Alfred Haverkamp. ZwÖ¶lftes Jahrhundert. 1125-1198. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 2003. 268 S. (gebunden), ISBN 978-3-608-60005-6.
Reviewed by Charles West (Department of History, Sheffield University)
Published on H-German (March, 2006)
A Brisk Tour Through the Twelfth Century
Alfred Haverkamp's burden of representing clearly the contemporary historian's view of the twelfth century in this book includes the weight of a particular cultural heritage: this title is but one volume of the latest generation in the famous Gebhardt series of textbooks, itself a venerable part of the German historiographical tradition. Its first edition was produced in 1892. This, the tenth edition, departs from the ninth edition produced in the 1970s in several ways.
First of all, it is remarkable for its sheer size. In 1892, Gebhardt numbered two volumes; in the 1970s this number expanded to eight; the work has now swollen to twenty-four volumes, spanning all of German history. Accordingly the component books often cover a shorter segment of history than their predecessors: in this case, a short twelfth century--1125 to 1198. This periodization shaves off fifty years from the remit of Karl Jordan's work in the ninth edition and affords the opportunity for a more comprehensive account.
Second, and more significant (as the general editors assert in the introduction), is a less unremitting insistence on discussion of political history, an approach that allows social, cultural and economic history to enter the mix. In this way, in distinction to previous editions, the series refuses to be labeled as only a chronicle of German history. This claim can perhaps best be put to the test through a concise summary of this book's contents.
After a general introduction to the entire series dwelling on the undoubted glories of Gebhardt's past and a usefully generous list of standard abbreviations for important German journals comes a list of general sources and literature for Gebhardt volumes one to eight--broadly the medieval period. This section is followed by a specific section devoted to primary and secondary sources that is very helpful, if perhaps a little short. It serves largely to provide the book's subsequent footnotes with a shortcut reference. The bulk of the book is divided into a mixture of seven thematic and chronological sections.
Section A consists of a concise overview of the sources (in terms of the growth of available material and its diverse genres) as well as a review of the themes of recent historiography. Next is a section B, on the economy. Covered here are settlement (divided into early and late twelfth century) and a brief account of agricultural production and trade. Section C deals with the years 1125-52: its first two components treat Lothar III and Konrad III. This portion comes closest, perhaps, to a chronicle style. The third part of this section is an interesting piece on lordship, which addresses changes in the Kernlandschaft, the imperial church, Territorialisierung and towns.
Religion is the theme of section D, split into the early and late twelfth century again. In the former, the reader is introduced to a number of topics: the Cistercian and other reforming movements; heresy; and the numerical growth in religious communities. The later half of the century includes such topics as the crusading orders, the Beguines, the critique of the church, mysticism and so on. Mainstream political history is however rejoined in section E, which examines Frederick Barbarossa and his successor Henry VI and particularly their relations with Italy. This section concludes with a review of issues such as feudalism.
Section F deals with communities: Jewish communities; peasant and town communities and social groups; the ministeriales; and townsmen and aristocracy. Bringing up the rear is section G, a slightly baffling combination of a piece on belief and schooling and a peculiar chapter entitled "Skills, Structures and Connections," which looks briefly at medieval technology (tunnels, architecture and bridges), visual and plastic arts and literature--all at a breakneck pace.
Haverkamp then offers readers a conclusion in which he picks out particular themes that strike him as significant. Almost all can be characterized as "more than before" items. First is the intensification (one of Haverkamp's favorite concepts) of the integration of the Reich with Latin Christendom and its transformation and expansion, in the course of which German regions ceased to be borderlands and became central. Pithily sunny summaries follow of economic expansion, educational expansion, expansion of religious diversity, an alleged improvement of gender relations, reduction of lordly oppression, the expansion of formal communities (Gemeinden), growth of social mobility, the possible intensified presence of communities based on lordship, the tentative growth of Nationalisierung and new possibilities for the self (Personalität). Finally, two useful indices are provided.
The book serves best as an amply annotated bibliography and in this way it functions as a superbly reliable introduction to the period, even if a little background knowledge of medieval history is assumed. Though the book's subject is "German history" (albeit in context), Haverkamp has ensured its footnotes are impressively international with English-language works particularly well represented. Some topics in particular benefit from an excellent and concise treatment, such as the section on Jewish communities (pp. 179-189). Though still weighted towards political history, this volume has certainly developed a more balanced approach, and chronology is successfully made into the backbone of complex developments rather than a simple series of events. The consistent focus on Ostsiedlung--here represented as primarily an economic development rather than a political one--makes sense in view of German reunification, and is part of bringing the history of the period up to date. I found the thorough integration of Lotharingia (Haverkamp's own specialty) into the narrative particularly rewarding. This is a superbly produced book, with a beautiful cover and hanging cotton bookmark, but it is relatively inexpensive.
Furthermore, the book's faults are perhaps not wholly of its own making. Admittedly the lack of a map is a shame, particularly in view of the emphasis on Ostsiedlung (the geographical references here are no doubt clearer to native Germans than to foreign reviewers). The source vademecum makes no reference to material on the Internet. This material may pose a problem in view of the ephemerality of the web, but websites such as those of the MGH and Regesta Imperii are invaluable tools, likely to endure; they should have been mentioned.[1]
I was also struck by the overwhelming image of consensus in the historiography as presented here. In the introductory pages to the series, the editors claim to represent the problematic, but there is very little of that in this book. When there is (usually in the footnotes), the roots of the controversy seem to lie in a different period: for example the perennial question of the village in the early medieval period (p. 191), or a reference to Susan Reynold's Fiefs and Vassals (p. 172).[2] Current areas of research would seem a question of refining the picture rather than deciding the results of controversies. The twelfth century in this volume appears to be more or less sorted out: a resolutely upbeat period, when movements of intensification, expansion and growth jostle--good-naturedly--for the historian's attention. This consensus may simply reflects the maturity of the scholarship of the field, and one might argue that consensus is just the impression a textbook should provide.
Despite its innovations, when compared for example with the Oldenbourg Grundrisse textbook series, Gebhardt might still be considered rather old-fashioned. But this is a very good sort of old-fashioned, and the book is admirably complete in its coverage, offering further reading on virtually every aspect of the period as well as a basic summary for those short of time. This title can certainly be recommended to broaden the historical awareness of those researching in a specific medieval field, and recommended too, though with more reservation, to those grappling with the period for the first time as interested non-specialists.
Notes
[1]. See the websites of the Monumenta Germaniae Historia, at http://www.dmgh.de and of the Regesta Imperii, at http://www.regesta-imperii.org .
[2]. Susan Reynolds, Fiefs and Vassals (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).
If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at: https://networks.h-net.org/h-german.
Citation:
Charles West. Review of Haverkamp, Alfred, ZwÖ¶lftes Jahrhundert. 1125-1198.
H-German, H-Net Reviews.
March, 2006.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=11554
Copyright © 2006 by H-Net, all rights reserved. H-Net permits the redistribution and reprinting of this work for nonprofit, educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author, web location, date of publication, originating list, and H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the Reviews editorial staff at hbooks@mail.h-net.org.