The European Nobility, 1400}}}1800 [Paperback]

An authoritative and accessible survey of the European nobility over four centuries.Challenging the conventional point of view, this text maintains that the nobles of Europe adapted effectively to the profound changes that marked their society and culture between the Renaissance and the French Revolution, despite their varying numbers and privileges.Challenging the conventional point of view, this text maintains that the nobles of Europe adapted effectively to the profound changes that marked their society and culture between the Renaissance and the French Revolution, despite their varying numbers and privileges.This book is the first comprehensive history of the European nobility between the Renaissance and the French Revolution. Designed to introduce students and nonspecialists to the subject, it explains all the principal themes in an authoritative and accessible manner. Challenging the conventional point of view, Professor Dewald maintains that the nobles of Europe adapted effectively to the profound changes that marked society and culture at this time. He also argues that the nobility throughout Europe faced the same challenges and reacted to them in similar ways, despite their varying numbers and privileges.Preface; Introduction: the European nobilities as an historical problem; 1. Nature and numbers; 2. Wealth, privilege and the encounter with change; 3. Nobles and politics; 4. Lives and cultures; Conclusion: toward a new society: the French Revolution and beyond; Suggestions for further reading. The European Nobility 1400-1800 fulfills the pedagogical imperative of this uniformly good Cambridge Series... S. Amanda Eurich, The Sixteenth Century Journal