Synopses & Reviews
Seventeenth-Century Europe is a well-established synthesis of the period from the Thirty Years War to the consolidation of absolute monarchy and the landowning society of the ancient régime. Thematically organized, the book covers all of Europe, from Britain and Scandinavia to Spain and Eastern Europe.
Review
'Munck has produced a highly integrated comparative synthesis which is all the more welcome for its inclusion of so much material from northern Europe...this is bound to become the standard survey of the period.' -
History Today'Thomas Munck's volume is excellent...a lively up to date and authoritative volume. British history is properly integrated with that of the Continent...the analysis made and the conclusions reached are judicious and convincing.' - History
Synopsis
Although many chapters are thematic in structure the political context of the period is given full prominence. Indeed the book opens with a detailed discussion of the Thirty Years War which is seen not just as a power struggle of great complexity but as a key to understanding the social and political developments of the early modern period. Full coverage is also given of the debate over the 'general crisis', absolutism and the growth of the state and the implications these had for townsmen, the peasantry and the poor. It also looks at changes in economic orientation within Europle, as well as continuity and change in mental and cultural traditions at different social levels.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 431-441) and index.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements - Chronology of Main Events 1598-1700 - Maps - Introduction - The Thirty Years War in the German Lands - Government in Wartime Europe - The Framework of Life - Enterprise and Profit - The Structure of Society: Nobility and Office-Holders - The Structure of Society: Urban Life - Provincial Revolts, Civil War and the 'Crisis of the 17th Century' - The Structure of Society: Peasant and Seigneur - Beliefs, Mentalit s, Knowledge and the Printed Text - The Arts, the Value of Creativity and the Cost of Appearances - Absolutism and the Return of Order After 1660 - Government and Conflict in the Later Seventeenth Century - Notes - Select Bibliography