“The European Nobility, 1400-1800 (New Approaches to European History)”, by Jonathan Dewald

 

232 pages, Cambridge University Press, ISBN-13: 978-0521425285

So, if you go to school long enough, you collect a wide-array of books on a bunch of different topics, such as…oh, I don’t know, The European Nobility, 1400-1800. Jonathan Dewald has written a social history – part of the Cambridge Press’ New Approaches to European History line of books – on a group that social historians typically avoid; namely, the nobility of Europe which, while they have gotten a lot of attention in more traditional histories, have been largely ignored in the social realm. To alleviate this overlooked class (if the rich can ever be overlooked; bear with me), Dewald offers an extended interpretative essay, the theme of which is the evolution of the Continental nobility (or aristocracy; he regards the terms as overlapping but distinct in meaning) during the four centuries between the end of the Middle Ages and the arrival of the French Revolution. Principally, he tackles the idea of the decline of the nobility and shows that, rather than come-a-cropper as it were, the nobility weathered the Early Modern period by being resilient and adaptable – though the group was fundamentally changed, it still remained strong.

Thus, although small in absolute numbers, the nobility controlled most of the land and all of the politics on the Continent until well into the 19th Century, and the author maintains that they managed to do this despite wars, revolutions and the coming of modern industry because they were very effective in adapting to the changes around them. Dewald also argues that, from one country and culture to the next, nobles faced similar problems and responded to them in very similar ways. This is the main thrust of the book, as Dewald considers the resiliency of the Nobility in aspects of the make-up of their class, their wealth and economics, their politics, and their involvement in culture. He concludes with a brief analysis of the effects of the French Revolution on the group, and how it contributed to the fundamental change the nobility underwent, from privileged order to ruling class. For all this being intended as a textbook, The European Nobility is readable and interesting. The only problem lies in its repetitiveness; I have no complaints about the book’s organization, but it in some ways contributes to this, and Dewald ends up repeating conclusions he made just pages before. Sometimes the repetition becomes quite tedious, but as a whole, the book remains interesting and readable.