Friars, Nobles and Burghers--Sermons, Images and Prints: Studies of Culture and Society in Early-Modern Europe, in Memoriam Istvan Gyorgy Toth

Many historians today would probably accept the definition of culture as a system of shared meanings, values, attitudes and symbolic forms in any sphere of human life. The essays chosen by the editors and published in this volume reflect this broader interpretation. Although thematically diverse, all these studies adhere to the concept of what is sometimes termed the new cultural history or socio-cultural history.

The volume opens with a cluster of methodological and historiographical reflections. Topics covered by the thematic sections include confessional and religious life in early modern Europe, symbolism and representation, strife and accommodation among different denomonations compelled to live in a common space, order and hierarchy, cracks in the machinery of authority and the threat of disintegration as well as the history of alphabetization, literacy and reading and writing practices.

This volume pays tribute to the achievement and personality of István György Tóth, Head of the Department of Early-Modern History at the Institute of History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Professor of History at Central European University (both in Budapest), until his premature and tragic death in 2005.