The Tudor Sheriff: A Study in Early Modern Administration

Abstract

community, which helps us understand the conventions of past societies, and in its potential to explain “the negotiation of social hierarchies, the circulation and reception of ideas, and the formation of popular movements” (161). Carla Roth’s book is a fluent and pleasant read, which gives no cause for complaint. It is unclear why she favored the name Basle for the city, given that Basel is the preferred name for English works, and not only. I understand that this was the French form of the name, used until the eighteenth century, but the work appeared in 2022! Even some of the books cited in the work are listed in the notes or bibliography as having appeared in Basle, although their covers say Basel (Geschichtsschreibung der Schweiz, by Feller and Bonjour is just one example)! But this is absolutely a minor matter and probably has to do with some Oxford norms. The audience to which the book is addressed is an academic one, with historians, anthropologists, and sociologists being among those potentially interested in this subject. Even though it contains only 164 pages of text, the book captures the essence of R€ utiner’s era, the way people thought and communicated, how they transmitted information and how they related to the great transformations happening around them. I appreciate the publication of this book and the contribution it brings by capitalizing on a seemingly minor, but informative source.