Project description
Women and warfare in early modern Italy
Women’s participation in warfare was widespread in early modern Europe, yet research has primarily focused on central and northern regions, leaving southern Europe comparatively understudied. The 16th century Italian Peninsula presents a case for investigation. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the VICONS-EMMA project examines the roles of non-elite women in 16th-centuryItaly who lived with and near armies. It will explore practices of sexuality and violence, with particular attention paid to the influence of Spanish soldiers. Given that many Italian states hosted permanent Spanish garrisons, understanding the impact of military occupations is crucial. The project analyses legal texts, visual sources, and archival records to amplify these women’s voices, offering insights into their lived experiences.
Objective
Women's presence in warfare and armies was commonplace in early modern Europe. Whether within armies, in transit areas, military lodgings, permanent military residences, or in besieged cities, it is possible to find their traces. Yet while there are numerous studies of these women’s lives and experiences in central and northern Europe, research for southern European regions remains scarce. This project therefore aims to study the roles and experiences of non-elite women who lived in or came into close contact with armies in sixteenth-century Italy by examining practices, discourses and representations of sexuality and violence. Due to the protracted wars and occupations that unfolded in the Italian Peninsula during the 16th century, the region provides an ideal setting for this research. In particular, VICONS-EMMA will focus on the presence of Spanish soldiers as they provide a crucial perspective for understanding the social impact of both short and long-term military occupations, particularly considering that many Italian states eventually hosted permanent Spanish garrisons. The project employs a mixed methodology, integrating qualitative analysis of legal and theoretical military texts, visual sources and, most importantly, archival records to uncover the voices of these women. This approach will deepen the understanding of sexuality and violence in the complex era of the Reformation/Counter Reformation and open up new debates between Gender and Military History. The project features a major outreach strategy that seeks not only to raise awareness of the importance of women's role in early modern warfare, but also to encourage debate about sexual violence in contemporary military contexts. It will enable the Experienced Researcher (ER) to expand her methodological tools and skills for consolidating a permanent academic position and significantly improve the ER's employability in non-academic job markets such as Public History and historical consultancy.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
M15 6BX MANCHESTER
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.