Society and Politics in Germany

First Published in 2006. This book attempts a new interpretation of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. It makes use of regional printed materials and of unpublished state archives from north-west Germany, a large and important region of which no thorough study has yet been published in English. Part One: Introduction 1. Early Modern Germany 2. Early Modern German Society 3. The Problem of German Federalism Part Two: Territorial States in North-West Germany 4. The Region around Lippe 5. Rule by Election: the Ecclesiastical Territories 6. Rule by Inheritance: the Lay Territories Part Three: Society and Politics in One State: The County of Lippe 7. Lippe Society 8. Rulers' Finances and Estates' Taxation 9. Lippe during the Thirty Years' War Part Four: Relations Between State and Federation: Lippe and the Empire 10. Lippe and the Emporers 11. Lipper, Kammerzieler and Reichskammergericht 12. Lippe, Romermonate and Turkensteuer 13. Lippe at Imperial Court, Assembly and Circle Part Five: Conclusion 14. The Federal Bond of Empire