“Manners” Make the Man: Politeness, Chivalry, and the Construction of Masculinity, 1750–1830

Historians of masculinity agree that the early nineteenth century saw a change in the definition of the gentleman and that this change had consequences fir the definition of masculinity. There is, however, less agreement about why this shift occurred and what was meant by new gentleman and by masculinity. Cohen explains why the rise of chivalry in the mid-to late eighteenth century has attracted little attention from historians.