A Taste for Newfangledness: The Destructive Potential of Novelty in Early Modern England
During the sixteenth century religious turmoil, political uncertainty, and deep social tensions resulted in a plethora of public and private warnings of the imminent breakdown of English society. Many Englishmen, as foreign observers, seized on a medieval belief in the faithlessness of island people...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1995
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| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1995, Volume: 26, Issue: 4, Pages: 881-896 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | During the sixteenth century religious turmoil, political uncertainty, and deep social tensions resulted in a plethora of public and private warnings of the imminent breakdown of English society. Many Englishmen, as foreign observers, seized on a medieval belief in the faithlessness of island peoples to explain their countrymen and women's apparent disregard for traditional structures and beliefs. Some claimed the English were so unsteady, so addicted to newfangledness that they readily abandoned the old and trusted in favor of the new and novel. This article explores this belief in the English addiction to novelty, and demonstrates how it was used by people as diverse as popes and booksellers to explain changes in English society. Addiction to novelty went far beyond being a moral outrage; by the end of the century many commentators believed the English fascination with novelties would prove the catalyst for the complete destruction of English society. |
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| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2543792 |