Prior to the modern age laughter raised passions and activated the body to sweat and shake. Derision was not distinguished from joy. Deceiving the senses by tri

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Home Improvements -- 1. How to Read -- 2. Reading and Sociability -- 3

Laughing Histories breaks new ground by exploring moments of laughter in early modern Europe, showing how laughter was inflected by gender and social power. "I

Performative literary culture emerged as a set of practices that shaped production and distribution of learning in late medieval and early modern Western Europe

Portrays a range of medieval heroines to ascertain how humor might have been used and enjoyed by medieval women