Defining Community in Early Modern Europe

Defining Community in Early Modern Europe

Author: Michael J. Halvorson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-05

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 135194567X

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Numerous historical studies use the term "community'" to express or comment on social relationships within geographic, religious, political, social, or literary settings, yet this volume is the first systematic attempt to collect together important examples of this varied work in order to draw comparisons and conclusions about the definition of community across early modern Europe. Offering a variety of historical and theoretical approaches, the sixteen original essays in this collection survey major regions of Western Europe, including France, Geneva, the German Lands, Italy and the Spanish Empire, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland. Complementing the regional diversity is a broad spectrum of religious confessions: Roman Catholic communities in France, Italy, and Germany; Reformed churches in France, Geneva, and Scotland; Lutheran communities in Germany; Mennonites in Germany and the Netherlands; English Anglicans; Jews in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands; and Muslim converts returning to Christian England. This volume illuminates the variety of ways in which communities were defined and operated across early modern Europe: as imposed by community leaders or negotiated across society; as defined by belief, behavior, and memory; as marked by rigid boundaries and conflict or by flexibility and change; as shaped by art, ritual, charity, or devotional practices; and as characterized by the contending or overlapping boundaries of family, religion, and politics. Taken together, these chapters demonstrate the complex and changeable nature of community in an era more often characterized as a time of stark certainties and inflexibility. As a result, the volume contributes a vital resource to the ongoing efforts of scholars to understand the creation and perpetuation of communities and the significance of community definition for early modern Europeans.


Book Synopsis Defining Community in Early Modern Europe by : Michael J. Halvorson

Download or read book Defining Community in Early Modern Europe written by Michael J. Halvorson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-05 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Numerous historical studies use the term "community'" to express or comment on social relationships within geographic, religious, political, social, or literary settings, yet this volume is the first systematic attempt to collect together important examples of this varied work in order to draw comparisons and conclusions about the definition of community across early modern Europe. Offering a variety of historical and theoretical approaches, the sixteen original essays in this collection survey major regions of Western Europe, including France, Geneva, the German Lands, Italy and the Spanish Empire, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland. Complementing the regional diversity is a broad spectrum of religious confessions: Roman Catholic communities in France, Italy, and Germany; Reformed churches in France, Geneva, and Scotland; Lutheran communities in Germany; Mennonites in Germany and the Netherlands; English Anglicans; Jews in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands; and Muslim converts returning to Christian England. This volume illuminates the variety of ways in which communities were defined and operated across early modern Europe: as imposed by community leaders or negotiated across society; as defined by belief, behavior, and memory; as marked by rigid boundaries and conflict or by flexibility and change; as shaped by art, ritual, charity, or devotional practices; and as characterized by the contending or overlapping boundaries of family, religion, and politics. Taken together, these chapters demonstrate the complex and changeable nature of community in an era more often characterized as a time of stark certainties and inflexibility. As a result, the volume contributes a vital resource to the ongoing efforts of scholars to understand the creation and perpetuation of communities and the significance of community definition for early modern Europeans.


Communities, Politics, and Reformation in Early Modern Europe

Communities, Politics, and Reformation in Early Modern Europe

Author: Thomas A. Brady

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13: 9789004110014

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This volume brings together studies of communities, politics, religion, gender, and social conflict in the Holy Roman Empire, with special reference to the city of Strasbourg, during the late Middle Ages and the Reformation era. Also included are interpretations of early modern German history and the historical sociology of early modern Europe.


Book Synopsis Communities, Politics, and Reformation in Early Modern Europe by : Thomas A. Brady

Download or read book Communities, Politics, and Reformation in Early Modern Europe written by Thomas A. Brady and published by BRILL. This book was released on 1998 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together studies of communities, politics, religion, gender, and social conflict in the Holy Roman Empire, with special reference to the city of Strasbourg, during the late Middle Ages and the Reformation era. Also included are interpretations of early modern German history and the historical sociology of early modern Europe.


Episcopal Reform and Politics in Early Modern Europe

Episcopal Reform and Politics in Early Modern Europe

Author: Jennifer Mara DeSilva

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2012-09-11

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 1612480756

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In the tumultuous period of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when ecclesiastical reform spread across Europe, the traditional role of the bishop as a public exemplar of piety, morality, and communal administration came under attack. In communities where there was tension between religious groups or between spiritual and secular governing bodies, the bishop became a lightning rod for struggles over hierarchical authority and institutional autonomy. These struggles were intensified by the ongoing negotiation of the episcopal role and by increased criticism of the cleric, especially during periods of religious war and in areas that embraced reformed churches. This volume contextualizes the diversity of episcopal experience across early modern Europe, while showing the similarity of goals and challenges among various confessional, social, and geographical communities. Until now there have been few studies that examine the spectrum of responses to contemporary challenges, the high expectations, and the continuing pressure bishops faced in their public role as living examples of Christian ideals. Contributors include: William V. Hudon, Jennifer Mara DeSilva, Raymond A. Powell, Hans Cools, Antonella Perin, John Alexander, John Christopoulos, Jill Fehleison, Linda Lierheimer, Celeste McNamara, Jean-Pascal Gay


Book Synopsis Episcopal Reform and Politics in Early Modern Europe by : Jennifer Mara DeSilva

Download or read book Episcopal Reform and Politics in Early Modern Europe written by Jennifer Mara DeSilva and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2012-09-11 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tumultuous period of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when ecclesiastical reform spread across Europe, the traditional role of the bishop as a public exemplar of piety, morality, and communal administration came under attack. In communities where there was tension between religious groups or between spiritual and secular governing bodies, the bishop became a lightning rod for struggles over hierarchical authority and institutional autonomy. These struggles were intensified by the ongoing negotiation of the episcopal role and by increased criticism of the cleric, especially during periods of religious war and in areas that embraced reformed churches. This volume contextualizes the diversity of episcopal experience across early modern Europe, while showing the similarity of goals and challenges among various confessional, social, and geographical communities. Until now there have been few studies that examine the spectrum of responses to contemporary challenges, the high expectations, and the continuing pressure bishops faced in their public role as living examples of Christian ideals. Contributors include: William V. Hudon, Jennifer Mara DeSilva, Raymond A. Powell, Hans Cools, Antonella Perin, John Alexander, John Christopoulos, Jill Fehleison, Linda Lierheimer, Celeste McNamara, Jean-Pascal Gay


Early Modern Religious Communities in East-Central Europe

Early Modern Religious Communities in East-Central Europe

Author: István Keul

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 9004176527

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Conceived as another chapter in the European history of religions (Europäische Religionsgeschichte), this book deals with the intense dynamics of the overlapping political, ethnic, and denominational constellations in Reformation and post-Reformation Transylvania. Navigating along multiple narrative tracks, and attempting to treat the religious history of an entire region over a limited time period in a differentiated, polyfocal way, the book represents a departure from the master narratives of any singularly oriented religious history. At the same time, the present work seeks to contribute to laying the groundwork at the micro- and meso-contextual level of East-Central European confessionalization processes, and to developing interpretive models for these processes in the region.


Book Synopsis Early Modern Religious Communities in East-Central Europe by : István Keul

Download or read book Early Modern Religious Communities in East-Central Europe written by István Keul and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2009 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conceived as another chapter in the European history of religions (Europäische Religionsgeschichte), this book deals with the intense dynamics of the overlapping political, ethnic, and denominational constellations in Reformation and post-Reformation Transylvania. Navigating along multiple narrative tracks, and attempting to treat the religious history of an entire region over a limited time period in a differentiated, polyfocal way, the book represents a departure from the master narratives of any singularly oriented religious history. At the same time, the present work seeks to contribute to laying the groundwork at the micro- and meso-contextual level of East-Central European confessionalization processes, and to developing interpretive models for these processes in the region.


Politics and Reformations: Communities, Polities, Nations, and Empires

Politics and Reformations: Communities, Polities, Nations, and Empires

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007-09-30

Total Pages: 656

ISBN-13: 9047422244

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These twenty-six essays examine urban, rural, national, and imperial histories in Early Modern Europe and abroad, and politics in Reformation Switzerland, Burgundy, Germany, and the Netherlands.


Book Synopsis Politics and Reformations: Communities, Polities, Nations, and Empires by :

Download or read book Politics and Reformations: Communities, Polities, Nations, and Empires written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2007-09-30 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These twenty-six essays examine urban, rural, national, and imperial histories in Early Modern Europe and abroad, and politics in Reformation Switzerland, Burgundy, Germany, and the Netherlands.


The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe

The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe

Author: Daniel H. Nexon

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2009-03-31

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 140083080X

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Scholars have long argued over whether the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which ended more than a century of religious conflict arising from the Protestant Reformations, inaugurated the modern sovereign-state system. But they largely ignore a more fundamental question: why did the emergence of new forms of religious heterodoxy during the Reformations spark such violent upheaval and nearly topple the old political order? In this book, Daniel Nexon demonstrates that the answer lies in understanding how the mobilization of transnational religious movements intersects with--and can destabilize--imperial forms of rule. Taking a fresh look at the pivotal events of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries--including the Schmalkaldic War, the Dutch Revolt, and the Thirty Years' War--Nexon argues that early modern "composite" political communities had more in common with empires than with modern states, and introduces a theory of imperial dynamics that explains how religious movements altered Europe's balance of power. He shows how the Reformations gave rise to crosscutting religious networks that undermined the ability of early modern European rulers to divide and contain local resistance to their authority. In doing so, the Reformations produced a series of crises in the European order and crippled the Habsburg bid for hegemony. Nexon's account of these processes provides a theoretical and analytic framework that not only challenges the way international relations scholars think about state formation and international change, but enables us to better understand global politics today.


Book Synopsis The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe by : Daniel H. Nexon

Download or read book The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe written by Daniel H. Nexon and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-31 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholars have long argued over whether the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which ended more than a century of religious conflict arising from the Protestant Reformations, inaugurated the modern sovereign-state system. But they largely ignore a more fundamental question: why did the emergence of new forms of religious heterodoxy during the Reformations spark such violent upheaval and nearly topple the old political order? In this book, Daniel Nexon demonstrates that the answer lies in understanding how the mobilization of transnational religious movements intersects with--and can destabilize--imperial forms of rule. Taking a fresh look at the pivotal events of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries--including the Schmalkaldic War, the Dutch Revolt, and the Thirty Years' War--Nexon argues that early modern "composite" political communities had more in common with empires than with modern states, and introduces a theory of imperial dynamics that explains how religious movements altered Europe's balance of power. He shows how the Reformations gave rise to crosscutting religious networks that undermined the ability of early modern European rulers to divide and contain local resistance to their authority. In doing so, the Reformations produced a series of crises in the European order and crippled the Habsburg bid for hegemony. Nexon's account of these processes provides a theoretical and analytic framework that not only challenges the way international relations scholars think about state formation and international change, but enables us to better understand global politics today.


Conversion and the Politics of Religion in Early Modern Germany

Conversion and the Politics of Religion in Early Modern Germany

Author: David M. Luebke

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2012-05-01

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 0857453769

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The Protestant and Catholic Reformations thrust the nature of conversion into the center of debate and politicking over religion as authorities and subjects imbued religious confession with novel meanings during the early modern era. The volume offers insights into the historicity of the very concept of “conversion.” One widely accepted modern notion of the phenomenon simply expresses denominational change. Yet this concept had no bearing at the outset of the Reformation. Instead, a variety of processes, such as the consolidation of territories along confessional lines, attempts to ensure civic concord, and diplomatic quarrels helped to usher in new ideas about the nature of religious boundaries and, therefore, conversion. However conceptualized, religious change— conversion—had deep social and political implications for early modern German states and societies.


Book Synopsis Conversion and the Politics of Religion in Early Modern Germany by : David M. Luebke

Download or read book Conversion and the Politics of Religion in Early Modern Germany written by David M. Luebke and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Protestant and Catholic Reformations thrust the nature of conversion into the center of debate and politicking over religion as authorities and subjects imbued religious confession with novel meanings during the early modern era. The volume offers insights into the historicity of the very concept of “conversion.” One widely accepted modern notion of the phenomenon simply expresses denominational change. Yet this concept had no bearing at the outset of the Reformation. Instead, a variety of processes, such as the consolidation of territories along confessional lines, attempts to ensure civic concord, and diplomatic quarrels helped to usher in new ideas about the nature of religious boundaries and, therefore, conversion. However conceptualized, religious change— conversion—had deep social and political implications for early modern German states and societies.


Politics and Society in Reformation Europe

Politics and Society in Reformation Europe

Author: G. Elton

Publisher: Springer

Published: 1987-09-15

Total Pages: 580

ISBN-13: 134918814X

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Book Synopsis Politics and Society in Reformation Europe by : G. Elton

Download or read book Politics and Society in Reformation Europe written by G. Elton and published by Springer. This book was released on 1987-09-15 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Between the Middle Ages and Modernity

Between the Middle Ages and Modernity

Author: Charles H. Parker

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9780742553101

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This groundbreaking book examines the complex relationships between individuals and communities in the profound transitions of the early modern period. Taking a global and comparative approach to historical issues, the distinguished contributors show that individual and community created and recreated one another in the major structures, interactions, and transitions of early modern times. Offering an important contribution to our understanding both of the early modern period and of its historiography, this volume will be an invaluable resource for scholars working in the fields of medieval, early modern, and modern history, and on the Renaissance and Reformation.


Book Synopsis Between the Middle Ages and Modernity by : Charles H. Parker

Download or read book Between the Middle Ages and Modernity written by Charles H. Parker and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2007 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking book examines the complex relationships between individuals and communities in the profound transitions of the early modern period. Taking a global and comparative approach to historical issues, the distinguished contributors show that individual and community created and recreated one another in the major structures, interactions, and transitions of early modern times. Offering an important contribution to our understanding both of the early modern period and of its historiography, this volume will be an invaluable resource for scholars working in the fields of medieval, early modern, and modern history, and on the Renaissance and Reformation.


Europe's Reformations, 1450–1650

Europe's Reformations, 1450–1650

Author: James D. Tracy

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Published: 2006-03-23

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 0742579131

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In this widely praised history, noted scholar James D. Tracy offers a comprehensive, lucid, and masterful exploration of early modern Europe's key turning point. Establishing a new standard for histories of the Reformation, Tracy explores the complex religious, political, and social processes that made change possible, even as he synthesizes new understandings of the profound continuities between medieval Catholic Europe and the multi-confessional sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This revised edition includes new material on Eastern Europe, on how ordinary people experienced religious change, and on the pluralistic societies that began to emerge. Reformation scholars have in recent decades dismantled brick by brick the idea that the Middle Ages came to an abrupt end in 1517. Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses fitted into an ongoing debate about how Christians might better understand the Gospel and live its teachings more faithfully. Tracy shows how Reformation-era religious conflicts tilted the balance in church-state relations in favor of the latter, so that the secular power was able to dictate the doctrinal loyalty of its subjects. Religious reform, Catholic as well as Protestant, reinforced the bonds of community, while creating new divisions within towns, villages, neighborhoods, and families. In some areas these tensions were resolved by allowing citizens to profess loyalty both to their separate religious communities and to an overarching body-politic. This compromise, a product of the Reformations, though not willed by the reformers, was the historical foundation of modern, pluralistic society. Richly illustrated and elegantly written, this book belongs in the library of all scholars, students, and general readers interested in the origins, events, and legacy of Europe's Reformation.


Book Synopsis Europe's Reformations, 1450–1650 by : James D. Tracy

Download or read book Europe's Reformations, 1450–1650 written by James D. Tracy and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2006-03-23 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this widely praised history, noted scholar James D. Tracy offers a comprehensive, lucid, and masterful exploration of early modern Europe's key turning point. Establishing a new standard for histories of the Reformation, Tracy explores the complex religious, political, and social processes that made change possible, even as he synthesizes new understandings of the profound continuities between medieval Catholic Europe and the multi-confessional sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This revised edition includes new material on Eastern Europe, on how ordinary people experienced religious change, and on the pluralistic societies that began to emerge. Reformation scholars have in recent decades dismantled brick by brick the idea that the Middle Ages came to an abrupt end in 1517. Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses fitted into an ongoing debate about how Christians might better understand the Gospel and live its teachings more faithfully. Tracy shows how Reformation-era religious conflicts tilted the balance in church-state relations in favor of the latter, so that the secular power was able to dictate the doctrinal loyalty of its subjects. Religious reform, Catholic as well as Protestant, reinforced the bonds of community, while creating new divisions within towns, villages, neighborhoods, and families. In some areas these tensions were resolved by allowing citizens to profess loyalty both to their separate religious communities and to an overarching body-politic. This compromise, a product of the Reformations, though not willed by the reformers, was the historical foundation of modern, pluralistic society. Richly illustrated and elegantly written, this book belongs in the library of all scholars, students, and general readers interested in the origins, events, and legacy of Europe's Reformation.