The European Nobility in the Eighteenth Century

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.

Jerzy Lukowski is Senior Lecturer in Modern History, University of Birmingham.

Preface * Map 1: Europe, c. 1721 * Map 2: Europe, c. 1790 * Nobility in the Eighteenth Century: a Survey * Ennoblement * The Nobility and the State * The Education of the Nobility * Nobles' Resources * Inheritance * Nobles' Life Styles * Noble Authority * Noblewomen * Epilogue: the European Nobility and the French Revolution * Notes * Bibliography * Index
Preface * Map 1: Europe, c. 1721 * Map 2: Europe, c. 1790 * Nobility in the Eighteenth Century: a Survey * Ennoblement * The Nobility and the State * The Education of the Nobility * Nobles' Resources * Inheritance * Nobles' Life Styles * Noble Authority * Noblewomen * Epilogue: the European Nobility and the French Revolution * Notes * Bibliography * Index