Martyn Rady Bücher

Eine Dynastie wie die Habsburger hat es in der Geschichte nicht noch einmal gegeben. Aus einer kleinen Grafenfamilie im Südwesten Deutschlands wurde ein Herrschergeschlecht, das die römisch-deutsche Kaiserwürde eroberte und sich gleichzeitig ein eigenes Imperium entlang der Donau aufbaute. Mehr noch: Das Reich der Habsburger erstreckte sich zeitweilig über mehrere Kontinente, in ihm ging tatsächlich die Sonne nicht unter, wie die Zeitgenossen bewundernd sagten. Martyn Rady fasst diese große Geschichte in eine große Erzählung, die die Herrschergestalten ebenso betrachtet wie die Grundzüge der europäischen Geschichte. Der Machtkampf im Mittelalter zwischen den Fürsten und dem Kaiser, die Glaubensauseinandersetzungen zwischen Reformation und Gegenreformation, die Bewegung der Aufklärung und der Nationalismus: Immer sind die Habsburger an entscheidender Stelle beteiligt. Das gilt dann auch für die letzte Phase, das 19. Jahrhundert bis zum «Großen Krieg», der das Ende der Habsburger brachte. Den ewigen Kaiser Franz Joseph, seine schöne Kaiserin Sisi, den bunten Vielvölkerstaat der k. u. k. Monarchie meint jeder zu kennen, sind sie doch zur Vorlage für unzählige Romane und Filme geworden. Rady zeigt, dass die Wirklichkeit eine andere war – und keineswegs weniger spannend.

Martyn Rady beleuchtet die komplexe Geschichte Mitteleuropas, von den Invasionen fremder Mächte über die Entstehung eines selbstbewussten Adels und blühender Städte bis hin zu den Auswirkungen der Weltkriege und des Kalten Krieges. Er zeigt, wie kulturelle und geistige Strömungen die Region prägten und global ausstrahlten.

The first comprehensive treatment in any language on the history of customary law in Hungary, starting with Stephen Werboczy's customary law code, the Tripartitum. This code influenced the composition, structure, and procedures of the courts and retained authority even when a parliamentary government was established in the nineteenth century.

The history of a dynasty that shaped Europe and the world. From modest origins, the Habsburgs grew in power to gain control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century. Then, in just a few decades, their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe stretching from Hungary to Spain, and from the Far East to the New World. The family continued to dominate Central Europe until the catastrophe of the First World War

Central Europe is not just a space on a map but also a region of shared experience - of mutual borrowings, impositions and misapprehensions. From the Roman Empire onwards, it has been the target of invasion from the east. In the Middle Ages, Central Europeans cast their eastern foes as 'the dogmen'. They would later become the Turks, Swedes, Russians and Soviets, all of whom pulled the region apart and remade it according to their own vision. Competition among Europe's Middle Kingdoms yielded repeated cultural effervescences. This was the first home of the High Renaissance outside Italy, the cradle of the Reformation, the starting point of the Enlightenment, Romanticism, the symphony and modern nationalism. It was a permanent battleground too for religious and political ideas. Most recent histories of Central Europe confine themselves to the lands in between Germany and Russia, homing in on Poland, Hungary, and what is now the Czech Republic. This new history embraces the whole of Central Europe, including the German lands as well as Ukraine and Switzerland. The story of Europe's Middle Kingdoms is a reminder of Central Europe's precariousness, of its creativity and turbulence, and of the common cultural trends that make these lands so distinctive.

In The Habsburgs, Martyn Rady tells the epic story of a dynasty and the world it built - and then lost - over nearly a millennium. From modest origins, the Habsburgs grew in power to gain control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century, before their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe, stretching from the Far East to the New World. The family continued to dominate Central Europe until the catastrophe of the First World War. With its seemingly disorganized mass of territories, its tangle of laws and its medley of languages, the Habsburg Empire has always appeared haphazard and incomplete. But here Martyn Rady shows the reasons for the family's incredible endurance, driven by the belief that they were destined to rule the world. The Habsburg emperors were themselves absurdly varied in their characters - from warlords to contemplatives, from idle to frenzied - but all driven by the same sense of family mission. The Habsburgs is the definitive history of a remarkable dynasty that, for better or worse, shaped Europe and the world.

The definitive history of the dynasty that dominated Europe for centuries In The Habsburgs, Martyn Rady tells the epic story of a dynasty and the world they built -- and then lost -- over nearly a millennium. From modest origins, the Habsburgs gained control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century. Then, in just a few decades, their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe, stretching from Hungary to Spain, and parts of the New World and the Far East. The Habsburgs continued to dominate Central Europe through the First World War. Historians often depict the Habsburgs as leaders of a ramshackle empire. But Rady reveals their enduring power, driven by the belief that they were destined to rule the world as defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace, and patrons of learning. The Habsburgs is the definitive history of a remarkable dynasty that forever changed Europe and the world.

A master of compression and lively anecdote, Rady combines his sprightly account of Europe's most enduring and important ruling house with an illuminating commentary on the changing nature and efficacy of dynastic governance. R.J.W. Evans, Regius Professor of History Emeritus, Oxford University

Focusing on the pivotal role of Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor, this book offers a clear introduction to the complex political landscape of 16th-century Europe. It explores his responses to the Protestant Reformation in Germany, efforts to maintain Habsburg control over the Netherlands, conflicts with France for Italian dominance, and strategies to counter Ottoman expansion in the Mediterranean. Through these events, the narrative highlights Charles's significant influence on European history until his death in 1558.

Historik Martyn Rady vo svoje publikácii prináša vzrušujúci príbeh mocnej dynastie, ktorá po stáročia formovala charakter nielen našej vlasti, ale celej Európy i sveta. Autor pútavou formou sleduje dejiny rodu Habsburgovcov od ich skromných počiatkov v 11. storočí, nepravdepodobný vzostup k moci v polovici 15. storočia, dôvtipnú sobášnu politiku a odvážne vojenské výboje počas vrcholného obdobia ich dominancie v Európe, až po pád dynastie v dôsledku 1. svetovej vojny. Autor nám odhaľuje, v čom spočívala neuveriteľná odolnosť Habsburgovcov a schopnosť udržať sa pri moci – sami seba vnímali ako osudom predurčených vládcov sveta, obrancov kresťanskej civilizácie a rímskokatolíckej cirkvi, garantov mieru a patrónov umenia, vedy a vzdelávania.