Nobilities in Transition 1550-1700: Courtiers and Rebels in Britain and Europe

by Ronald G. Asch

Explores the transformation of the nobility in the late 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, examining political and social changes, the impact princely courts had on noblemen and women and their way of life and analyzes issues such as the 'refeudalization' of state and society in southern Europe or the increasing urbanization of noble elites in this time period. While paying due attention to the great heterogeneity of the nobility in Europe it nevertheless shows how the adherence to common values and ideals nevertheless gave noble elites coherence and a shared sense of identity. Ronald G. Asch is Professor of History, Universitat Freiburg, Germany Explores the transformation of the nobility in the late 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, examining political and social changes, the impact princely courts had on noblemen and women and their way of life and analyzes issues such as the 'refeudalization' of state and society in southern Europe or the increasing urbanization of noble elites in this time period. While paying due attention to the great heterogeneity of the nobility in Europe it nevertheless shows how the adherence to common values and ideals nevertheless gave noble elites coherence and a shared sense of identity. Explores the transformation of the nobility in the late 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, examining political and social changes, the impact princely courts had on noblemen and women and their way of life and analyzes issues such as the 'refeudalization' of state and society in southern Europe or the increasing urbanization of noble elites in this time period. "Highly recommended"— CHOICE

Paperback

First published September 25, 2003

About the author

Ronald G. Asch is a graduate of Tübingen University where he also completed his doctorate (1982) on the counts of Fürstenberg in the 16th and 17th centuries after having studied earlier in Kiel and in Cambridge (Clare Hall).