Amsterdam University Press Women at the Early Modern Swedish Court: Power, Risk, and Opportunity (Gendering the Late Medieval and Early Modern World)

Review The book looks at a broad range of women: foreign and Swedish, married and unmarried, those who stayed a short time at court and those who lived their lives there. Persson often contrasts the mutual experiences of these women to the hiearchical differences that divided them. He analyses where and when gender played a part in a nuanced way. [...] That Persson does not just use structures to explain change is a strength. The personal and human is allowed much room in the book. These actors are not just power players or representatives of a group, an identity or a gender. They are also sensitive and complex human beings. Persson's depiction shows how personality and human relationships influenced the court and, as a consequence, history. To conclude, Women at the Early Modern Swedish Court provokes many thoughts, questions, and ideas. It is a rich, informative text built on enormous empirical work.- Hedvig Widmalm, 1700-tal: Nordic Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 18 (2021) [Translated from Swedish] The study displays a vast knowledge of the intricate early modern courtly life and showcases much material that previously has been overlooked. Women at the Early Modern Swedish Court: Power, Risk, and Opportunity paints a fascinating picture of early modern Swedish court through the lens of women's agency, voices, and challenges.- Johanna Vernqvist, Linköping University, Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme 44.2 (Spring 2021) Product Description What was it possible for a woman to achieve at an early modern court? By analysing the experiences of a wide range of women at the court of Sweden, this book demonstrates the opportunities open to women who served at, and interacted with, the court; the complexities of women's agency in a court society; and, ultimately, the precariousness of power. In doing so, it provides an institutional context to women's lives at court, charting the full extent of the rewards that they might obtain, alongside the social and institutional constrictions that they faced. Its longue durée approach, moreover, clarifies how certain periods, such as that of the queens regnant, brought new possibilities. Based on an extensive array of Swedish and international primary sources, including correspondence, financial records and diplomatic reports, it also takes into account the materialities used to create hierarchies and ceremonies, such as physical structures and spaces within the court. Comprehensive in its scope, the book is divided into three parts, which focus respectively on outsiders at court, insiders, and members of the royal family. About the Author Fabian Persson is Lecturer in History at Linnaeus University in Sweden and since 2017 a Visiting Scholar at University of Oxford. His main expertise lies in the history of the early modern court but he has also written on patronage, corruption, élites, aristocratic marriage and duelling.