Cuckoldry, Impotence and Adultery in Europe (15th-17th century)

"This volume convincingly argues that historical studies have long reflected the double standard by which women are primarily blamed for adultery, while little scholarly attention has been paid to the male side of the coin. For the first time a team of historians, art historians and scholars of drama and literature investigate this ubiquitous aspect of the erotic cultures of the past by close reading of a wide and imaginative range of sources and contexts, including iconography. By so doing, contributors shed new light on a variety of diverse topics such as Renaissance comedy, medical empiricism, military culture and dynastic history. The book, which fills quite a curious gap, is highly recommended to scholars of Renaissance and early modern European society, of gender and the body, of sexual mores, and of imagery and stereotypes in the longue dur "

- Alessandro Arcangeli, Universita di Verona, Italy

"This interdisciplinary collection of relatively brief essays proposes to redress what the editor asserts has been an imbalance of scholarly focus on female adultery at the expense of cuckoldry. The collection is weighted toward Renaissance Italian case studies (seven essays), but also features chapters on England, Switzerland, and France, and authors engage with secondary and primary sources from wider early modern Europe. ... Chapters also refer to each other directly where relevant, which suggests good editorial direction and increases the sense of coherence across the volume."

- H-Net Reviews