The Origins of Nationalism An Alternative History from Ancient Rome to Early Modern Germany

includes index and biblioraphy

1 Introduction 1 1.1 Organism into artefact 3 1.2 Fighting the modernist cause - a lost cause? 7 1.3 Turning constructivism downside up 9 1.4 The impact of Antiquity, or the power of anachronism 13 1.5 Nationalism: promoter of historical scholarship? 16 2 The modernist paradigm: strengths and weaknesses 20 2.1 Nationalism without nationalists 22 2.2 Strengths and shortcomings 23 2.3 Fake communities by`fake`constructivists 26 2.4 Modernist myopia and the`invention of tradition` 29 3 Foundations of a new nationalism theory 34 3.1 How to describe the nation? 35 3.2 Equality and multipolarity 38 3.3 The nation: a product of failed imperialisms 40 3.4 Competing for honour and freedom 44 3.5 Definitions 47 4 Killing and dying for love: the common fatherland 50 4.1 Cicero and the construction of the ideal patriot 53 4.2 Ascetic love 58 4.3 Patriotic distortions of politics 60 4.4 Patriotism`s smooth transition from republic to principate 62 4.5 From earth to heaven and back: the Middle Ages 64 4.6 A multitude of New Israels and New Romes 66 4.7 Legal scholars: the King`s patriotic citizens 69 4.8 The downgrading of Empire and Papacy 71 5 Competing for honour: the making of nations in late medieval Europe 78 5.1 Corporative honour:`nationes`at medieval universities 79 5.2 From concrete to abstract communities: the `nationes` at the Council of Constance 81 5.3 The new dimensions of national honour 88 5.4 National honour: symptom of an overheating economy of honour 95 5.5 How to measure the standing of a nation? 98 5.6 National honour: remedy for an overheating economy of honour 101 The nationalist transformation of borders and languages 104 6.1 `Tongue`as political space 106 6.2 `Adam was a German` 108 6.3 Purifying the German language (and the German people) 110 6.4 The limited originality of Romantic nationalism 116 Humanist nationalism 119 7.1 Renaissance humanism - an innovative anachronism 121 7.2 Barbarising the French or how Italian humanists successfully fought reality 7.3 The Emperor`s independent supporters: humanist nationalists in Germany 152 7.4 The interdependence of nationalist isolation and assimilation 156 7.5 Germany - the (yet-to-be) civilised nation 159 7.6 Germany - the authentic nation 167 A German Emperor for the German people 180 8.1 The introduction of nationality as an election criterion 182 8.2 The impact of popular xenophobia 187 8.3 From German hero to Spanish invader - the transformation of Emperor Charles V Nation and denomination 196 9.1 Martin Luther`s German nation 199 9.2 The authentic nation of Protestants vs. the civilised nation of Catholics 9.3 The continuity of a non-confessional national discourse 209 Conclusion 212 10.1 Nationalism and confessional fundamentalism 213 10.2 The modern legacy of the ancient learned politician 215 10.3 Coda 219