He states that Abbé de Saint-Pierre in the early eighteenth century was the first to consider the imperial constitution as a model for European federalism because it was able to accommodate diverse political entities with a sense of common collective security. For example, he dispels as “myth” the notion espoused by some political scientists that it established an international system of “sovereign states.” In the second essay, Peter Schröder elaborates further on the impact of Westphalia. In the first essay, Lothar Höbelt challenges popular conceptions about the Peace of Westphalia (1648) that ended the Thirty Years’ War. The first section of the book focuses on “turning points” in the empire. Wilson and Evans argue convincingly that to understand the character of the Holy Roman Empire more accurately, it is imperative to address the non-German speakers in the empire as well as the states surrounding it. Wilson and Evans begin the work with an excellent introduction to the general history of the Holy Roman Empire by adroitly presenting the debates associated with the historiography of the region. This book magisterially accomplishes both of these goals.

Another is the intended goal of the books in this series to serve as auxiliary guides for both scholars and graduate students. One of the qualities that sets this volume published by Brill apart from the other important recent works is the intention to place the Holy Roman Empire within a broader European context. Both books concentrate on the time period between the imperial reforms under Emperor Maximilian I in 1495 and the dissolution of the empire in 1806. Thus, this book shares a similar origin to The Holy Roman Empire 1495-1806 (2011) edited by Evans, Wilson, and Michael Schaich published by Oxford University Press for the German Historical Institute and evolving from a conference held at Oxford in 2006.

The timing of the work reflects the renewed interest in the Anglophone world for the Holy Roman Empire, especially since 2006 which marked the bicentennial commemoration of the demise of the empire.

Wilson auspiciously inaugurates the new series by Brill titled Brill’s Companions to European History. The Holy Roman Empire, 1495-1806: A European Perspective.īrill's Companions to European History Series.

Peter h wilson holy roman empire