近世神聖ローマ帝国をめぐる研究動向 : 近年のドイツにおける「国家・国民」意識によせて (特集 : 歴史学の現在 2006)

Abstract

By proposing in his Geschichte des Alten Reiches. Staat und Nation in der Fruhen Neizeit 1495-1806 (1999) that the Holy Roman Empire (hereafter abbreviated as the Empire) had served as the state of the German people, the early modern historian Georg Schmidt developed the daring and unique interpretation that in German too there existed a state and people just as in the West (France and the United Kingdom). After the end of the Second World War, although its direct influence had waned, the historical consciousness of "little Germany, " in which and its territories and the Protestants were seen as the upholders of modernization continued a basic undercurrent that has continued until today. That which arose as a reaction to the view of little Germany and confronted the movement toward a post-war united Europe was a view that emphasized the mutual complementary relationship of the Empire and its territories. By taking the Empire as the object of evaluation, it became possible to focus appropriate attention on Southern Germany including Austria, which was its major backer, and the influence of the Catholics. As a result of this, Schmidt interpreted "the Empire as political system" in order to define the mutually complementary relationship of the emperor and those of various estates, or among those of various estates, out of the mutual relationship of the Empire and its various institutions (the emperor, the imperial diet, imperial courts, imperial tax system, and imperial circle). After the 1970s, this view became the standard and has continued to be so to this day. It must be noted that two variations were borne of this view. One variation was an interpretive model that employed the traditional view of little Germany as an axis and attempted to re-evaluate the importance of the Empire from the point of view of the formation of the modern state. In contrast to this view, and probably inspired by the "principle of complementariness" frequently uttered within the arguments over European union, was the switch to an interpretation revolving around the "mutual complementary nature of the Empire arid its territories" in the second variation that was G. Schmidt's komplementare Reichs-Staat, which was an outgrowth of his "political system." Through an introduction and investigation of the controversy over the work of G. Schmidt, this article aims to explore the image of early modern Germany and that of Europe that is appropriate at a time when the future of globalization is in question.