German Culture, Past and Present (Classic Reprint)

The following pages aim at giving a general view of the social and intellectual life of Germany from the end oi the mediaeval period to modern times. In the earlier portion of the book, the first half of the sixteenth century in Germany is dealt with at much greater length and in greater detail than the later period, a sketch of which forms the subject of the last two chapters. The reason for this is to be found in the fact that while the roots of the later German character and culture are to be sought for in the life of this period, it is comparatively little known to the average educated English reader. In the early fifteenth century, during the Reformation era, German life and culture in its widest sense began to consolidate them.selves, and at the same time to take on an originality which differentiated i them from the general life and culture of Western Europe as it was during theM iddle A ges. To those who would fully appreciate the later developments, therefore, it is essential thoroughly to understand the details of the social and intellectual history of the time in question. For the later period there are many more works of a generally popular character available for the student and general reader. The chief aim of the sketch given inC hapters IX and Xis to bring into sharp relief those events which, in the Author sview, represent more or less crucial stages in the development of modern Germany. For the earlier portion of the present volume an older work of the Author s, now out of print, entitled German Society at the Close of theM iddle A ges has been largely drawn upon. Reference, as will be seen, has also been made in the course of the present work to two other writings from the same pen which are still to be had for those desirous of fuller information on their respective subjects, viz. The Peasants War and The Rise andF all of the Anabaptists
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)