Customs in Common"Here, at last, is Customs in Common, the remarkable sequel to E.P. Thompson's influential, landmark volume of social history, The Making of the English Working Class. The product of years of research and debate, Customs in Common describes the complex culture from which working class institutions enlarged in England--a panoply of traditions and customs that the new working class fought to preserve well into Victorian times." "In a text marked by both empathy and erudition, Thompson investigates the gradual disappearance of a range of cultural customs against the backdrop of the great upheavals of the eighteenth century. As villagers were subjected to a legal system increasingly hostile to custom, they tried both to resist and to preserve tradition, becoming, as Thompson explains, "rebellious, but rebellious in defence of custom." Although some historians have written of the riotous peasants of England and Wales as if they were mainly a problem for magistrates and governments, for Thompson it is the rulers, landowners, and governments who were a problem for the people, whose exuberant culture preceded the formation of working-class institutions and consciousness." "Using a wide range of sources, Thompson shows how careful attention to fragmentary evidence helps to decode the fascinating symbolism of shaming rituals including "rough music," and practices such as the ritual divorce known as "wife sale." And in examining the vigorous presence of women in food riots from the sixteenth century onwards, he sheds further light on gender relations of the time." "Essential reading for all those intrigued by English history, Customs in Common has a special relevance today, as traditional economies are being replaced by market economies throughout the developing world. The rich scholarship and depth of insight in Thompson's new work offer many clues to understanding contemporary changes around the globe."--Jacket. |
Contents
The Patricians and the Plebs | 16 |
Custom Law and Common Right | 97 |
The Moral Economy of the English | 185 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
action appear authority become bread called Cambridge carried church clock common continued corn cottagers course courts crowd culture custom dearth described direct early economy eighteenth century enclosure England English especially evidence example famine farmers field food riots force forms gentry give grain hand History husband industrial interest John labour land less letter living London Lord magistrates matter means measures mill moral economy nature noted occasion offenders offered Oxford parish parties passed perhaps persons political poor popular practice present purchaser reason records relations reported riot ritual rough music seen sense shillings social society sold sometimes suggests taken took town trade tradition turn village wife women