Hugo Soly

Catharina Lis

In the half millennium of their existence, guilds in the Low Countries played a highly significant role in shaping the societies of which they were a part. One key aspect that has been identified in recent historical research to explain the survival of the guilds for such a long time is the guilds' continued adaptability to changing circumstances. This idea of flexibility is the point of departure for the essays in this volume, which sheds new light on the corporate system and identifies its various features and regional variances. The contributors explore the interrelations between economic organisations and political power in late medieval and early modern towns, and address issues of gender, religion and social welfare in the context of the guilds. This cohesive and focussed volume will provide a stimulus for renewed interest and further research in this area. It will appeal to scholars and students with an interest in early modern economic, social and cultural history in particular, but will also be valuable to those researching into political, religious and gender history.

Work, Power, and Representation

Craft Guilds in the Early Modern Low Countries

Jan Lucassen

This volume examines a wide variety of collective and organized labour movements in what is arguably a distinct period in labour history. The approach is a comparative one, looking particularly at the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Low Countries, but also at Western Europe in general.

Wage Earners and Collective Action in Europe, 1300-1850

Before the Unions

This volume takes a fresh and innovative approach to the history of ideas of work, concerning perceptions, attitudes, cultures and representations of work throughout Antiquity and the medieval and early modern periods. Focusing on developments in Europe, the contributors approach the subject from a variety of angles, considering aspects of work as described in literature, visual culture, and as perceived in economic theory. As well as external views of workers the volume also looks at the meaning of work for the self-perception of various social groups, including labourers, artisans, merchants, and noblemen, and the effects of this on their self-esteem and social identity. Taking a broad chronological approach to the subject provides readers with a cutting-edge overview of research into the varying attitudes to work and its place in pre-industrial society.

The Idea of Work in Europe from Antiquity to Modern Times

Josef Ehmer

Taking a broad chronological approach to the subject, this book provides readers with a cutting-edge overview of research into the varying attitudes towards work and its place in pre-Industrial society. This volume takes a fresh and innovative approach to the history of ideas of work, concerning perceptions, attitudes, cultures and representations of work throughout Antiquity and the medieval and early modern periods. Focusing on developments in Europe, the contributors approach the subject from a variety of angles, considering aspects of work as described in literature, visual culture, and as perceived in economic theory.

In Worthy Efforts Catharina Lis and Hugo Soly offer an innovative approach to the history of perceptions and representations of work in Europe throughout Classical Antiquity and the medieval and early modern periods.

Catharina Lis

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