An authoritative and accessible survey of the European nobility over four centuries.

Monarchy, Aristocracy and the State in Europe 1300 - 1800 is an important survey of the relationship between monarchy and state in early modern European history. Spanning five centuries and covering England, France, Spain, Germany and Austria, this book considers the key themes in the formation of the modern state in Europe. The relationship of the nobility with the state is the key to understanding the development of modern government in Europe. In order to understand the way modern states were formed, this book focusses on the implications of the incessant and costly wars which European governments waged against each other, which indeed propelled the modern state into being. Monarchy, Aristocracy and the State in Europe 1300-1800 takes a fascinating thematic approach, providing a useful survey of the position and role of the nobility in the government of states in early modern Europe.

The great strength of this collection is its wide range...a valuable work for anyone interested in the social aspects of the medieval nobility. CHOICE Articles on the origins and nature of "nobility", its relationship with the late Roman world, its acquisition and exercise of power, its association with military obligation, and its transformation into a more or less willing instrument of royal government. Embracing regions as diverse as England(before and after the Norman Conquest), Italy, the Iberian peninsula, France, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and the Romano-German empire, it ranges over the whole medieval period from the fifth to the early sixteenth century. Contributors: STUART AIRLIE, MARTIN AURELL, T. N. BISSON, PAUL FOURACRE, PIOTR GORECKI, MARTIN H. JONES, STEINAR IMSEN, REGINE LE JAN, JANET N. NELSON, TIMOTHY A REUTER, JANE ROBERTS, MARIA JOAO VIOLANTE BRANCO, JENNIFER C. WARD

European nobility faced a number of religious, political and military challenges. Many sought to increase their status, or maintain their privileges, by negotiating with various political and religious authorities, and exploiting opportunities in this era of upheaval. In examining the protective strategies nobles adopted in an age of state-building, reformation and expansion, this collection reveals the roles of the 'second order' and their ability to survive. Scholars across disciplinary and national boundaries offer exciting new perspectives on this central social group.

In this volume on the comparative study of nobility, historians, sociologists and anthropologists focus on the different processes of transformation that aristocratic elites in Europe went through during the twentieth century. Readers will learn about nobles in northern Europe (Sweden and Finland), southern Europe (Italy), western Europe (France, Belgium, the Netherlands) and central Europe (Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary). However, because of the comparative structure of the volume, readers will also sometimes encounter the nobility in Britain, Russia and the Baltic areas. The authors discuss questions like: how did noble men and women cope with the rise of totalitarian regimes and with the dramatic periods of the Second World War and the Cold War? What was the impact of the Fall of the Berlin Wall? And how did nobles react to the loss of political and economic privileges? In spite of all the variety and heterogeneity in wealth, power, prestige, and public visibility of these nobilities, some remarkable general trends and patterns emerge from the articles. 0The fourteen contributions show how and why relatively many nobles succeeded in staying on top or in transforming political and economic capital into cultural and symbolic capital.