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Imperial Villages
Cultures of Political Freedom in the German Lands c. 1300-1800
Series: - Studies in Central European Histories, Volume: 65
Author:
Hundreds of rural communities tasted political freedom in the Holy Roman Empire. For shorter or longer periods, villagers managed local affairs without subjection to territorial overlords. In this first book-length study, Beat Kümin focuses on the five case studies of Gochsheim and Sennfeld (in present-day Bavaria), Sulzbach and Soden (Hesse) and Gersau (Switzerland). Adopting a comparative perspective across the late medieval and early modern periods, the analysis of multiple sources reveals distinct extents of rural self-government, the forging of communalized confessions and an enduring attachment to the empire. Negotiating inner tensions as well as mounting centralization pressures,
Reichsdörfer provide privileged insights into rural micro-political cultures while their stories resonate with resurgent desires for greater local autonomy in Europe today.
Beat Kümin obtained his Ph.D. at Cambridge (1993) and a higher doctorate at Bern (2005). He is Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Warwick, U.K. His publications include
Drinking Matters (2007) and
The European World (3rd edn, 2018).
Contents
Preface
Notes on the Text
List of Figures and Acknowledgements
AbbreviationsV
1 Polities without a Prince: an Introduction
2 Origins, Evolutions and Settings
3 Domestic Affairs: Co-Operation and Conflict
4 External Relations: Protectors and Predators
5 Religious Life – Heaven and Earth
6 Representations and Perceptions
7 Conclusions
Appendix 1: Communities Possessing, Claiming or Attributed Imperial Village Status (Pre-1803)
Appendix 2: Senior Officials and Clergymen in Five Imperial Villages c. 1300–1800
Bibliography
Index
Preface
Notes on the Text
List of Figures and Acknowledgements
AbbreviationsV
Part 1: Approaches
1 Polities without a Prince: an Introduction
2 Origins, Evolutions and Settings
Part 2: Regimes
3 Domestic Affairs: Co-Operation and Conflict
4 External Relations: Protectors and Predators
5 Religious Life – Heaven and Earth
Part 3: Perspectives
6 Representations and Perceptions
7 Conclusions
Appendix 1: Communities Possessing, Claiming or Attributed Imperial Village Status (Pre-1803)
Appendix 2: Senior Officials and Clergymen in Five Imperial Villages c. 1300–1800
Bibliography
Index
Students, researchers and a wider public interested in the history of the Holy Roman Empire, late medieval / early modern rural communities, centre-periphery relations, local autonomy and popular politics.