Discourses and Representations of Friendship in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1700

Interdisciplinary in scope, this collection examines the varied and complex ways in which early modern Europeans imagined, discussed and enacted friendship, a fundamentally elective relationship between individuals otherwise bound in prescribed familial, religious and political associations. Contributors include scholars of British, French, Italian and Spanish culture, offering literary, historical, religious, and political perspectives. Each chapter comprises a case study of specific contexts, narratives and/or lived friendships.