The European nobility in the eighteenth century / Jerzy Lukowski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lukowski, Jerzy.

Series:

European culture and society

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nobility--Europe--History--18th century.

Nobility.

Power (Social sciences).

History.

Europe--Economic conditions--18th century.

Europe.

Economic conditions.

Europe--Social conditions--18th century.

Social conditions.

Physical Description:

x, 243 pages : maps ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Summary:

Jerzy Lukowski shows the pressures and tensions, both from below and from governments, which increasingly challenged traditional ruling groups in Europe during the century before the French Revolution. The position of the nobility depended on a stable world which accepted their authority; but that world was becoming fractured as a result of social and economic developments and new ideas. Lukowski explains the basic mechanisms of noble existence and examines how the European nobility sought to preserve a sense of solidarity in the midst of widespread change.

Contents:

Map 1 Europe, c. 1721 ix

Map 2 Europe, c. 1790 x

1 Nobility in the Eighteenth Century: An Introductory Survey 1

2 Ennoblement 18

3 The Nobility and the State 37

4 Education 57

6 Inheritance 100

7 Lifestyles 122

8 Authority 142

9 Noblewomen 159

Epilogue: The European Nobility and the French Revolution 181.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-233) and index.

ISBN:

0333652096

033365210X

OCLC:

51290117