Eyewitness Accounts of the Thirty Years War 1618-48 [Hardcover]

The Thirty Years War - the first great pan-European war, and until the twentieth century the most terrible - ravaged Germany, but myth, propaganda and historical controversy have obscured its true nature. Another perspective is provided by the private diaries, memoirs and chronicles of soldiers and citizens who recorded their own experiences. War at the individual level is discussed and described using these sources, which are extensively quoted in their own words.List of Plates Sources, References and Translations What happened in the Thirty Years War? Sources, Authors and Texts Military Perspectives Civilian Perceptions Siege and Storm Faith and Experience Counting the Cost Three Nuns' Accounts Priests and Politics Thomas Mallinger's Freiburg Chronicle Gallus Zembroth's Allensbach Chronicle The Memoirs of Colonel Augustin von Fritsch The Memoirs of Colonel Robert Monro A 'Myth of the All-destructive Fury'? Why Did They Write? Historical Sources or Ego-documents? Bibliography Authors, Occupations and Locations Map: Homes of Civilian Eyewitnesses

'To sum up, the book is brimming with good ideas and information. In its class, it will not be superseded for years.' - Dr Peter Edwards, University of Surrey

'The writing is crisp and well organized...' - R.E. Schreiber, Choice