Gilbert Stuart - A View of Society in Europe, in its Progress from Rudeness to Refinement - 1792

Gilbert Stuart (1742-1786). A View of Society in Europe, in its Progress from Rudeness to Refinement, or Inquiries concerning the History of Law, Government, and Manners. Edinburgh, J. Robertson, 1792, viii-425 pp. (3) ff.

One volume in-8vo (220x140 mm), full calf, smooth spine, title piece in black morocco (period binding). Good condition of the binding, slight signs of wear on the spine. Interior fresh, without foxing.

Second edition of this major work by the Scottish historian Gilbert Stuart

Stuart studies the formation and transformation of European societies by relating law, government and manners. His inquiry mainly concerns ancient and medieval societies: institutions of the Germanic peoples, property and status of women, customs, military organization, feudalism and the evolution of forms of government.

From the perspective of the conjectural history of the Scottish Enlightenment, he thus seeks to understand the steps that lead from societies considered as “rude” to the more complex forms of European civilization.