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German expansionism, the sober rationalism of. Pechlin had ... ant) in early modern Germany. It is a constitu- .... over the early modern period. Both fell victim.
Modern Europe ism and the exuberance and witlessness of German expansionism, the sober rationalism of Pechlin had little chance. I compliment the author on his work and not in the least on his success in untangling so many twisted skeins of diplomacy and personality. I cannot but feel that German popular behavior from 1840 to 1852 does much to explain how and why 1933 became possible and must enter my caveat against Burke's dictum that a whole people cannot be indicted. I feel that Pechlin could not have been successful-he was too mentally balanced in a milieu so comprehensively opposite. FRANCIS J. BOWMAN University of Southern California PETER BLICKLE. Landschaften im Alten Reich: Die staatliche Funktion des gemeinen Mannes in Oberdeutschland. Munich: Verlag C. H. Beck. 1973. Pp. xxi, 609. DM 98.

This book examines the political role of the "common man" (meaning, essentially, the peasant) in early modern Germany. It is a constitutional study focused on the territorial diets or similar local assemblies in which peasants were directly represented, and its attention is confined, therefore, to the southern territories of the Empire, roughly from Alsace to' the archbishopric of Salzburg. Blickle works within, yet modifies, the conceptual framework pioneered by Otto Brunner and Karl BosI. His Landschaft, the corporate body of legally privileged subjects within a lordship, is more comprehensive than the nobility and clergy, which have received almost exclusive attention in previous literature of importance. His shift of emphasis to the lower social orders, the skill with which he summarizes earlier work and integrates his findings into it, and the broad range of his own archival research make Blickle's study a major contribution to the history of representative institutions in early modern Europe. After a general survey of the territories where peasants had representation in diets or other assemblies, Blickle presents a detailed analysis of three regions: the Tirol, the Vorarlberg, and Kempten. The origins, structures, and functions of the assemblies are examined in their local historical contexts then drawn together in a systematic discussion that compares Blickle's

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results with available literature on the territories not examined so intensively. The determination to be comprehensive and comparative is certainly laudable, yet the result is also an overly long and sometimes annoyingly repetitious book. The schematic organization of the monograph makes it easy for the nonspecialist to skim, however, and he will find the effort well worth his while. Blickle demonstrates the active role of peasant assemblies in their territories even after the defeat of the rebellions that culminated in 1525. Their activities in defense, taxation, and general finance were most important but come as no surprise. More striking are the authO'r's findings concerning their strong influence on territorial legal codes, ability to spare peasants from carrying the full burden of imperial taxation, establishment of fixed norms for dues and services, and internal composition. Although the elected representatives in the diets were generally wealthy peasants with experience as local officeholders, Blickle finds little evidence of close family ties among delegates in the Vorarlberg or Kempten. This fact, the absence of cooptation, and his conviction that peasant leaders enjoyed the real confidence of their local communities lead Blickle to doubt the existence of rural oligarchies in the Landschaften of southern Germany. But most readers will probably prefer to reserve judgment on this issue until more local prosopographical research has been done. Considering the enormity of that task, Blickle may surely be excused for not undertaking it in this book. Less excusable and quite disappointing, however, is his failure to document carefully his assertion that the assemblies were active in shaping important social legislation like poor relief. Blickle's emphasis on peasant political activities does not lead him to exaggerate their importance, despite the literary flourish referring to democracy and parliamentarianism in the last paragraph of the book. Earlier he shO'WS that the development of estates (both as social orders and formal political institutions) depended essentially on the prior existence of territorial lordship; indeed, the strength of the peasantry in the diets of the south resulted from its more direct seigneurial and juridical ties to the rulers there. Blickle also traces the gradual weakening of peasant initiative and of the diets themselves

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Reviews of Books

over the early modern period. Both fell victim to a more dynamic force in German politics-the steady bureaucratization of the territorial state. GERALD L. SOLIDAY

Brandeis University

s. L. VERHEUS. Zeugnis und Gericht: KirchenĀ· geschichtliche Betrachtungen bei Sebastian Franck und Matthias Flacius. (Bibliotheca Humanistica & Reformatorica, volume 1.) Nieuwkoop: B. de Graaf. 1971. Pp. 121. 45 gls.

Until rather recently historical writing during the Reformation was commonly judged by the standards of modern "objective" scholarship and hence often considered simply apologetic if not downright unhistorical. Attitudes have changed in the last two decades, however, as historians have come to view history writing as a product of an age worthy of investigation in its own right. In this translation of his revised 1958 Dutch dissertation Dr. Verheus has contributed to this rehabilitation by examining closely what he considers the two great histories produced by the early Reformation: the Ceschichtbibel (second edition of 1536) of the spiritualist Sebastian Franck (1499-1542), and the Magdeburg Centuries, the guiding light of which was the rigid Lutheran Matthias Flacius Illyricus (1520-75). Verheus believes that both historians and theologians have neglected these works and failed to understand that theology, and especially eschatology, so thoroughly informed and pervaded the historical outlook of Franck and Illyricus that their histories must be regarded as confessional rather than partisan in nature, that is, intensely personal accounts of the way God has revealed Himself and justified man in history. In summarizing, comparing, and criticizing the two works Verheus offers numerous insights that should be especially valuable for students of historical theology, although historians will find useful some of the remarks in the introduction and the "Comparative Evaluation" (pp. 95-113) of the two works as histories. But there are difficulties. The book is repetitive and sometimes obscure or confusing. It could certainly have been tightened up. Partly as a result of this want of coherence Verheus does not convincingly demonstate the centrality

of eschatology for Franck or Illyricus; it remains, as did secular history for Illyricus, but an "appendage." The treatment of Franck can be questioned in two respects: first, sole reliance on the Geschichtbibel to the exclusion of Franck's other works, particularly the Pardoxa (1534), which could clarify points in Franck's conception of the church; and, second, Verheus's disputable belief that Franck adhered more closely than Illyricus to the Reformation view of history, whatever that was. These problems are compounded by a translation that is more than occasionally ungrammatical and cumbrous. Fruits there are in this book, especially for stuĀ· dents of theology, but it is a pity they can be gathered only with considerable effort. LAWRENCE G. DUGGAN

University of Delaware WINFRIED BECKER. Der Kurfurstenrat: Grundzuge seiner Entwicklung in der Reichsverfassung und seine Stellung auf dem Westfiilischen Friedenskongress. (Schriftenreihe der Vereinigung zur Erforschung der Neueren Geschichte, 5.) Miinster: Verlag Aschendorff. 1973. Pp. ix, 419. DM 80.

For more than a decade German scholars have labored to compile and publish under the general editorship of Max Braubach and Konrad Repgen a massive document collection entitled Acta Pacis Wesphalicae. The research interests of Winfried Becker represent a natural outgrowth of his collaboration on this extended project. His monograph on the Kurfurstenrat, written initially as a doctoral disseration, originated in connection with preparation for the edition of that body's records from the Congress of Westphalia. Pointing out that a study of the Kurkolleg has not yet been written Becker offers a general justification for his own work by arguing that certain facets of German constitutional history have been neglected as a result of the tendency to concentrate upon the development of the territorial rather than the imperial estates. In attempting to compensate for this relative neglect he has produced an exhaustive treatment of his subject through the use of a variety of archival materials as well as published sources and secondary authorities. Becker traces with meticulous care the early evolution of the Kurkolleg and its impact on the imperial constitution and the place of the electors in the