Eighteenth-Century Britain, 1688-1783, by Jeremy BlackEighteenth-Century Britain, 1688-1783, by Jeremy Black. Palgrave History of Britain, volume 1. Basingstoke, Palgrave, 2001. viii, 312 pp. $69.95 U.S. (cloth), $19.95 U.S. (paper).

2003 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-109
Author(s):  
Simon Devereaux
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
Eighteenth Century Britain

Picturing Art History in Eighteenth-Century Britain

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-113
Author(s):  
Edward Wouk
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Art History ◽  
Northern European ◽  
History Of Art ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Eighteenth Century Britain ◽  
Modern Artists

Rylands English MS 60, compiled for the Spencer family in the eighteenth century, contains 130 printed portraits of early modern artists gathered from diverse sources and mounted in two albums: 76 portraits in the first volume, which is devoted to northern European artists, and 54 in the second volume, containing Italian and French painters. Both albums of this ‘Collection of Engravings of Portraits of Painters’ were initially planned to include a written biography of each artist copied from the few sources available in English at the time, but that part of the project was abandoned. This article relates English MS 60 to shifting practices of picturing art history. It examines the rise of printed artists’ portraits, tracing the divergent histories of the genre south and north of the Alps, and explores how biographical approaches to the history of art were being replaced, in the eighteenth century, by the development of illustrated texts about art.

‘SCEPTICISM IN EXCESS’: GIBBON AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY CHRISTIANITY

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. W. YOUNG
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Roman Empire ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Critical Attitude ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Church ◽  
Eighteenth Century Britain ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Intense Debate

Since the appearance of volume I of The decline and fall of the Roman empire in 1776, the religion of Edward Gibbon has been subject to intense debate. He has been variously identified as an atheist, a deist, even as a somewhat detached Christian. Examination of his relations, both personal and scholarly, with the varieties of religion and irreligion current in eighteenth-century Britain leads to the conclusion that he remained resolutely critical of all such positions. He did not share the convictions of dogmatic freethinkers, still less those of determined atheists. The product of a nonjuring family, Gibbon benefited from the scholarly legacy of several high church writers, while maintaining a critical attitude towards the claims of Anglican orthodoxy. It was through the deliberate and ironical adoption of the idiom of via media Anglicanism, represented by such theologians as the clerical historian John Jortin, that Gibbon developed a woundingly sceptical appraisal of the history of the early church. This stance made it as difficult for his contemporaries to identify Gibbon's religion as it has since proved to be for modern historians. Gibbon appreciated the central role of religion in shaping history, but he remained decidedly sceptical as to Christianity's ultimate status as revealed and unassailable truth.

Itch, Clap, Pox

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noelle Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
British Literature ◽  
Venereal Disease ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cultural Anxieties ◽  
Eighteenth Century Britain ◽  
History Of Literature

In eighteenth-century Britain, venereal disease was everywhere and nowhere: while physicians and commentators believed the condition to be widespread, it remained shrouded in secrecy, and was often represented using slang, symbolism, and wordplay. This book explores the cultural significance of the “clap” (gonorrhea), the “pox” (syphilis), and the “itch” (genital scabies) for the development of eighteenth-century British literature and art. As a condition both represented through metaphors and used as a metaphor, venereal disease provided a vehicle for the discussion of cultural anxieties about gender, race, commerce, and immigration. The book highlights four key concepts associated with venereal disease, demonstrating how infection's symbolic potency was enhanced by its links to elite masculinity, prostitution, foreignness, and facial deformities. Casting light where the sun rarely shines, this study will fascinate anyone interested in the history of literature, art, medicine, and sexuality.

Revisiting The Polite and Commercial People

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Current Direction ◽  
Vital Part ◽  
Thirtieth Anniversary ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ways Of Thinking ◽  
Eighteenth Century Britain ◽  
New Vision ◽  
The Impact

For some time before his death in July 2015, former colleagues and students of Paul Langford had discussed the possibility of organizing a festschrift to celebrate his remarkable contribution to eighteenth-century history. It was planned for 2019 to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the appearance of his seminal A Polite and Commercial People, the opening volume in the New Oxford History of England series, Paul’s best-known and most influential publication. He was delighted to hear of these plans and the tragic news of his death only made the contributors more determined to see the project through to completion. The importance of A Polite and Commercial People within its own time is unquestionable. Not only did it provide a powerful new vision of eighteenth-century Britain, but it also played a vital part in reviving interest in, and expanding ways of thinking about, Georgian history. As the thirteen contributors to this volume amply testify, any review of the field from the 1980s onwards cannot ignore the profound effect Paul’s research had on the social and political publications in his field. This collection of essays combines reflection on the impact of Paul’s work with further engagement with the central questions he posed. In particular, it serves to reconnect various recent avenues of Georgian studies, bringing together diverse themes present in Paul’s scholarship, but which are often studied independently of each other. As such, it aims to provide a fitting tribute to Paul’s work and impact, and a wider reassessment of the current direction of eighteenth-century studies.

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