What have medieval nuns, parrot shooting, Freemasonry, and Shetland revelry got in common? This study of monastic orders, guilds, Freemasonry and friendly societies over centuries and across frontiers provides new insights into their contribution to the gendering of public space and the evolution of 'separate spheres' in Europe.

ROBERT BEACHY Associate Professor of European History, Goucher College, USA ROBERT COLLIS Honorary Research Fellow, University of Sheffield, UK MÁIRE CROSS Professor of French, School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University UK PAMELA KING Professor of Medieval Studies, University of Bristol, UK ANDREAS ÖNNERFORS Director of the Centre for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism, University of Sheffield, UK RÓBERT PÉTER Senior Assistant Professor in the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Szeged, Hungary ANDREW PRESCOTT Director of Research, the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII), University of Glasgow, UK JAMES SMITH ALLEN Professor of History, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA MEG TWYCROSS Emeritus Professor of English Medieval Studies, Lancaster University, UK DAN WEINBREN Chair of the Friendly Societies Research Group, The Open University, UK ANNE WINSTONALLEN Professor of German Studies, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA