Politics Ideology And The Law In Early Modern Europe

This volume celebrates the career of Professor J.H.M. Salmon, whose work on the study of early modern Europe enjoys a high reputation world-wide. Appropriately centred on France, the essays make a significant contribution to the study of political life and thought during the ancien regime. Proceeding from a variety of vantage points, some of the foremost scholars in the field of early modern Europe consider the many ways in which contemporaries in different walks of life expressed their understanding of, and participation in, the political community, using new approaches drawn from cultural history, the history of ideologies and a resurgence of interest in the history of institutions. Subjects discussed include institutional rivalries and how they complicated efforts to mount opposition to government policies; political thought and concepts such as sovereignty, conciliarism, and dominum; and how contemporary understanding of the political order was worked out in a cultural context. The volume also suggests new directions for research.

The years 1650 to 1750 – sandwiched between an age of 'wars of religion' and an age of 'revolutionary wars' – have often been characterized as a 'de-ideologized' period. However, the essays in this collection contend that this is a mistaken assumption. For whilst international relations during this time may lack the obvious polarization between Catholic and Protestant visible in the proceeding hundred years, or the highly charged contest between monarchies and republics of the late eighteenth century, it is forcibly argued that ideology had a fundamental part to play in this crucial transformative stage of European history. Many early modernists have paid little attention to international relations theory, often taking a 'Realist' approach that emphasizes the anarchism, materialism and power-political nature of international relations. In contrast, this volume provides alternative perspectives, viewing international relations as socially constructed and influenced by ideas, ideology and identities. Building on such theoretical developments, allows international relations after 1648 to be fundamentally reconsidered, by putting political and economic ideology firmly back into the picture. By engaging with, and building upon, recent theoretical developments, this collection treads new terrain. Not only does it integrate cultural history with high politics and foreign policy, it also engages directly with themes discussed by political scientists and international relations theorists. As such it offers a fresh, and genuinely interdisciplinary approach to this complex and fundamental period in Europe's development.

By engaging with, and building upon recent theoretical developments, this collection sheds new light on international relations in the century between 1650 and 1750. Integrating cultural history with high politics and foreign policy, it also engages directly with themes discussed by political scientists and international relations theorists to argue that, this was far from being a 'de-ideologized' period. Instead it offers a fresh and genuinely interdisciplinary perspective to this complex and fundamental period in Europe's development, and one which puts ideology at its core.

An in-depth examination of political activities in early modern France that opens up new perspectives on the local workings of the French state and the experiences of those who participated in it.Law, City, and King provides important new insights into the transformation of political participation and consciousness among urban notables who bridged the gap between local society and the state in early modern France. Breen''s detailed research shows how the educated, socially-middling avocats who staffed Dijon''s municipality used law, patronage, and the other resources at their disposal to protect the city council''s authority and their own participation in local governance. Drawing on juridical and historical authorities, the avocats favored a traditional conception of limited "absolute" monarchy increasingly at odds with royal ideology. Despite their efforts to resist the monarchy''s growth, the expansion of royal power under Louis XIV eventually excluded Dijon''s avocats from the French state. In opening up new perspectives on the local workings of the French state and the experiences of those who participated in it, Law, City, and King recasts debates about absolutism and early modern state formation. By focusing on the political alienation of notables who had long linked the crown to provincial society, Breen explains why Louis XIV''s collaborative absolutism did not endure. At the same time, the book''s examination of lawyers'' political activities and ideas provides insights into the transformation of French political culturein the decades leading up to the French Revolution. Michael P. Breen is Associate Professor of History and Humanities at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.perspectives on the local workings of the French state and the experiences of those who participated in it, Law, City, and King recasts debates about absolutism and early modern state formation. By focusing on the political alienation of notables who had long linked the crown to provincial society, Breen explains why Louis XIV''s collaborative absolutism did not endure. At the same time, the book''s examination of lawyers'' political activities and ideas provides insights into the transformation of French political culturein the decades leading up to the French Revolution. Michael P. Breen is Associate Professor of History and Humanities at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.perspectives on the local workings of the French state and the experiences of those who participated in it, Law, City, and King recasts debates about absolutism and early modern state formation. By focusing on the political alienation of notables who had long linked the crown to provincial society, Breen explains why Louis XIV''s collaborative absolutism did not endure. At the same time, the book''s examination of lawyers'' political activities and ideas provides insights into the transformation of French political culturein the decades leading up to the French Revolution. Michael P. Breen is Associate Professor of History and Humanities at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.perspectives on the local workings of the French state and the experiences of those who participated in it, Law, City, and King recasts debates about absolutism and early modern state formation. By focusing on the political alienation of notables who had long linked the crown to provincial society, Breen explains why Louis XIV''s collaborative absolutism did not endure. At the same time, the book''s examination of lawyers'' political activities and ideas provides insights into the transformation of French political culturein the decades leading up to the French Revolution. Michael P. Breen is Associate Professor of History and Humanities at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. absolutism did not endure. At the same time, the book''s examination of lawyers'' political activities and ideas provides insights into the transformation of French political culturein the decades leading up to the French Revolution. Michael P. Breen is Associate Professor of History and Humanities at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

The 1st part of the volume engages with the theme of inclusion and exclusion in the history of ideas from different perspectives. The 2nd part of the volume discusses debates on natural law, human nature and political economy in early-modern Europe. Its contributions explore the sorts of political and moral visions that were relevant in post-Hobbesian moral philosophy and the development of economic thought.

The study of history is a fundamentally sociable practice, with the exchange of ideas taking place in writing, over the seminar table, and often in informal discussions over food. These essays grew out of a web of sociability centered around French historian Robert Descimon, and focus on the nexus of social relations, politics, and power in France as it moved from the age of religious wars into the age of absolutism. Using a wide variety of historical approaches and methods, these essays offer new insights into the evolving role of early modern elites and the social, familial, and cultural influences that shaped their values and priorities.

The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe, now in its fourth edition, is the perfect resource for both students and scholars of the witch-hunts written by one of the leading names in the field. For those starting out in their studies of witch-beliefs and witchcraft trials, Brian Levack provides a concise survey of this complex and fascinating topic, while for more seasoned scholars the scholarship is brought right up to date. This new edition includes the most recent research on children, gender, male witches and demonic possession as well as broadening the exploration of the geographical distribution of witch prosecutions to include recent work on regions, cities and kingdoms enabling students to identify comparisons between countries. Now fully integrated with Brian Levack’s The Witchcraft Sourcebook, there are links to the sourcebook throughout the text, pointing students towards key primary sources to aid them in their studies. The two books are drawn together on a new companion website with supplementary materials for those wishing to advance their studies, including an extensive guide to further reading, a chronology of the history of witchcraft and an interactive map to show the geographical spread of witch-hunts and witch trials across Europe and North America. A long-standing favourite with students and lecturers alike, this new edition of The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe will be essential reading for those embarking on or looking to advance their studies of the history of witchcraft