Manhood and Masculinity in Early Modern England

This article provides an overview of some key developments in the historiography of manhood and masculinity in early modern England in the last decade, focusing in particular on how ideals of manhood and masculinity were shaped by ideas about the body and sexuality, as well as experiences and practices of fatherhood, sociability and politics in England between the mid-16th and mid-18th centuries. The article argues that the history of manhood and masculinity is a vibrant area but that some questions relating to manhood and masculinity remain underexplored, especially in relation to politics. It also questions whether enough effort has been taken to consider the 17th century as a whole, with much work on the history of manhood and masculinity continuing to focus on the periods before 1640 or after 1660, reiterating earlier calls for more attention to be paid to thinking about continuities and changes in manhood and masculinity across the early modern period in England.