HIST0470 Crown, Church and Estates in Central Europe, 1500-1700

Summative Assessment

Coursework Essay 2500 words (25%)

Coursework Essay 2500 words (25%)

3 Hour Examination (50%)

Formative Assessment

Presentations on 17th century Habsburg history

One-page 'essay argument'

Module Outline

By the end of the fifteenth century, the estate of nobility had accumulated substantial political power in Central Europe. Through the institutions of the local diets and counties, the nobilities had encroached upon the reserved rights of the crown and reinforced their legal jurisdiction over the peasantry. This course will examine how the newly-installed Habsburg rulers began the slow process of recovering the authority of the crown, which by the seventeenth century had not only obtained a high degree of confessional uniformity within its territories but had also completed the expulsion of the Turks from Central Europe.

Although this paper concentrates on kingship, confession and noble estates in Central Europe (defined as the Austrian hereditary provinces and the lands of the Bohemian and Hungarian crowns, including Transylvania and Croatia), there will be some comparative study of relevant developments in surrounding territories, and attention will also be paid to the 'economic estates' of peasants and townsmen, to the alchemical and mystical concepts of government dominant in Central Europe at this time, to the Turkish wars, and to forms of government within the area of Turkish occupation.

Indicative Texts

TBC

Please note: This outline is accurate at the time of publication. Minor amendments may be made prior to the start of the academic year.