Body Size in Early Modern Germany

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Holly Fletcher (Research Associate, Department of History, Research Associate, Department of History, University of Manchester)

Body Size in Early Modern Germany

Name: Body Size in Early Modern Germany
Price: 208.95 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9780198972969

Holly Fletcher (Research Associate, Department of History, Research Associate, Department of History, University of Manchester)

$208.95

Hardback

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English

Oxford University Press
18 June 2026

Social & cultural history; Material culture; Fashion & society; Gender studies, gender groups; History of medicine

Series: Studies in German History

Body Size in Early Modern Germany uncovers the significance of fatness and thinness in early modern German society and culture. It explores how early modern people conceived of fat and thin bodies, in terms of both the cultural meanings attached to body size and personal perceptions of the body. Holly Fletcher argues that body size became an increasingly prominent concern throughout the German-speaking regions from the late-fifteenth to the early-seventeenth century. During this period, perceptions and practices relating to body size shifted dramatically, as the size and shape of people's bodies attracted unprecedented attention. Body size became embedded in everyday habits and experiences like never before. This transformation took place against the backdrop of profound social, religious and cultural developments which characterised the sixteenth century. Drawing on a wide array of sources, the book charts changing attitudes towards body size in relation to these developments, including the proliferation of printed medical advice, artistic theories of proportion, Reformation debates, and new body-moulding fashions. It also connects shifting ideals for women's and men's bodies to the embodied experiences of early modern protagonists. By revealing the enormous importance that early modern Germans attached to body size, this study overturns the false assumption that concern with body size is a modern phenomenon and sheds new light on sixteenth-century German culture.

By: Holly Fletcher (Research Associate Department of History Research Associate Department of History University of Manchester)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 163mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 607g
ISBN: 9780198972969
ISBN 10: 0198972962
Series: Studies in German History
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 18 June 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1: Introduction: Fatness, Thinness & Germanness 2: Food, Health, and the Extended Body 3: Visualizing Body Size 4: Body Size and Reformation 5: Dress and Undress 6: Personal Body Size Conclusion: A Culture of Body Size

Holly Fletcher completed her BA, MA, and PhD at the University of Cambridge. She then taught early modern history at the University of Sussex, before joining the University of Manchester as a Research Associate on the Wellcome Trust funded project 'Sleeping Well in the Early Modern World'. From October 2025 she took up a Wellcome Trust Early Career Award at University College London for her project 'The Fats of Life in the Early Modern World: Matter in Multispecies Medicine'.

Reviews for Body Size in Early Modern Germany

A brilliant and engaging read. Rich in source findings, thick in source analysis, written in a lucid, captivating style, and richly illustrated, the author truly excels in situating body size in the wider cultural landscape of early modern Germany. * Professor Stefan Hanß, University of Manchester *