German Villages in Crisis: Rural Life in Hesse-Kassel and the Thirty Years' War, 1580-1720 (Studies in German Histories)

The impact of the Thirty Years War on the German countryside was traumatic. This book, covering 1580 to 1720, examines how the war was experienced by village people in the countryside of that time. It draws on fiscal records, official correspondence and other records to create a view. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) was one of the greatest catastrophes ever to befall the German countryside. This book is a detailed study of how the people of the countryside experienced that war. It examines the village, the central social and cultural institution of the countryside, from several vantage points. Drawing on fiscal records, official correspondence, ecclesiastical and court records, and material objects from the village in the Werra region of Hesse, John Theibault creates a nuanced view of what both the village and the war meant to the people who experienced them. The village is revealed as the site of competing interests - interests which responded to, and were transformed by, the challenge of war. The situation of villages emerging from the war was as much a product of how they were before the war as it was a consequence of the war itself. Hence the time span of this study, 1580 to 1720. Theibault's study is a major contribution to recent efforts to reconceptualize the themes and chronology of early modern German history. It also contributes to the broader debate about the relationship between rural life, warfare, and political power in early modern europe. Contents List of Illustrations List of Tables Introduction Notes Part I: The Village Whole 1 Lord, State, and Village: The Strands of Herrschaft Notes 2 Inside the Village: Space and Solidarity Notes Part II: The Constituent Parts 3 Households, Families, Lineages Notes 4 Wealth, Ties, Tension Notes Part III: External and Internal Crisis 5 War Comes to the Village Notes 6 The Material Impact of the War Notes 7 Recovery and Reorganization Notes Conclusion Notes Index

This is a study of German villages during the Thirty Years' War. It shows how diverse interests interested in the village, and how those interests were transformed between 1570 and 1720.