Voluntary military organizations, associational life and urban culture in early modern England

MERRITT, JULIA

Abstract

This article presents a rethinking of the nature and functions of voluntary military organizations in early modern England. Where previous scholarship has concentrated on their potential military significance and links with political puritanism, this article uses fresh and rich evidence to place them in the broader context of the development of forms of associational life in early modern England. While historians have emphasized the clubs and societies of the post-Restoration period as a new development, it is argued here that pre-war voluntary military organizations were potential precursors of these later forms of association. Using the uniquely rich surviving materials of the Military Company in Westminster, the article explores the social and cultural impact of the organization through its material culture and corporate activities. It is argued that these multi-faceted organizations provide a vivid but hitherto neglected dimension to our picture of the social and cultural life of early modern England.

Citation

MERRITT, J. (2020). Voluntary military organizations, associational life and urban culture in early modern England. Seventeenth Century, 35(6), 693-714. https://doi.org/10.1080/0268117X.2019.1673805

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 17, 2019
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: Sep 26, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 18, 2021
• Journal: Seventeenth Century
• Print ISSN: 0268-117X
• Electronic ISSN: 2050-4616
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 693-714
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0268117X.2019.1673805
• Keywords: Urban culture, voluntary associations, military companies, early modern London and West End
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2645201
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0268117X.2019.1673805
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The seventeenth century on 17/10/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/0.1080/0268117X.2019.1673805
• Contract Date: Sep 26, 2019