What is it about?
A lot has been written about the historical importance of honour and how honour is lost; this article considers how honour is won in the period between about 1400 and 1550, and how people at the time viewed honour. The time between 1400 and 1550 was a time of great economic, technological and constitutional change, especially in the free cities of Europe - after 1550, government in Europe entered the phase of Absolutism and social mobility was more difficult. The article looks at the years before that - the time in between the time of knights and the time of princes.
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Why is it important?
Especially English-language articles on the Middle Ages focus on well-worn historical themes, but ignore the rich history of Continental Europe, especially of the trading cities and free yeoman communities. The article offers a broader look to the English-language history buff, and offers a fresh perspective on the development of non-noble elites.
Perspectives
As a lawyer, I was familiar with the "dishonouring" aspect of criminal law in early modern times, but I could not find anything on how honour is gained - even though that was an essential element of other aspects of the law, such as determining who could hold certain offices. So I looked into the matter, and the more I looked, the more interesting it became.
Dr. Jürg Gassmann
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Honour and Fighting Social Advancement in the Early Modern Age, Acta Periodica Duellatorum, January 2015, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/apd-2015-0005.
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