Saturday, July 21, 2012

“Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany” by Benjamin Arnold, Cambridge University Press 2003

Cover image Cambridge University Press

Medieval Germany, more commonly referred to as the Holy Roman Empire,  is an exciting region during the Middle Ages. The Holy Roman Empire first received its name from the time Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great or Karl der Gross, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor from the Church. Medieval Germany consisted of an extravagant  number of nobles ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Medieval Germany scholarly works are hard to come by since most, understandably, are published in German not English. 

Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany by Benjamin Arnold is an interesting and fundamental work for any enthusiastic party yearning to learn about Medieval Germany. Dr. Arnold is emeritus professor of history at The University of Reading. Dr. Arnold's fantastic work on medieval Germany illustrates a major question about pre-modern Germany's political history: why did a plethora of states and territories emerge at the close of the Middle Ages instead of a “nation state” under a crown? Modern day neighbors of Germany emerged from the Middle Ages as nation states under their respective crowns including Spain, France, England and the Dutch. Dr. Arnold explains Germany's detour to its present day state with a look at the different German nobles and relationships each noble class had with their king and the Church. Do not be misled by the title of this monograph. The book dives into Medieval Germany and it does not list the princes and their respected territories. 


Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany delves into medieval Germany by dividing its contents into three parts: Crown and Prince, Princely Title and Office, and Dynasties, Prelates and Territorial Dominion. In the first third of the book, Arnold dives into the German crown and explains the regal institutions of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Opening up the book with the crown and regal institutions helps the pave the way of understanding a complex kingdom that looked at its self as the heir to the fallen Roman Empire. After Arnold brings to life the crown, its rights, and princes he finishes the first third of the book by asking the question “was there a rise of territorial lordship?”

After exploring the crown and its rights, Arnold moves onto the final two thirds of his work with a dive into the different noble titles including: German bishops, abbots, dukes, counts and margraves. After learning about the different noble titles, Arnold goes into the transformations of duchies and counties. Once this work illustrates the different noble titles and changes to the land, Arnold ends his monograph with explaining the foundation of Medieval German reforms, feuds, inheritance, and the effects and outcomes from the region. The end of this scholarly work helps one understand the main question raised by Dr. Arnold at the beginning of his book, why did a plethora of states and territories emerge at the close of the Middle Ages instead of a ‘nation state’ under a crown?”

Arnold's scholarly book, Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany, brings to light an intriguing medieval kingdom, Germany, and explains, through Germany's political history of the Middle Ages, why Germany did not exit the Middle Ages with a nation state under a crown. Anyone interested in Medieval history needs to explore this interesting monograph from Cambridge University Press. On top of Medieval history enthusiasts, any person interested in political history and the formation of nation states of Early Modern Europe will love this book. Though the book can be dense to read at times, the overall flow and syntax added to Arnold's expertise of Medieval Germany makes Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany an excellent addition to anyone whom has a passion for history, learning and reading. 

Grade B

No comments:

Post a Comment