Sub-Project D03: The Nobility and the Middle Classes: Impoverished Nobles between Competing Social Orders, 1700 - 1900
Abstract
Project D 03 analyses the competition over social order between the nobility and the bourgeoisie by looking at the phenomenon of “impoverished nobles.” The project consists of three sub-projects that examine the lower nobility in the Eastern Elbe region of Prussia and those in Southwest Germany in different historical periods within a comparative perspective. The key focal point for the overall project is the phase from 1800–1830. Two of the three individual projects are situated before and after this period, namely from 1720-1760 (with a concentration on the Southwest) and 1880-1914.
The project as a whole sets out to question the relevance of the sense of mutual threat between the nobility and the middle classes originating from their divergent concepts of social order and visions for the future of society. To do so, it defines the chronological and temporal boundaries for comparison in a new way, so as to better contextualise the historical break around 1800 and potentially develop new conclusions as to the significance of this transitional period.
Project Team
Project Leaders:
Prof. Dr. Franz Brendle
Prof. Dr. Ewald Frie
Ph.D. Students:
Chelion Begass, M.A.
Jacek Klimek, M. A.
Johanna Singer
Student Assistant:
Jan Ruhkopf
Academic Disciplines and Orientation
Modern History
Project Description
Project D03 examines the competition over social order between the nobility as representatives of an estate-based social order and the middle classes as proponents of a post-estate social order by looking at the case of the impoverished nobility. The notions of social order and visions for the future of society proposed by these two social groups seemed to be incompatible and, at least for the period around 1800, this lead to a mutual perception of an existential threat on both sides.
By examining the so-called “impoverished nobility,” the project aims to re-conceptualise the question as to the relevance of this mutual threat constellation between the nobility and the middle classes by resetting the boundaries used for chronological and temporal comparison. Moreover, the project hopes to shed new light on the yet unanswered research question as to whether the nobility and the middle classes were in fact diametrically opposed or rather began to merge together.
To do so, it examines the phenomenon of “impoverished nobility” in three phases in more detail: 1720-1760, 1800-1830 and 1880-1914. These periods correspond with an estate-based society, a society in transition, and a middle-class society, respectively. In terms of geography, the project focuses on nobles in two distinct regions, namely Prussian territory to the east of the Elbe River and Southwest Germany.
The analytical framework of the project employs a social history perspective to examine the impoverished nobility itself as a phenomenon and investigate its size and various manifestations as well as the various strategies that emerged to deal with the situation. A second layer within the project looks at how impoverished nobility was perceived and dealt with in the concepts of society and its future associated with the nobility and the middle classes, respectively.
Overall, the project is structured around the main axis of “circa 1800”. One can safely say that during this period, traditional concepts of social order and visions of the future of society faced a fundamental challenge. By looking at periods before and after this transitional phase, in which the nobility faced an increased danger of impoverishment – whether it would be through war or agrarian depressions or through the economic, social and cultural challenges of the “Hochmoderne” or “high modernity” (Ulrich Herbert) – the project aims to re-examine this historical break around 1800 to question and potentially revise Koselleck's concept of the “Sattelzeit” (saddle period).
The Individual Projects:
1720–1760
The thematic focus for this period lies on impoverished nobility from the lower imperial estates and the lower ranks of the imperial knighthood as well as on the imperial “debt relief instrument” that could be used by the imperial debit commissions. The geographic focus lies in Southwest Germany.
In addition to identifying the causes, extent, and implications of debt, the project looks specifically at questions related to the self-perception and “external” perceptions of impoverished lower nobility, the collision of a limited ability to rule with an “elite” self-image, and the use of poverty by the middle classes (not only in an argumentative sense) as a “weapon” against the nobility.
Indeed, given the close reciprocal relationship between minor counts and knights on the one hand and the empire and its emperor on the other hand, it is also easy to surmise that indebtedness caused problems for the functioning of the Ancien Régime. In order to stabilise this political system and social order in general, it was thus necessary to absolve affected noble families from their debts. This is where the emperor's so-called imperial debit commissions came into play. They appointed debt managers who took charge of the affected nobles' finances and introduced measures to repay debts and increase liquidity. The goal was to secure these nobles' ability to rule. In general, these debit commissions favoured the debtors (nobles) over their creditors (mostly middle class). Did this approach merely treat the symptoms of the problem rather than trying to root out the structural factors contributing to such indebtedness?
In addition to contemporary journalistic materials, the key sources for this project include the records of the imperial debit commissions (HHStA Vienna) as well as the proclamations of the knights' circles and documents from the knight cantons (i.e. GLA Karlsruhe).
1800–1830
In many respects, the period around 1800 represented one of the greatest challenges to the nobility in all of their history. Due to the upheaval surrounding the French Revolution and the late Enlightenment critique of the nobility, as well as the problems left in the wake of an agrarian depression and the Napoleonic Wars, the nobility fell into a deep crisis of legitimacy around 1800. The political, economic and social upheavals during the Napoleonic era hit the lower nobility especially hard and demanded an enormous amount of adaptation and adjustment on their part. Not all of the nobles managed to come to terms with the new situation. In the worst cases, the livelihoods of individual nobles or even entire families were seriously endangered, as they could no longer ensure for their basic needs.
In scholarship, however, the impoverishment of the nobility has received scant attention. Using contemporary sources and a regional comparison, this project aims to shed new light on this historical phenomenon. By looking at the nobility in two regions with very different structures – Prussia and the German Southwest – it seeks to determine typologies of noble impoverishment and identify risk factors as well as strategies adopted to overcome the situation. Fundamental questions about the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of impoverishment from a social history perspective are a crucial part of the project.
Going a step further, this study also examines the phenomenon of impoverished nobility in light of the increasing importance of the up-and-coming middle classes around 1800 and the social competition that ensued. How was impoverishment among the nobility assessed from both internal (i.e. self-reflexive)and external perspectives? Did contemporaries attach any socio-structural significance to this problem? How was the concept of “poor nobles” connected with the mutual perceptions of threat between the nobility and the middle classes?
Using printed and unpublished sources, this study assesses the socio-historical significance of impoverishment among the nobility and analyses the social discourses concerning these poor nobles. With its chronological focus on the key transitional period around 1800, this project functions as a "hinge" for the entire sub-project D03. The direct comparison of the three individual case studies within the sub-project can be used to re-evaluate the applicability of the “Sattelzeit” (saddle period) concept, as well as to reach conclusions about functional mechanisms involved in rapid social change. In doing so, it can make a fundamental contribution to the CRC as a whole.
1880–1914
This individual case study focusing on the period from 1880-1914 uses its thematic focus on impoverished women from among the lower nobility as a prism, through which the phenomenon of impoverished nobility in general can be examined. It compares the situation of such women in Prussia with those in Southwest Germany within the context of the competition over social order between the nobility and the middle classes. In doing so, it questions to what degree the nobility persisted in using traditional methods to secure its position in bourgeois society. On the reverse side of the coin, it looks at whether the nobility was open to using new strategies emerging with the rise of a middle class society in order to maintain its status.
To go about answering these overarching questions, this project focuses on the case of poor female nobles. The project consists of three parts, the first one being a socio-historical examination of the extent and manifestations of impoverished female nobility around 1900, followed by an analysis of strategies used to deal with poverty among noble women. Building on these first two steps, it will then analyse how impoverished nobles dealt with the general competition with the middle classes.
Key sources include the “Präbendengesuche” (applications for admission to noble ladies' convents) as well as applications for support from private foundations. An examination of the records of different associations and societies should also prove fruitful. Relevant journalistic articles in contemporary newspapers will also be used to evaluate the nobility's perception of its competition with the bourgeoisie as well as their ways of dealing with this situation.
Sub-Project D03 in the CRC
Project D 03 is part of Project Area D “Competing Social Orders” that deals with threat scenarios in which two systems of social order with claims to hegemony and exclusivity confront each other.
Within the framework of the CRC as a whole, D03 looks at the paradigmatic interplay of socio-economic structures and structural breaks with systems of social order. Moreover, the three distinct chronological periods of the individual case studies allow for an investigation of the relationship between short-term threat scenarios and long-term structural changes.
Project-related Lectures and Publications
Begass, Chelion
- (mit Johanna Singer) Arme Frauen im Adel. Neue Perspektiven sozialer Ungleichheit im Preußen des 19. Jahrhunderts, in: Archiv für Sozialgeschichte, 54 (2014), S. 55-78.
- Rezension zu: Ehrmann-Köpke, Bärbel: 'Demonstrativer Müßiggang' oder 'rastlose Tätigkeit'? Handarbeitende Frauen im hansestädtischen Bürgertum des 19. Jahrhunderts. Münster 2010, in: H-Soz-u-Kult, 25.04.2013.
- (mit Jacek Klimek und Johanna Singer) Tagungsbericht Projektionsflächen von Adligkeit. 1. Marburger Kolloquium zur Adelsgeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts. 02.-04.11.2011, Marburg, in: H-Soz-u-Kult, 30.01.2012, Tagungsbericht in PDF-Format hier.
- 17.09.2014 - Thematische Einführung zur Konferenz "Soziale Abstiegsprozesse im europäischen Adel", 17.-19.09.2014, Tübingen.
- 20.11.2013 - (gemeinsam mit Johanna Singer) "Arme Frauen im Adel. Neue Perspektiven sozialer Ungleichheit im Preußen des 19. Jahrhunderts", Autorenworkshop des Archivs für Sozialgeschichte 54 (2014), Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Bonn.
- 03.07.2013 - '(...) ich unglücklicher Vater bin oft gezwungen die armen Kinder hunggrich zu Bette gehen zu laßen.' Armer preußischer Adel zwischen Existenzsicherung und Statusbewahrung 1780–1830, Institut für Geschichte der Universität Halle-Wittenberg.
- 08.01.2013 - Podiumsdiskussion (mit Prof. Dr. Ewald Frie, Johanna Singer, Jacek Klimek), im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Armuts -(selbst)zeugnisse. Was wissen die Wissenschaften von der Armut der Armen - und was wissen sie von deren Sicht der Dinge?", Universität Tübingen.
- 21.12.2012 - "Der 'arme Adel' in der Zeit der napoleonischen Kriege", Vortrag im SFB-Kolloquium, Universität Tübingen.
- 06.09.2012 - "Armutssemantik in preußischen Bittschriften „armer“ Adliger um 1800", Vortrag auf dem Workshop "Bittschriften als Quellen der Armutsforschung", Universität Tübingen.
- 09.12.2011 - "Armer Adel vom 18. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert"; Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung "Moderne Adelsgeschichte: Thesen, Konzepte, Kontroversen", TU Berlin (mit Jacek Klimek und Johanna Singer).
Brendle, Franz
- 01.07.2011 - "Hasenjäger, Vogelschützen und Krippenreiter. Armer Adel im 18. Jahrhundert", Vortrag an der Universität Würzburg.
Frie, Ewald
- E. Frie u.a. (Hg.): Noble Ways and Democratic Means (Journal of Modern European History Vol. 11, 2013/14, H. 4), München 2013.
- E. Frie/ J. Neuheiser: Introduction. Noble Ways and Democratic Means, in: Journal of Modern European History 11 (2013/14), S. 433-453.
- Armer Adel in nachständischer Gesellschaft, in: Ronald G. Asch u.a. (Hg.): Adel in Südwestdeutschland und Böhmen 1450-1850, Stuttgart 2013, S. 207-221.
- 'Bedrohte Ordnungen' zwischen Vormoderne und Moderne. Überlegungen zu einem Forschungsprojekt, in: Klaus Ridder u. Steffen Patzold (Hg.): Die Aktualität der Vormoderne. Epochenentwürfe zwischen Alterität und Kontinuität, Berlin 2013, S. 99-109.
- Friedrich II., Reinbek bei Hamburg 2012.
- Les funérailles contrastées des rois de Prusse au XVIIIe siècle, in: Juliusz A. Chrościcki, Mark Hengerer u. Gérard Sabatier (Hrsg.): Le grand théâtre de la mort (Les funérailles princières en Europe, XVIe - XVIIIe siècle, vol. 1), Paris 2012, S. 285-302.
- Oben bleiben? Armer preußischer Adel im 19. Jahrhundert, in: Gabriele B. Clemens, Malte König u. Marco Meriggi (Hg.): Hochkultur als Herrschaftselement. Italienischer und deutscher Adel im langen 19. Jahrhundert, Berlin - Boston 2011, S. 327-340.
21.11.2013 - "Prussian Nobilities and German Nations, 1700-1900"; Vortrag am Erasmus Center for Early Modern Studies, Rotterdam.
- 11.10.2013 - "Adel im Armenhaus? Was von der ständischen Gesellschaft in Preußen nach 1806 übrig blieb"; Vortrag im Rahmen der Vortragsreihe des Fördervereins Geschichte "Bedrohte Ordnungen: Der Sonderforschungsbereich 923 stellt sich vor", Universität Tübingen.
- 06.06.2013 - "Arme Adlige im langen 19. Jahrhundert", Vortrag an der Bundeswehrhochschule Hamburg.
- 24.05.2013 - "Preußischer Adel und deutsche Nation im 19. Jahrhundert"; Vortrag im Rahmen der Konferenz "Adel und Nation in der Neuzeit. Hierarchie, Egalität und Loyalität, 16.-20. Jahrhundert" am Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris, 22.05.2013-24.05.2013.
- 24.01.2013 - "Die Ausgangslage. Das Bild des Königs in der Öffentlichkeit bis 2007", Gespräch mit Michael Kaiser im Rahmen der Internationalen Konferenz "Friedrich der Große - Eine Bilanz" in Potsdam.
- 08.01.2013 -"Selbstzeugnisse armer Adliger im 19. Jahrhundert", Vortrag im Rahmen der Tübinger Ringvorlesung "Armutsselbstzeugnisse".
- 31.10.2012 - "Armer Adel. Bedroht sozialer Abstieg die ständische und/oder die bürgerliche Gesellschaft?" Vortrag im Rahmen des Studium Generale, Tübingen.
- 14.06.2012 – "Theodor Fontane und 1812. Erwartungen und Enttäuschungen", Vortrag auf dem Tübinger Symposium "1812 in der Geschichte Europas".
- 19.04.2012 - "Der preußische verarmte Adel im Deutschen Kaiserreich"; Gastvortrag bei der Otto-von-Bismarck-Stiftung, Friedrichsruh.
- 09.12.2011 - "Armut, Angst und der Adel"; Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung "Moderne Adelsgeschichte: Thesen, Konzepte, Kontroversen", 09.-10.12.2011, TU Berlin.
Klimek, Jacek
- (mit Johanna Singer) Armer Adel 1700 bis 1900, in: Mitteilungen der Residenzen-Kommission der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen. Neue Folge: Stadt und Hof 3, 2014, S. 87-97.
- (mit Tanja Granzow, Fabian Fechner, Roman Krawielicki, Beatrice von Lüpke, Rebekka Nöcker) 'We are gambling with our survival.' Bedrohungskommunikation als Indikator für bedrohte Ordnungen, in: Aufruhr – Katastrophe – Konkurrenz – Zerfall. Bedrohte Ordnungen als Thema der Kulturwissenschaften, Bd.1 der SFB 923-Reihe ‚Bedrohte Ordnungen‘, hg. von Ewald Frie und Mischa Meier, Tübingen (erscheint 2014) S. 141-173.
- (mit Chelion Albersmann und Johanna Singer) Tagungsbericht Projektionsflächen von Adligkeit. 1. Marburger Kolloquium zur Adelsgeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts, 02.-04.11.2011, Marburg, in: H-Soz-u-Kult, 30.01.2012. Tagungsbericht in PDF-Format hier.
- 18.09.2014 - "Zwischen Herrschaftsausbau und Verschwendungssucht - Die Freiherren vom Holtz im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert"; Vortrag im Rahmen der internationalen Konferenz "Soziale Abstiegsprozesse im europäischen Adel", Uni Tübingen.
- 27.05.2013 - "Von 'übler wirtschafft' und 'ohnräthlicher oeconomie'. Verschuldung und Verarmung beim reichsritterschaftlichen Niederadel in Schwaben (1720-1760)", Vortrag im Kolloquium Frühe Neuzeit, Universität Tübingen.
- 08.01.2013 - Podiumsdiskussion im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Armuts -(selbst)zeugnisse. Was wissen die Wissenschaften von der Armut der Armen - und was wissen sie von deren Sicht der Dinge?", Universität Tübingen (mit Prof. Dr. Ewald Frie, Johanna Singer, Chelion Begass).
- 21.12.2012 - "Das Schuldenwesen des Gottfried vom Holtz. Bedrohungskommunikation und Argumentationsstrategien", Vortrag im SFB-Kolloquium Tübingen.
- 17.12.2012 - "Von 'übler wirtschafft' und 'ohnräthlicher oeconomie'. Verschuldung und Verarmung beim reichsritterschaftlichen Niederadel in Schwaben (1720-1760)", Vortrag im Kolloquium Frühe Neuzeit der Universität Gießen.
- 07.09.2012 - "Zwischen Anklage und Rechtfertigungsstrategie – Glaubwürdigkeitsproblematik am Beispiel des reichsritterschaftlichen Schuldenwesens (1720-1760)"; Vortrag auf dem Workshop "Bittschriften als Quellen der Armutsforschung", Universität Tübingen.
- 09.12.2011 - (mit Chelion Albersmann und Johanna Singer) "Armer Adel vom 18. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert"; Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung "Moderne Adelsgeschichte: Thesen, Konzepte, Kontroversen", TU Berlin .
Singer, Johanna
- (mit Jacek Klimek) Armer Adel 1700 bis 1900, in: Mitteilungen der Residenzen-Kommission der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen. Neue Folge: Stadt und Hof 3, 2014, S. 87-97.
- (mit Chelion Begass) Arme Frauen im Adel. Neue Perspektiven sozialer Ungleichheit im Preußen des 19. Jahrhunderts, in: Archiv für Sozialgeschichte, 54 (2014), S. 55-78.
- Rezension zu: Schraut, Sylvia: Bürgerinnen im Kaiserreich. Biografie eines Lebensstils. Stuttgart 2013, in: H-Soz-u-Kult, 04.12.2013, Link.
- (mit Chelion Albersmann und Jacek Klimek) Tagungsbericht Projektionsflächen von Adligkeit. 1. Marburger Kolloquium zur Adelsgeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts, 02.-04.11.2011, Marburg, in: H-Soz-u-Kult, 30.01.2012. Tagungsbericht in PDF-Format hier.
- 19.09.2014 - "'... gezwungen in einem Berufe mich aus zu bilden' Armutsbedingte Erwerbstätigkeit adliger Frauen im Deutschen Kaiserreich'"; Vortrag im Rahmen der internationalen Konferenz "Soziale Abstiegsprozesse im europäischen Adel", Uni Tübingen.
- 20.11.2013 - (mit Chelion Begass) "Arme Frauen im Adel. Neue Perspektiven sozialer Ungleichheit im Preußen des 19. Jahrhunderts", Autorenworkshop des Archivs für Sozialgeschichte 54 (2014), Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Bonn.
- 08.01.2013 - Podiumsdiskussion (mit Prof. Dr. Ewald Frie, Jacek Klimek, Chelion Begass), im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Armuts -(selbst)zeugnisse. Was wissen die Wissenschaften von der Armut der Armen - und was wissen sie von deren Sicht der Dinge?", Universität Tübingen.
- 21.12.2012 –"„Armer Adel um 1900 und die Frage nach der Ordnungskonkurrenz zwischen Adel und Bürgertum", Vortrag im SFB 923-Kolloquium Tübingen.
- 06.09.2012 - "'Es liegt ein Fall großer Hülfsbedürftigkeit vor' - Individuelle Schicksale und wiederkehrende Muster in Bittgesuchen württembergischer adliger Fräulein um 1900". Vortrag im Rahmen des Workshops "Bittschriften als Quellen der Armutsforschung", 6.-7. September 2012, Tübingen.
- 09.12.2011 - (mit Chelion Albersmann und Jacek Klimek) "Armer Adel vom 18. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert"; Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung "Moderne Adelsgeschichte: Thesen, Konzepte, Kontroversen", TU Berlin.
Congresses, Workshops, and Conferences
- 18.-19.09.2014 - International Conference "Processes of Social Decline among the European Nobility", Tübingen.
- 06.-07.09.2012 - Workshop "Bittschriften als Quellen der Armutsforschung", Universität Tübingen. Zum Tagungsbericht
- 09.12.2011 - Workshop "Moderne Adelsgeschichte: Thesen, Konzepte, Kontroversen" (in Kooperation mit der TU Berlin), Berlin.
Project-relevant courses
Singer, Johanna
- Wintersemester 2013/14: Proseminar "Adel in Südwestdeutschland 1789-1815" (mit Dr. Daniel Menning).