In the early modern period the nobilities of Europe faced many challenges to their status as dominant elites. In particular, the ambitions of rulers, who sought to centralise power in the princely institution, undermined their position. Similarly, an increased social mobility and the emergence of new ‘nobilities,’ often a consequence of the social engineering attempted by princes, posed a significant threat to established elites. This is simply to identify the most pressing of the nobility’s woes. In this module we will examine the fortunes of the nobility across Europe from the seventeenth to the eighteenth centuries. We will assess the nature and significance of the external threats to the position of the nobility and investigate the strategies adopted in response. This in turn will permit an exploration of the manner in which the economic, social, political and cultural bases of noble power were transformed in this period; changes which ultimately led to a modification of the concept of nobility.

• Asch, Ronald G., Nobilities in Transition 1550-1700. Courtiers and Rebels in Britain and Europe (London, 2003).      

• Bush, Michael L., The European Nobility (2 vols., Manchester, 1983-8).      

• Dewald, Jonathan, The European Nobility, 1400-1800 (New York, 1996).      

• Scott, Hamish M. (ed.), The European Nobilities in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, (2 vols., London, 2007)

Course Structure

1. Introduction: Historiographical Perspectives on Nobility.
2. The Composition and Characteristics of the European Nobility.
3. The Bases of Noble Power.
4. Maintaining of Patrimony.
5. The Role of Marriage and the Place of the Noblewoman.
6. Challenges: The State.
7. Challenges: Social Mobility and New Nobilities.
8. Responses: Resistance and Revolt.
9. Responses: Education and Civility.
10. Responses: Princely Service and Civic Duty.
11. Conclusion: A Storm Weathered?

Learning Outcomes