Sixteenth Century Europe: Expansion and Conflict (Palgrave History of Europe)

Few periods of a hundred years have held the imagination as much as the period 1500-1600. At least four great themes - Renaissance, Reformation, Counter-Reformation and Expansion - vie for dominance. The decisive cultural theme of the fifteenth century - classical revival in Italy - had spread and diversified, the social structures of the Ancien Regime were yet to solidify. This study examines the symptons of expansion - population growth, adventure overseas, new voyages of the imagination - and the areas of conflict - the world and the spirit, the public and private spheres, elite and popular cultures - and argues that spiritual quest and intellectual curiosity had the same cultural roots. Shape Of The Century: Expansion And Conflict -- Pt. I. The World -- 1. The Power Of Lords -- Noble Landlords In Eastern Europe -- Lords And Peasants In Reformation Germany -- Economic, Political, Cultural 2. The Symptoms Of Expansion -- 3. Shaping Of Statehood -- 4. Cities And Citizens -- Urban Expansion -- Boom Towns -- Capitals -- Religious Centres -- Pt. Ii. The Word -- 5. New Dimensions -- Humanism -- Humanism, Education And Printing -- 6. Dissolution Of Monasticism -- Reformation In Historical Thought -- Holy See Of Rome -- Overthrow Of The Monastic Life -- Sanctification Of Marriage -- 7. How The Word Spread -- Missions -- Lutheran Message -- Predestination And Puritanism -- From Calvin To Calvinism -- 8. How The Image Triumphed -- Catholic Offensive -- Character Of Spanish Catholicism -- Jesuit And Puritanism -- Tridentine Catholicism -- Pt. Iii. Sword -- 9. Victims -- Violence -- Heretics Or Exiles -- Scapegoats -- 10. Habsburg And Valois -- Eclipse Of Italy (1494-1530) -- 11. Christians And Turks -- Shadow Of The Crescent -- Ottoman Power -- Catholics And Protestants -- Religion, Sovereignty And Consent -- Lutheranism And Resistance -- Subversion Of Scotland And France -- Conclusion -- Fin De Siecle -- The Spanish Tragedy Richard Mackenny. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 353-378) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xxxi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The shape of the century: expansion and conflict....Pages 3-14 Front Matter....Pages 15-15 The power of lords....Pages 17-36 The symptoms of expansion....Pages 37-57 The shaping of statehood....Pages 58-81 Cities and citizens....Pages 82-103 Front Matter....Pages 105-105 New dimensions....Pages 107-128 The dissolution of monasticism....Pages 129-148 How the Word spread....Pages 149-172 How the Image triumphed....Pages 173-196 Front Matter....Pages 197-197 Victims....Pages 199-218 Habsburg and Valois....Pages 219-242 Christians and Turks....Pages 243-267 Catholics and Protestants....Pages 268-295 Front Matter....Pages 297-297 Fin de siècle....Pages 299-309 Back Matter....Pages 310-393 "This second edition includes two entirely new chapters - on Europe and the wider world, and on the Revolutionary crisis - and is extensively revised throughout. It offers a wide-ranging thematic account that explores social, cultural and economic topics, as well as giving a clear analysis of the political events."--BOOK JACKET The chronological period 1500-1600 witnessed the Renaissance, Reformation, Counter-Reformation and Expansion. The decisive cultural theme of the 15th century - classical revival in Italy - spread and diversified as the social structures of the Ancien Regime were yet to solidify. In this classic textbook history of early medieval Europe, Roger Collins provides a succinct account of the centuries during which Europe changed from being an abstract geographical expression to a new culturally coherent, if politically divided, entity.