A History of the Devil: From the Middle Ages to the Present

This highly original and engaging book by French historian Robert Muchembled, is a journey through time and space in search of the changing perception and significance of the devil in Western culture. 
<ul> <li>An outstanding book about the changing perception and significance of the devil in Western culture. 
</li> <li>Robert Muchembled is a well-known historian and an expert on witchcraft, whose work has already been translated into many languages. 
</li> <li>The author highlights the way that the changing notion of evil is connected to other changes in society at large. 
</li> <li>Draws on a wealth of examples, from the witch-hunts of the 15th and 16th centuries, to the films of Stanley Kubrick.</li> </ul>

History

Muchembled, Robert

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Polity

This highly original and engaging book by French historian Robert Muchembled, is a journey through time and space in search of the changing perception and significance of the devil in Western culture.

Orgasm and the West: A History of Pleasure from the 16th Century to the Present

Can the orgasm be explained in historical terms? An almostincommunicable individual emotion yet also a cultural reality, theorgasm is part of, but also escapes, collective experience. Thehistory of the orgasm is that of the hidden body, of forbiddendesires, of flesh constrained by taboos and morality. Buried deepin archives and libraries, the documents that shed light on thisphysical, sometimes libertine, life are nevertheless surprisinglyplentiful and have a surprisingly evocative charge. RobertMuchembled's book unearths fascinating sources which suggest thatwe need to look with a fresh eye at the past and realize that thesublimation of the erotic impulse was far more than simplereligious asceticism: it was the hidden driving force of the Westuntil the 1960s.In the sphere of sexual pleasure, England and France havefollowed parallel paths. The United States remains deeplyinfluenced by this common repressive model, which hedonist Europehas recently abandoned in favour of a malleable sexuality of whichwoman are the chief beneficiaries. Liberated by the pill from thedangers and anxieties associated with the obligations ofreproduction, they can now claim equality with men anduninhibitedly claim pleasure and the orgasm for themselves.

Can the orgasm be explained in historical terms? An almost incommunicable individual emotion yet also a cultural reality, the orgasm is part of, but also escapes, collective experience. The history of the orgasm is that of the hidden body, of forbidden desires, of flesh constrained by taboos and morality. Buried deep in archives and libraries, the documents that shed light on this physical, sometimes libertine, life are nevertheless surprisingly plentiful and have a surprisingly evocative charge. Robert Muchembled's book unearths fascinating sources which suggest that we need to look with a fresh eye at the past and realize that the sublimation of the erotic impulse was far more than simple religious asceticism: it was the hidden driving force of the West until the 1960s. In the sphere of sexual pleasure, England and France have followed parallel paths. The United States remains deeply influenced by this common repressive model, which hedonist Europe has recently abandoned in favour of a malleable sexuality of which woman are the chief beneficiaries. Liberated by the pill from the dangers and anxieties associated with the obligations of reproduction, they can now claim equality with men and uninhibitedly claim pleasure and the orgasm for themselves.

A History of Violence: From the End of the Middle Ages to the Present

Violence is so much in the news today that we may find it hard to believe that it is less prevalent than it was in the past. But this is exactly what the distinguished historian Robert Muchembled argues in this major new work on the history of violence. He shows that brutality and homicide have been in decline since the thirteenth century. The thesis of a ‘civilizing process', of a gradual taming, even sublimation, of violence, seems, therefore, to be well-founded. 
How are we to explain this decline in public displays of aggression? What mechanisms have modernizing societies employed to repress and control violence? The increasingly strict social control of unmarried, male adolescents, together with the coercive education imposed on this age group, are central to Muchembled's explanation. Masculine violence gradually disappeared from public space, to become concentrated in the home. Meanwhile, a vast popular literature, precursor of the modern mass media, came to play a cathartic role: the duels of The Three Musketeers and the amazing exploits of Fantômas, as described in the new crime literature invented in the nineteenth century, now helped to purge the violent impulses. And yet we seem, in the first few years of the twenty-first century, to be witnessing a resurgence of violence, especially among the youths of the inner cities. How should we understand this resurgence in relation to the long history of violence in the West?

Hardcover, English language translation, published (and translated) by Louisiana State University Press. Author: Robert Muchembled; Translator: Lydia Cochrane. First American Edition (1985). Original title was Culture populaire et culture des elites dans la France moderne (XV - XVIII siecles) (1978). Includes Abbreviations, Preface, Note on Sources and Bibliography and full index, in addition to the text itself.

Popular Culture and Elite Culture in France, 1400-1750 (English and French Edition)

Louisiana State Univ Pr

Smells: A Cultural History of Odours in Early Modern Times

Review\n“Mr. Muchembled’s fine-grained and evocative research shows how eloquent smell can be in helping us understand the past.” 
The Wall Street Journal 
“Muchembled reminds us that the variables of time and place may defy a truly shared language. What we smell depends on what’s in vogue and what’s valued—on what cultural forces happen to be swirling in the air.” 
The New Yorker\n“In this fascinating study, with unexpected twists and turns, Robert Muchembled explores the opaque topic of smell as if he were discovering a new continent that is as rich as it is mysterious.” 
Historia 
“A rigorous, rich and lively book.” 
Les Cahiers de Science & Vie\n"Smells is part scholarly treatise, part fascinating popular history, dashed through with a soupçon of wit." 
Foreword Reviews 
"This lively book combines scholarship with readability and ranges from plague to perfume, from the stink of cities to jokes about smelly people. Its interesting examples should appeal to an equally wide range of readers." 
Peter Burke, University of Cambridge\n"Robert Muchembled’s new history is full of disgusting, delicious details… If you’ve ever wondered how living without modern technologies of sanitation might have shaped the surrounding culture, this book is for you." 
Slate\n"Lively" 
London Review of Books 
"delightful carnival of olfaction" 
The Spectator\n"Smells’s mélange of the scholarly with the scatalogical makes for a dazzling, lusty romp through European history." 
Foreword Reviews 
"An illuminating piece of social history." 
Fortean Times 
'Book of the Week' in The Daily Mail 
"Captivating… Elegantly wicked and meticulous in its execution" 
The Australian\n"engrossing" 
Frieze\nWhy is our sense of smell so under-appreciated? We tend to think of smell as a vestigial remnant of our pre-human past, doomed to gradual extinction, and we go to great lengths to eliminate smells from our environment, suppressing body odour, bad breath and other smells. Living in a relatively odour-free environment has numbed us to the importance that smells have always had in human history and culture.\nIn this major new book Robert Muchembled restores smell to its rightful place as one of our most important senses and examines the transformation of smells in the West from the Renaissance to the beginning of the 19th century. He shows that in earlier centuries, the air in towns and cities was often saturated with nauseating emissions and dangerous pollution. Having little choice but to see and smell faeces and urine on a daily basis, people showed little revulsion; until the 1620s, literature and poetry delighted in excreta which now disgust us. The smell of excrement and body odours were formative aspects of eroticism and sexuality, for the social elite and the popular classes alike. At the same time, medicine explained outbreaks of plague by Satan's poisonous breath corrupting the air. Amber, musk and civet came to be seen as vital bulwarks against the devil's breath: scents were worn like armour against the plague. The disappearance of the plague after 1720 and the sharp decline in fear of the devil meant there was no longer any point in using perfumes to fight the forces of evil, paving the way for the olfactory revolution of the 18th century when softer, sweeter perfumes, often with floral and fruity scents, came into fashion, reflecting new norms of femininity and a gentler vision of nature.\nThis rich cultural history of an under-appreciated sense will be appeal to a wide readership.

World

Why is our sense of smell so under-appreciated?&nbsp; We tend to think of smell as a vestigial remnant of our pre-human past, doomed to gradual extinction, and we go to great lengths to eliminate smells from our environment, suppressing body odour, bad breath and other smells.&nbsp; Living in a relatively odour-free environment has numbed us to the importance that smells have always had in human history and culture. In this major new book Robert Muchembled restores smell to its rightful place as one of our most important senses and examines the transformation of smells in the West from the Renaissance to the beginning of the 19th century.&nbsp; He shows that in earlier centuries, the air in towns and cities was often saturated with nauseating emissions and dangerous pollution.&nbsp; Having little choice but to see and smell faeces and urine on a daily basis, people showed little revulsion; until the 1620s, literature and poetry delighted in excreta which now disgust us. The smell of excrement and body odours were formative aspects of eroticism and sexuality, for the social elite and the popular classes alike.&nbsp; At the same time, medicine explained outbreaks of plague by Satan's poisonous breath corrupting the air.&nbsp; Amber, musk and civet came to be seen as vital bulwarks against the devil's breath: scents were worn like armour against the plague.&nbsp; The disappearance of the plague after 1720 and the sharp decline in fear of the devil meant there was no longer any point in using perfumes to fight the forces of evil, paving the way for the olfactory revolution of the 18th century when softer, sweeter perfumes, often with floral and fruity scents, came into fashion, reflecting new norms of femininity and a gentler vision of nature.&nbsp;&nbsp; This rich cultural history of an under-appreciated sense will be appeal to a wide readership.

403pages. 14cmx20,5cmx2,6cm. Broché. Ce livre explore un pan de l'imaginaire occidental. Le diable traditionnel n'en est pas le centre unique, car les métamorphoses de la figure du Mal indiquent aussi la façon dont les hommes conçoivent leur destin personnel et l'avenir de leur civilisation. Etroitement imbriquées, l'histoire du corps, celle de la culture, celle du lien social, fournissent les lignes de force d'une enquête qui embrasse le deuxième millénaire de l'ère chrétienne. Tout ccmmence avec l'affirmation de Satan sur la scène européenne, à partir du XIIe siècle, sous la double forme du terrible souverain luciférien régnant sur une immense armée démoniaque, et de la bête immonde lovée dans les entrailles du pécheur. Trois chapitres interrogent ensuite l'énigme de la chasse aux sorcières des XVIe et XVIIe siècles. L'époque des Lumières voit le crépuscule du diable, tant à cause de l'accentuation d'un processus d'intériorisation du Mal que de l'invention du fantastique en littérature. Une vigoureuse accélération de ces mouvements marque les XIXe et XXe siècles. L'avant-dernier chapitre traque les métamorphoses subtiles du démon intérieur, ccmpagnon d'un sujet occidental de plus en plus libéré de la peur de Satan mais convié à se méfier de lui-même et de ses pulsions. Le dernier revisite l'imaginaire diabolique actuel à travers l'exorcisme, la vogue du surnaturel, le cinéma, la BD, la publicité, les rumeurs urbaines, en distinguant un courant ironique à la française d'une vision tragique et maléfique dominante aux Etats-Unis.

Une histoire du diable (XIIe-XXe siècle)

Reference

Foreign Language Study & Reference

SEUIL

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Books by Muchembled, Robert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Muchembled, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A History of the Devil: From the Middle Ages to the Present

A History of the Devil: From the Middle Ages to the Present

Orgasm and the West: A History of Pleasure from the 16th Century to the Present

Orgasm and the West: A History of Pleasure from the 16th Century to the Present

A History of Violence: From the End of the Middle Ages to the Present

A History of Violence: From the End of the Middle Ages to the Present

Popular Culture and Elite Culture in France, 1400-1750 (English and French Edition)

Smells: A Cultural History of Odours in Early Modern Times

Smells: A Cultural History of Odours in Early Modern Times

Une histoire du diable (XIIe-XXe siècle)