State and Nobility in Early Modern Germany: The Knightly Feud in Franconia, 1440-1567

by Hillay Zmora

Overview

This book offers a new paradigm of the history of the German nobility in the early modern period. It shows that, contrary to the prevailing view, the nobility was not in a period of crisis that facilitated the rise of the state. Rather, the nobility underwent a process of social stratification in the wake of the growth of the state. This process led to the formation of an elite of wealthy noble families on whose cooperation the state depended. This alliance, and not a presumed partnership between rulers and bourgeoisie, was the driving force in early modern Germany.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521561792
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/08/1998
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. The problem of the feud; 2. The politics of violence; 3. The Franconian nobility; 4. Prosopography of the feuding noblemen; 5. State, nobility and lordship; 6. The decline of the feud; Appendices.

Editorial Reviews

"...Zmora does a sound job of proving the linkage between territorial state-building and noble feuding." Choice

"It is an exceptionally intersting story, told if not always with crystalline clarity, told nonetheless with verve and authority." Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies

From the Publisher