Whether the stories come via a 17th-century ballad, a 19th-century newspaper or a 21st-century tablet, the public has been fascinated for centuries by tales of women who put on men's clothes, take a male name and run away to join the army – or to go to sea.
Mark Stoyle, Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Southampton, is the latest scholar to add to these entangled histories of war and gender. His forthcoming article, ‘“Give mee a Souldier's coat”: female cross-dressing during the English Civil War', is based on the study of hundreds of printed works and original manuscripts, and unsurprisingly drew The Guardian's attention.
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