House Divided: Wittelsbach Confessional Court Cultures in the Holy Roman Empire, c. 1550-1650

Andrew L. Thomas, Ph. D. (2007) in History, Purdue University, is Assistant Professor of History at Salem College. He and Charles Ingrao have copublished two monographs dealing with the influence of Austrian Habsburg consorts in the High Baroque.

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. Reflecting Dynastic Destinies: Mirror of Prince Literature and Wittelsbach Education2. Patronage and Piety: The Confessionalization of Wittelsbach Courts in Heidelberg and Munich3. Confessional Frontiers and Border Wars: The Confessionalization of Bavaria and the Palatinate4. Wedding Bells and Cannon Fire: Wittelsbach Confessional Diplomacy5. A Winter’s Tale: The “Winter King” and the Court at Prague 6. Image-Breaking: Iconoclasm and Identity Crisis7. Clarion Calls: White Mountain and Wittelsbach Legitimacy8. Metamorphosis: The Palatinate in Transition and the “Bohemian” Court in Exile at The Hague ConclusionBibliographyAppendicesApendix A: Wittelsbach Genealogy (1300-1550 Apendix B: Palatine Wittelsbachs Genealogy (1550-1650 Apendix C: Bavarian Wittelsbachs Genealogy (1550-1650) Index

“Andrew Thomas’s book deserves high merit for its comprehensive treatment, based on a broad range of sources, and for its mastery of several bodies of scholarly literature. The theme of the two Wittelsbach branches as dynastic and territorial rivals, and as representatives of the religious fragmentation of the German lands, is not a new discovery. Andrew Thomas gives it, however, an original and comprehensive treatment that is surely both new and valuable. His highly interesting, challenging book engages many of the principal themes of German history in what has come to be called the confessional age.”Thomas A. Brady, Jr., University of California, Berkeley. In: Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1 (2012), pp. 181-182. "Die Dissertation ist gut recherchiert. Ihre Ergebnisse werden im überlegten Aufbau und formal einwandfreier Form niedergelegt. Die Ausführungen sind durch einen hinreichenden, jedoch nicht überbordenden Anmerkungsapparat hilfreich untermauert. [...] Insgesamt ist eine Untersuchung gelungen, die Wissenschaftlichkeit, Lesbarkeit und Benutzbarkeit gekonnt miteinander verbindet. Das originell ansetzende, inhaltlich anregende und formal rundum gefällige Buch stellt einen anregenden und weiterführenden Beitrag der interdisziplinär arbeitenden Kulturgeschichte zur Reformationsforschung dar." Alois Schmid, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. In: Francia-Recensio 2012.“More than just a study of one dynasty, with its emphasis on political, cultural and religious history, A house divided reflects the dynamism of Europe in the early modern world.”Amy K. Bosworth, Muskingum University, New Concord, Ohio. In: The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 63, No. 1 (January 2012), pp. 165-166. "This is an exciting study, with an innovative and cross-disciplinary approach."Jonathan Spangler, Manchester Metropolitan University. In: European Review of History, Vol. 18, No. 4 (October 2011), pp. 581-583. "Eine wertvolle Studie sowohl zur Geschichte des Hauses Wittelsbach wie auch zur Geistes- und Kulturgeschichte Mitteleuropas in jener Sattelzeit des 16./17. Jahrhunderts." Josef Johannes Schmid, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. In: sehepunkte 11 (2011), Nr. 3 [15.03.2011].