State and Status: The Rise of the State and Aristocratic Power in Western Europe

This text is an examination of the rise of centralized states and its effect on the aristocracy’s power in the British Isles and the Paris Basin. Tracing the evolution of aristocratic power from the middle ages to the 18th century, Samuel Clark shows how the state was shaped by the need to mediate and accomodate an ever-changing aristocracy; and how the state in turn, shaped this aristocracy. He provides an analysis not only of the development of the aristocracy’s political power but also of its status, economic and cultural power. Arguing that the state emerged in western Europe not as nation states or national states but as powerful centres, Clark focuses on two large geographical zones that include Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Savoy, southern Netherlands, Liege and Luxembourg, rather than limiting his comparison to England and France.