The landscape of Sir Thomas Parkyns of Bunny 1662-1747: emotions, identity, status

In the forty years since Laurence Stone opened historical enquiry into the early modern family, research examining the formation and operation of the household family has expanded considerably. Most recently, cross disciplinary insights have enabled historians to investigate the emotional connections forged in the experience of family life, the contentious central issue of Stone's original thesis, and by this means bring historical actors from all social ranks more fully to life. This study is based on a central character, Sir Thomas Parkyns, a local patriarch around whom extended family, tenants and servants orbited in the course of their lives. Evidence of expressed and experienced emotional transactions is extracted from a rich and diverse body of source material, primarily personal correspondence, published writings and family papers. The imprint of his personality on the physical landscape of his home, estate and community is also considered. Sensitive and detailed analysis of the evidence makes it clear that, for Sir Thomas, emotion, whether affirming or damaging, was both a physiological and psychological experience. Both consciously and unconsciously, the practice of emotion, it will be shown, was reflected in language, and more typically for the period, conveyed in deeds. In turn, Sir Thomas read the emotions of others through their speech and actions. This research asserts that he moderated his emotions in acts of self-discipline to fit within internalised conceptions of social and gender norms. Sir Thomas's experience of family and friendship indicates that, while both institutions imposed separate emotional constraints, they were also an emotional refuge