Between Opposition and Collaboration

Richard J. Ninness, Ph.D. (2006) in History, University of Pennsylvania, is Assistant Professor at Touro College in New York City.

• AbbreviationsIntroduction1 Lay of the Land2 The Protestant Reformation and Aristocratic Control of Bamberg3 The Aristocratic Church and Resistance to Reform4 Protestant Officials as Agents of the Counter-Reformation5 The Counter-Reformation and the Alienation of the Imperial Knights, 1594–15996 Confession and the Limits of CooperationConclusion The Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg and the Imperial KnightsBibliographyIndex

"To Ninness’s credit, he has discovered that noble, familial alliances were the true authorities of this prince-bishopric. [...] Ninness reminds us that this is a fascinating and complex moment in early modern German history, one that is well served by this fine study." – Erica Bastress-Dukeheart, in: H-HRE, H-Net Reviews, May 2013"This study, which looks at the role of the imperial knights in the governance and politics of the prince-bishopric of Bamberg in the late sixteenth century, advances our understanding of how the imperial church in particular, and the Empire more generally, responded to the challenges posed by the Reformation." – Marc R. Forster, in: German Studies Review'(GSR) 36/1 (February 2013), 167-170"This interesting story is told in an able analysis based on solid archival research." – R. Po-chia Hsia, Pennsylvania State University, in: The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 63/4 (October 2012), pp. 820-821"[H]istorical realities revealed by Ninness’s careful study of the prince-bishopric of Bamberg. Hopefully it will inspire historians to take up a similar approach for other areas of the Empire." – C. Scott Dixon, in: The Catholic Historical Review 98/3 (July 2012)