ABSTRACT
ThroughouttheearlyperiodofmodemEuropewomenissuingfromthelowersocial classeswerepartofarmies;amasculineinstitutionbyessence,thearmyalways deemedthemobstaclesbuttheyremainednecessary.'Farfromtheclichedlivesofthe Amazons,theirsinspirednumerousstoriesofcross-dressedwomenwarriors,as numerousinreallifeasinAnglo-AmericanandEuropeanpopularliterature.2Thus theymirroranotherimageofwomen,particularlyintheseventeenthcentury.
