Sex and Drugs before Rock 'n' Roll: Youth Culture and Masculinity during Holland's Golden Age

Benjamin B. Roberts

book: Sex and Drugs before Rock 'n' Roll

Open Access Published by Amsterdam University Press 2012

Sex and Drugs before Rock 'n' Roll

Youth Culture and Masculinity during Holland's Golden Age

Benjamin B. Roberts

In the series Amsterdam Studies in the Dutch Golden Age

https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048515707

Overview
Contents

About this book

Sex and Drugs Before the Rock ’n’ Roll is a fascinating volume that presents an engaging overview of what it was like to be young and male in the Dutch Golden Age. Here, well-known cohorts of Rembrandt are examined for the ways in which they expressed themselves by defying conservative values and norms. This study reveals how these young men rebelled, breaking from previous generations: letting their hair grow long, wearing colorful clothing, drinking excessively, challenging city guards, being promiscuous, smoking, and singing lewd songs.

Cogently argued, this study paints a compelling portrait of the youth culture of the Dutch Golden Age, at a time when the rising popularity of print made dissemination of new cultural ideas possible, while rising incomes and liberal attitudes created a generation of men behaving badly.

Author / Editor information

Benjamin Roberts is an independent American historian and journalist based in Amsterdam.

Reviews

“Independent historian Roberts explores the lives and times of a heretofore-unexamined group—young men between the ages of 18 and 35, on the cusp of adulthood, living in what he claims to be a unique time and place in the history of Europe. Roberts focuses his study on the Dutch Republic during its ‘economic boom,’ a relatively brief time period, 1620 to 1630, and examines various sources, including letters, court records, and university rosters, to support his contentions. Sex, violence, school, alcohol use, and courtship allow Roberts to cast his net wide to try and include, wherever possible, the full scope of the lives of young men. . . . An important addition to the study of gender and masculinity in early modern Europe. . . . Recommended.”

— J. M. Morris, College of Mount St. Joseph, Choice

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Preface and acknowledgements Open Access Download PDF	7
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	9
Prologue Open Access Download PDF	15
Chapter 1. The Generation of the 1620s and 1630s Open Access Download PDF	33
Chapter 2. Appearance and Clothing in the 1620s and 1630s Open Access Download PDF	45
Chapter 3. Drinking Like a Man Open Access Download PDF	75
Chapter 4. Violence Open Access Download PDF	101
Chapter 5. Sexuality and Courting Open Access Download PDF	141
Chapter 6. Drugs? Open Access Download PDF	171
Chapter 7. Recreation before Rock ’n’ Roll Open Access Download PDF	187
Epilogue Open Access Download PDF	215
Notes Open Access Download PDF	225
Illustration Credits Open Access Download PDF	269
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	273
Index Open Access Download PDF	309

Language: English
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 318
Illustrations
- Other: 20 color plates, 10 halftones

eBook

Published: August 28, 2012
ISBN: 9789048515707