ABSTRACT

Just what is the early modern street? Simultaneously a place of residence and a site of passage, a place of fixity and a space of motion, the street in early modern culture is characterised by multi-valence. Located materially and conceptually at the interstices, the street accommodates a range of contrasting identifications from its inhabitant-users. The inhabitants of an early modern street comprise more than those who have their place of residence in that location. They encompass all those who participate in the diverse practices, or habits, that occupy this overdetermined site.