of nobles in early modern Russia / Cornelia Soldat -- Il monastero nuovo : cloistered women of the Medici court / Katherine L. Turner -- The question of the imprescriptibility of nobility in early modern France / Elie Haddad -- All the king's men : educational reform and the restoration of the service nobility in early seventeenth-century Spain / Ryan Gaston -- "Of polish'd pillars, or a roofe of gold" : authority and affluence in the English country house poem / Sukanya Dasgupta -- Nobility as a social and political dialogue : the Parisian example, 1650-1750 / Mathieu Marraud -- Challenging the status quo : attempts to modernize the Polish nobility in the later eighteenth century / Jerzy Lukowski -- Resilient notables : looking at the transformation of the Ottoman Empire from the local level / M. Safa Saraçoglu