Sexuality and Gender in the English Renaissance: An Annotated Edition of Contemporary Documents

Presenting a diverse range of historical treatises and tracts that discuss gender and sexual relations in early modern England, this anthology combines complete texts and extracts. The focus is on prevailing conceptions of sexuality and gender in major areas and institutions of Tudor and Stuart society, revealed through a broad selection of religious sermons, moral handbooks, household manuals, midwifery and legal textbooks, ballads and chapbooks. Each text is edited with modern spelling and accompanied by annotations, and an introductory essay considers the significance of sexual gender relations for literary and historical research on 16th- and 17th-century England.