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During the Renaissance, the monarchy became the dominant ruling power in Europe. It was an era of formidable kings and queens who crushed the feudal rights of their nobles, defended the Catholic Church against the encroachments of Protestantism, fought self-aggrandizing wars and were great patrons of art, architecture, literature and music. This work chronicles the lives and reigns of the 42 monarchs in England, Scotland, France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire between 1400 and 1600, presenting in the context of their era their personalities, accomplishments and failures.
What determined success or failure in Renaissance monarchy? Why was warfare endemic in Europe in the early sixteenth century and how did the great cultural and artistic changes of the period flourish amid this conflict? How did rival kings relate to each other and what steps did they each take to strengthen their monarchies? In short, how did they govern? Renaissance Monarchy approaches these and related issues in a revealing way, providing the first single-volume comparative history of the most renowned kings of the Renaissance: the Holy Roman Empire Charles V, Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England. Bringing these three kings together, out of the relative isolation in which they are each studied, adds a fresh dimension to our understanding of contemporary ideals of kingship and reveals how these monarchs strove to be regarded as great warriors, effective governors and generous patrons.
Evans (classics, U. of British Columbia) examines the history of the great emperor, whose reign marks the transition between Late Antiquity and the Byzantine period, including what is presently known about his life, the social structure of the empire, its relations with its neighbors, and naturally, its wars. It also examines theological issues, which split the empire and left deep divisions after Justinian's death. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
The first historical overview of the partnership between science and the state from the Scientific Revolution to World War II.
One of the largest states in Europe and the greatest of the Protestant powers, Denmark in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was at the height of its influence. Embracing Norway, Iceland, portions of southern Sweden and northern Germany, the Danish monarchy dominated the vital Baltic trade. However, its geopolitical importance far exceeded its modest resources. Paul Douglas Lockhart examines the short and perhaps unlikely career of Denmark as the major power of northern Europe, exploring its rise to the forefront of European affairs and its subsequent decline in fortunes following its disastrous involvement in the Thirty Years' War. Using the latest research from Danish and other Scandinavian scholars Lockhart focuses on key issues, from the dynamic role of the Oldenburg monarchy in bringing about Denmark's 'European integration', to the impact of the Protestant Reformation on Danish culture. The multi-national character of the Danish monarchy is explored in-depth, in particular how the Oldenburg kings of Denmark sought to establish their authority over their sizable-and oftentimes contentious-Norwegian, Icelandic, and German minorities. Denmark's participation in international politics and commerce is also investigated, along with the power struggle between Denmark and its rival Sweden over Baltic dominion, and the Danes' unique approach to internal governance.
This book traces the history of Ferdinand and Isabella in laying the foundations of a single Spanish state. An account is then given of their grandson Charles V's rule of Spain and his search for solutions to the challenges of a new empire in America. The author also charts how Charles bore the increasingly heavy burden of the Holy Roman empire with his struggle to protect it against Lutherans within and Turkish attack from the east. The final chapters concentrate on Francis I as ruler, warrior, defender of the Catholic Church and patron of the arts. Each chapter concludes with extracts from contemporary documents.
In dissolving his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII claimed that Catherine's brief marriage to Henry's deceased brother, Arthur, had rendered the subsequent union incestuous. Henry's next marriage could be called incestuous as well, for Anne Boleyn's sister Mary had been the king's mistress before her. But early rumor hinted at an even darker incestuous connection between Henry and Anne; she was, some charged, not only the king's lover, but his illegitimate daughter. Monarchy and Incest in Renaissance England argues that a preoccupation with incest is built into the dominant social and cultural concerns of early modern England. Proceeding from a study of Henry VIII's divorce and succession legislation through the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I, this work examines the interrelation between family politics and literary expression in and around the English royal court. Boehrer contends that themes of incest appear irregularly and prominently in the imaginative literature of the period. Some fifty extant plays from 1559 to 1658 deal either explicitly or implicitly with the subject. Incest emerges as a structural motif in texts as diverse as The Faerie Queene and Paradise Lost, and figures at least implicitly in nondramatic works by Jonson, Chapman, Shakespeare, and others. Monarchy and Incest in Renaissance England explores the response to, and modification of cultural anxieties regarding family structure. It is a brilliant and original work that will be of interest to scholars and students of English Renaissance literature and history, as well as of cultural studies.
Beginning with a sustained analysis of Seneca's theory of monarchy in the treatise De clementia, in this text Peter Stacey traces the formative impact of ancient Roman political philosophy upon medieval and Renaissance thinking about princely government on the Italian peninsula from the time of Frederick II to the early modern period. Roman Monarchy and the Renaissance Prince offers a systematic reconstruction of the pre-humanist and humanist history of the genre of political reflection known as the mirror-for-princes tradition - a tradition which, as Stacey shows, is indebted to Seneca's speculum above all other classical accounts of the virtuous prince - and culminates with a comprehensive and controversial reading of the greatest work of renaissance political theory, Machiavelli's The Prince. Peter Stacey brings to light a story which has been lost from view in recent accounts of the Renaissance debt to classical antiquity, providing a radically revisionist account of the history of the Renaissance prince.