Carnal Commerce in Counter-Reformation Rome

A study of the daily lives and material culture of prostitutes and their clients in Rome, 1566–1656.

Tessa Storey (Author)

9781107406575, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 August 2012

316 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.42 kg

Review of the hardback: 'Demonstrating how a young woman could earn money for a dowry through prostitution and later be (sequentially) a wife and a nun, Storey depicts the fluidity of female categories. She offers fascinating insight into the ways in which prostitutes, often with the support of their clients, thwarted outside attempts to control their lives … The narratives in her chapter on 'Becoming a prostitute' will capture any reader … the assertion, following Hufton, that understanding prostitution in early modern Rome depends on seeing both continuity and change over time is important, and lies at the heart of this good book.' The Journal of Interdisciplinary History

Focusing on the period 1566–1656, this original and lively study sheds light on the daily lives and material culture of ordinary prostitutes and their clients in Rome after the Counter-Reformation. Tessa Storey uses a range of archival sources, including criminal records, letters, courtroom testimonies, images and popular and elite literature, to reveal issues of especial concern to contemporaries. In particular, she explores how and why women became prostitutes, the relationships between prostitutes and clients, and the wealth which potentially could be accumulated. Notarial documents provide a unique perspective on the economics and material culture of prostitution, showing what could be earned and how prostitutes dressed and furnished their homes. The book challenges traditional assumptions about the success of post-Tridentine reforms on Roman prostitution, revealing that despite energetic attempts at social disciplining by the Counter-Reformation Popes, prostitution continued to flourish, and to provide a lucrative living for many women.

List of figures
List of maps
List of tables
Acknowledgements
Notes on the text
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Themes and issues in literature and image
2. The social and cultural context
3. Debating prostitution
4. Policing prostitution
5. A profile of Roman prostitutes
6. Becoming a prostitute
7. The business of prostitution
8. At home
9. 'Because we are all of the flesh': prostitutes and their clients
Conclusion. Continuity and change: prostitution after the Reformations
Appendix 1. Origins of prostitutes living in Rome
Appendix 2. Notes on the registers consulted from the Archivo del Vicariato di Roma
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Cultural studies [JFC], Religion: general [HRA], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]