Carnal Commerce in Counter-Reformation Rome

ISBN-13: 9780521844338 / Angielski / Twarda / 2008 / 316 str.

Opis

Focusing on the period 1566 1656, this original and lively study sheds light on the daily lives and material culture of ordinary prostitutes and their clients in Rome after the Counter-Reformation. Tessa Storey uses a range of archival sources, including criminal records, letters, courtroom testimonies, images and popular and elite literature, to reveal issues of especial concern to contemporaries. In particular, she explores how and why women became prostitutes, the relationships between prostitutes and clients, and the wealth which potentially could be accumulated. Notarial documents provide a unique perspective on the economics and material culture of prostitution, showing what could be earned and how prostitutes dressed and furnished their homes. The book challenges traditional assumptions about the success of post-Tridentine reforms on Roman prostitution, revealing that despite energetic attempts at social disciplining by the Counter-Reformation Popes, prostitution continued to flourish, and to provide a lucrative living for many women."

Recenzje

Review of the hardback: 'Demonstrating how a young woman could earn money for a dowry through prostitution and later be (sequentially) a wife and a nun, Storey depicts the fluidity of female categories. She offers fascinating insight into the ways in which prostitutes, often with the support of their clients, thwarted outside attempts to control their lives … The narratives in her chapter on 'Becoming a prostitute' will capture any reader … the assertion, following Hufton, that understanding prostitution in early modern Rome depends on seeing both continuity and change over time is important, and lies at the heart of this good book.' The Journal of Interdisciplinary History

Spis treści

List of figures; List of maps; List of tables; Acknowledgements; Notes on the text; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Themes and issues in literature and image; 2. The social and cultural context; 3. Debating prostitution; 4. Policing prostitution; 5. A profile of Roman prostitutes; 6. Becoming a prostitute; 7. The business of prostitution; 8. At home; 9. 'Because we are all of the flesh': prostitutes and their clients; Conclusion. Continuity and change: prostitution after the Reformations; Appendix 1. Origins of prostitutes living in Rome; Appendix 2. Notes on the registers consulted from the Archivo del Vicariato di Roma; Bibliography; Index.