Horse and Man in Early Modern England - by Peter Edwards (Hardcover)

About the Book

Shows how, in pre-industrial England, horses were bred and trained, what they ate, how much they were worth, how long they lived, and what their owners thought of them. While they were named individually, and sometimes became favourites, many were worked hard and poorly treated, leading to their early deaths.

Book Synopsis

Horses were used for many purposes in Shakespeare's England: for travel, either on horseback or in carriages, for haulage and for pleasure, and for work in the fields. The upper classes were closely involved with horses, for jousting, hunting and racing. Horses was also essential to any army, both as cavalry and to draw supplies and artillery. Horse ownership was, however, much more widespread than might be imagined.

Horse and Man in Early Modern England shows how, in pre-industrial England, horses were bred and trained, what they ate, how much they were worth, how long they lived, and what their owners thought of them.

While they were named individually, and sometimes became favourites, many were worked hard and poorly treated, leading to their early deaths. They were, nevertheless an essential part of the life of the time and are strikingly depicted in literature and art, as well in many other records.

Review Quotes

"Edwards (Univ. of Roehampton) has written a fascinating if somewhat diffuse study of virtually every aspect of the use of horses in England between the reign of Henry VII and the 18th century...the wealth of details about equine culture is in some sense its own reward. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." S. Morillo, CHOICE, April 2008, Vol. 45, No.--Sanford Lakoff

"Peter Edwards, in Horse and Man In Early Modern England, his most recent history of horses, looks forward as he looks back to the uses of these animals during the period...His book is useful, particularly the documentary information he provides...The best one can say about a work is it makes a reader think, and this one does: not only by providing usable facts and figures in tables and graphs, say of market versus fair purchases or the rates of insemination for breeders, but by stimulating us to think in new ways about the world we write and teach...Perhaps most significantly of all is the work's potential utility for the classroom. As if the clear writing weren't argument enough for introducing student to historical research and how to use it in their own research, the structure of the book makes it particularly suitable for the undergraduate classroom...Those who teach undergraduate humanities courses and would like to offer supplemental reading for literature or history in which horses figure prominently, whether in Swift or Shakespeare or in the ethos of early modern kings and commons, will also find this history bridled with gems." -Sandy Feinstein, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching, Fall 2008

"That strange ambivalence, at the heart of the early modern Englishman's relationship with the horse, is captured wonderfully in the story that Professor Peter Edwards tells here." "The breadth of this work is reflected in the far-reaching research that underpins it." "He has a marvellous eye for quotes and this is an accessible and entertaining read both for the early modernist and the horse enthusiast." History Today, 01/08/07--Sanford Lakoff

"From the fully documented but very readable text a clear picture of the economic, social and cultural worth of the horse emerges clearly...In all, an excellent, up-to-date work." Northern History, 2009

"the best available overview...Edwards' book chronicles an inter-species relationship whose importance can scarcely be overestimated, one that produced major changes in the history of transportation, trade, sport, warfare, agriculture, art, diplomacy, and much more besides." - Bruce Boehrer, Reviews in History, May 2008

About the Author

Peter Edwards is Professor of Early Modern British Social History at the University of Roehampton. He is one of the country's leading scholars working in the field of horses in history, having published a book on the horse trade in Tudor and Stuart England. He also writes on the logistics of seventeenth century warfare and on rural society in England under the Tudors and Stuarts.