Bath (and the reinvention of spa sociability) [ Cities / Politics & Society ]
… were truly remarkable. A place of unruly, licentious behaviour in the seventeenth century, it became a centre of mixed sex sociability, ranking just behind London, as a beacon of new social interaction. A city which started as a market town … ‘entertaining amusement,’ provided it was ‘innocent,’ 16 while Dr Oliver in his Dissertation on Bath Waters saw ‘same-sex socializing […] as part of a health regime.’ 17 The reinterpretation of the ideal of civitas As sociability was … eliminate conflict from the spa through the implementation of a ritual and encouraged the harmonious cohabitation of the sexes and of the middling orders with high society, often termed the ‘Quality.’ The refinement of manners undertaken …
Codes | Fashion | Health | Leisure | Politeness | Ritual | Spa
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