Introduction

Abstract

The context in which Thomas Carlyle used the phrase in the 1830s shows all too clearly that his readiness to applaud manly displays in others grew out of a deep insecurity about his own masculinity, which he later sought to purge through historical writings on such ‘heroic’ men as Oliver Cromwell and Frederick the Great. This chapter reviews the ways in which historians have discussed manliness, and the calls from gender studies for a more informed historical perspective on masculinity. It looks at how historians and sociologists have theorized masculinity and its relationship to male dominance. Several strands of sexual politics are involved in this chapter. For historians focusing on masculinity, the notion of patriarchy is important because of the primacy it gives to women’s oppression, and because it provides a way of integrating the individual and structural dimensions of male dominance. The chapter offers conclusions about the historical themes which seem critical to the study of British masculinities.