ABSTRACT

Originally published in 1957, this study shows what the various sections of the Germans of every rank and class were thinking of the ruling men, how far they supported or opposed them, what were their wishes, hopes and fears, prejudices, ideals and standards of right and wrong. The influence of foreign thought, and parallels with the development of other nations is also discussed. The diverse sources used for research for this volume include religious and legal writings, literature, broadsheets, verses of minstrels, folk-songs and later, newspapers.

part I|288 pages

The Middle Ages

chapter 2|8 pages

The Influence of Germanic Traditions

chapter 3|8 pages

The Influence of Christianity

chapter 4|9 pages

Charlemagne’s Political System

chapter 5|5 pages

The Fall of the Frankish Empire

chapter 7|4 pages

Religious Revival Cluny and Lorraine

chapter 8|9 pages

Germany Under the Saxon House

chapter 9|12 pages

The Ideology of the Emperorship

chapter 10|21 pages

The First Great Conflict with the Papacy

chapter 11|8 pages

The Spirit of the High Middle Ages

chapter 12|19 pages

The Rise and Fall of the Hohenstaufens

chapter 14|10 pages

Opinions on the Decline of the Empire

chapter 15|10 pages

Social Development and Colonisation

chapter 18|19 pages

The Closing Middle Ages

chapter 19|11 pages

Political Thought in the 15th Century

chapter 20|7 pages

Social Criticism in the Late Middle Ages

chapter 23|8 pages

The Jews in the Middle Ages

chapter 25|28 pages

Humanism and the Rise of the Modern Spirit

part II|226 pages

The Reformation and the Counter-Reformation

chapter 1|4 pages

Emperor Charles V

chapter 5|7 pages

The Spreading of Luther’s Teachings

chapter 9|9 pages

The Great Peasant War

chapter 10|3 pages

Luther on War and Revolution

chapter 11|6 pages

The Break with Humanism

chapter 13|6 pages

The Anabaptists and Other Sects

chapter 14|5 pages

The Freethinkers

chapter 18|9 pages

Calvin and the Reformed Church

chapter 20|15 pages

Religious Strife Among the Protestants

chapter 22|11 pages

Economic, Social and Cultural Developments

chapter 23|18 pages

The Territorial States

chapter 24|22 pages

The Thirty Years War