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. This new history embraces the whole of Central Europe, including the German lands as well as Ukraine and Switzerland. The Habsburgs: The Rise and Fall of a World Power By Martyn Rady Allen Lane 397pp 30 order from our bookshop The House of Habsburg has a plausible claim to having been the most successful ruling dynasty in world history. 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. He has written several major works on the history of Hungary, from the medieval period to the twentieth century, but has also written on topics as diverse as the Hussites, vampirism and the Emperor Charles V. It was a permanent battleground too for religious and political ideas. Martyn Rady is Masaryk Professor of Central European History at University College London. 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. 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.Ĭompetition among Europe's Middle Kingdoms yielded repeated cultural effervescences. In the Middle Ages, Central Europeans cast their eastern foes as 'the dogmen'. From the Roman Empire onwards, it has been the target of invasion from the east. *The dramatic history of Europe's shape-shifting centre, from the author of The Habsburgs*Ĭentral Europe is not just a space on a map but also a region of shared experience - of mutual borrowings, impositions and misapprehensions. 'Quirkily original but also scholarly and authoritative, to be read for pleasure and serious reflection' Telegraph gems scattered throughout the book' Peter Frankopan, Spectator

Martyn rady the habsburgs