Ordinary Prussians Brandenburg Junkers and Villagers, 1500}}}1840 [Hardcover]

A major contribution to debates in German history over the origins of modern political authoritarianism.This book gives voice, in unprecedented depth and immediacy, to ordinary villagers and landlords (Junkers) in the Prussian-German countryside, from the late middle ages to the nineteenth century. It is a work distinguished by its concentration on first-person testimony, and by its focus on the private and family lives--and material fortunes--of ordinary people during the era of the rise of capitalism and the modern state. The book is therefore a major contribution to fundamental debates in German history over the origins of modern political authoritarianism.This book gives voice, in unprecedented depth and immediacy, to ordinary villagers and landlords (Junkers) in the Prussian-German countryside, from the late middle ages to the nineteenth century. It is a work distinguished by its concentration on first-person testimony, and by its focus on the private and family lives--and material fortunes--of ordinary people during the era of the rise of capitalism and the modern state. The book is therefore a major contribution to fundamental debates in German history over the origins of modern political authoritarianism.This book is about ordinary villagers and landlords (Junkers) in the Prussian-German countryside, from the late middle ages to the nineteenth century. It is distinguished by its concentration on first-person testimony, and focus on the lives and fortunes of ordinary people during the era of the rise of capitalism and the modern state. The book is a major contribution to fundamental debates in German history on the origins of modern political authoritarianism.List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Currencies, weights and measures employed in the text; Introduction: grand narratives, ordinary Prussians; 1. After the deluge: a noble lordship's sixteenth-century ascent and seventeenth-century crisis; 2. The Prussianization of the countryside? Noble lordship unlC)