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Hundreds of rural communities tasted political freedom in the Holy Roman Empire. For shorter or longer periods, villagers managed local affairs without subjection to territorial overlords. In this first book-length study, Beat Kümin focuses on the five case studies of Gochsheim and Sennfeld (in present-day Bavaria), Sulzbach and Soden (Hesse) and Gersau (Switzerland). Adopting a comparative perspective across the late medieval and early modern periods, the analysis of multiple sources reveals distinct extents of rural self-government, the forging of communalized confessions and an enduring attachment to the empire. Negotiating inner tensions as well as mounting centralization pressures, Reichsdörfer provide privileged insights into rural micro-political cultures while their stories resonate with resurgent desires for greater local autonomy in Europe today.

An essential introductory survey of the towns, villages and parishes in which people lived in the medieval and early modern periods. Beat Kumin assesses the similarities, differences and the wider significance of these communities for European society prior to 1800.

Social and cultural studies are experiencing a 'spatial turn'. Micro-sites, localities, empires as well as virtual or imaginary spaces attract increasing attention. In most of these works, space emerges as a social construct rather than a mere container. This collection examines the potential and limitations of spatial approaches for the political history of pre-industrial Europe. Adopting a broad definition of 'political', the volume concentrates on two key questions: Where did political exchange take place? How did spatial dimensions affect political life in different periods and contexts? Taken together, the essays demonstrate that pre-modern Europeans made use of a much wider range of political sites than is usually assumed - not just palaces, town halls and courtrooms, but common fields as well as back rooms of provincial inns - and that spatial dimensions provided key variables in political life, both in terms of territorial ambitions and practical governance and in the more abstract forms of patronage networks, representations of power and the emerging public sphere. As such, this book offers a timely and critical engagement with the 'spatial turn' from a political perspective. Focusing on the distinct constitutional environments of England and the Holy Roman Empire - one associated with early centralization and strong parliamentary powers, the other with political fragmentation and absolutist tendencies - it bridges the common gaps between late medieval and early modern studies and those between historians and scholars from other disciplines. Preface, commentary and a sketch of research perspectives discuss the wider implications of the essays' findings and reflect upon the value of spatial approaches for political history as a whole.

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries form a very distinctive period in European food history. This was a time when enduring feudal constraints in some areas contrasted with widening geographical horizons and the emergence of a consumer society.While cereal based diets and small scale trade continued to be the mainstay of the general population, elite tastes shifted from Renaissance opulence toward the greater simplicity and elegance of dining à la française. At the same time, growing spatial mobility and urbanization boosted the demand for professional cooking and commercial catering. An unprecedented wealth of artistic, literary and medical discourses on food and drink allows fascinating insights into contemporary responses to these transformations. A Cultural History of Food in the Early Modern Age presents an overview of the period with essays on food production, food systems, food security, safety and crises, food and politics, eating out, professional cooking, kitchens and service work, family and domesticity, body and soul, representations of food, and developments in food production and consumption globally.

This four-volume reset edition presents a wide-ranging collection of primary sources which uncover the language and behaviour of local and state authorities, of peasants and town-dwellers, and of drinking companions and irate wives.

This four-volume reset edition presents a wide-ranging collection of primary sources which uncover the language and behaviour of local and state authorities, of peasants and town-dwellers, and of drinking companions and irate wives.

This four-volume reset edition presents a wide-ranging collection of primary sources which uncover the language and behaviour of local and state authorities, of peasants and town-dwellers, and of drinking companions and irate wives.

This four-volume reset edition presents a wide-ranging collection of primary sources which uncover the language and behaviour of local and state authorities, of peasants and town-dwellers, and of drinking companions and irate wives.

This book offers a new perspective to the current debate about popular religious attitudes in Tudor England, laying particular emphasis on the social and secular dimensions of parish life. The argument focuses on the role of the laity and especially on the office of churchwarden. It assesses the rising levels of parish income, the importance of the social context for fund-raising strategies, and the growing expenditure on priests, voluntary activities and administrative duties. The final part discusses the Reformation-related reduction in religious options and the intensifying trend towards oligarchical parish regimes and official local government responsibilities. Wherever possible, the English situation is put into sharper focus by comparisons with local ecclesiastical life on the Continent and appendices provide a detailed financial analysis for a large number of parishes.

The subject of drink received a great deal of attention from early modern Europeans. Preachers, physicians, authorities, artists and travellers all addressed it from a range of different perspectives. At the same time, inns, taverns and alehouses served as multifunctional centres in towns and villages throughout Europe. This combination resulted in a wealth of sources, both institutional and cultural, which are only now beginning to be explored. This anthology features new research on public houses in England, Russia and the German lands. In a series of general, thematic and regional studies, contributors engage with broader debates in early modern history, shedding light on such key issues as consumption, travel and communication, state building, confessional identity, fiscal practice, gender and household relations, and the use of public spaces. The result is a volume that should appeal to anybody with an interest in early modern cultural history.