Women, Armies, and Warfare in Early Modern Europe - Softcover

'An important study not only for gender specialists but also for military historians. Lynn is most interesting on the role of women in the pillage economy while his work offers a new perspective on the vexed question of the Military Revolution and its dating.' Jeremy Black, University of Essex

'This is a masterful work by a master historian. In an engaging work that combines military and social history, Lynn brings to life the indispensable role of women in early modern European armies and tracks down the reasons for a major shift in their place after 1650. We can never again imagine war as only men's work.' Lynn Hunt, Eugen Weber Professor of Modern European History, University of California, Los Angeles

'Women, Armies, and Warfare in Early Modern Europe fills a hole in a neglected area of study; it offers a range of fresh insights; and it has broad appeal. It will become the book on the subject. And it will undoubtedly set the agenda for future research. For this reason, it is unlikely to remain the definitive work on the subject, since future research may well challenge some of Lynn's conclusions, but it will undoubtedly be the major reference point for other scholars.' Frank Tallett, University of Reading

'For those who wish to take the subject further, Lynn has provided an up-to-date synthesis ...' BBC History Magazine

'Lynn set out to tell the history of women as much as the history of armies; he has succeeded admirably. The size of the female contingent, its nature and its behaviour will come as a revelation to both military historians and to women's history devotees.' Open History

' ... examines the role of women who campaigned with armies from 1500–1815 and argues that their contribution was integral to the pillage economy that kept troops in the field.' Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature

Women, Armies, and Warfare in Early Modern Europe examines the important roles of women who campaigned with armies from 1500 to 1815. This included those notable female individuals who assumed male identities to serve in the ranks, but far more numerous and essential were the formidable women who, as women, marched in the train of armies. While some worked as full-time or part-time prostitutes, they more generally performed a variety of necessary gendered tasks, including laundering, sewing, cooking, and nursing. Early modern armies were always accompanied by women and regarded them as essential to the well-being of the troops. Lynn argues that, before 1650, women were also fundamental to armies because they were integral to the pillage economy that maintained troops in the field.