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The Empire in the 15th Century

The Empire in the 15th Century

Auteur(s): Dirk Hoffmann-Becking
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À propos de cet audio

 This is the time when the empire reaches its most challenging phase. This is not the difficult second album, this is more Tina Turner in 1982 when her cover of shame, shame, shame reached #47 in the Netherlands charts. This is where we see the beginnings of actual states and state bureaucracies developing in Germany. But these states were extremely fragile, likely to be overrun by enemies, divided amongst multiple sons or incorporated into larger entties. War was almost constant, as were dramas of love and pride. Despite all this strife and feuding, this is also a time of great innovation. Gutenberg came up with the printing press, a technology that would undermine the authority of the Catholic church, fan the flames which led to the Reformation, create the communications infrastructure needed for the rise of modern science and even – if Neil Postman is to be believed – lead to the invention of childhood as an extended, protected phase in the lives of young people. Like the internet and social media, the printing press demanded new types of content: maps, encyclopedias, fiction, political pamphlets and engravings, opening the world up to the world.Copyright 2025 Dirk Hoffmann-Becking Art Monde
Épisodes
  • What Has Printing Ever Done For Us?

    What Has Printing Ever Done For Us?
    Sep 23 2025

    “We should note the force, effect, and consequences of inventions which are nowhere more conspicuous than in those three which were unknown to the ancients, namely printing, gunpowder and the compass. For these three have changed the appearance and the state of the world.” wrote Francis Bacon in 1620. And almost everybody agreed.

    Printing changed everything, but how exactly did it change everything? That is a question nobody posed properly until Elisabeth L. Eisenstein got on the academic stage in the 1970s and the debate has not yet stopped.

    In this episode I will try to take you through some of Eisenstein’s ideas on the how of the change and, in the end, attempt a raincheck on what we can learn from it for the information revolution we are living through right now. No worries, this is still the History of the Germans, so we will talk facts and dates and processes, with only occasional attempts at breaking into the ivory tower…

    he music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.

    As always:

    Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com

    If you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans Podcast

    Facebook: @HOTGPod

    Threads: @history_of_the_germans_podcast

    Bluesky: @hotgpod.bsky.social

    Instagram: history_of_the_germans

    Twitter: @germanshistory

    To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.

    So far I have:

    The Ottonians

    Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy

    Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen

    Frederick II Stupor Mundi

    Saxony and Eastward Expansion

    The Hanseatic League

    The Teutonic Knights

    The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356
    Voir plus Voir moins
    37 min
  • Johannes Gutenberg’s Pressing Matters

    Johannes Gutenberg’s Pressing Matters
    Sep 16 2025

    It is the invention of the printing press we discuss here, nothing more and nothing less. How did it come about, how did it work and why?

    he music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.

    As always:

    Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com

    If you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans Podcast

    Facebook: @HOTGPod

    Threads: @history_of_the_germans_podcast

    Bluesky: @hotgpod.bsky.social

    Instagram: history_of_the_germans

    Twitter: @germanshistory

    To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.

    So far I have:

    The Ottonians

    Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy

    Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen

    Frederick II Stupor Mundi

    Saxony and Eastward Expansion

    The Hanseatic League

    The Teutonic Knights

    The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356

    The Reformation before the Reformation
    Voir plus Voir moins
    44 min
  • The Empire in the 15th Century - Season Opener

    The Empire in the 15th Century - Season Opener
    Sep 9 2025

    Many German histories skip over this period in order to get to the Reformation, which is a shame. Because the 15th century did not just shape the physical appearance of the country, but much of its geographical and mental make-up.

    he music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.

    As always:

    Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com

    If you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans Podcast

    Facebook: @HOTGPod

    Threads: @history_of_the_germans_podcast

    Bluesky: @hotgpod.bsky.social

    Instagram: history_of_the_germans

    Twitter: @germanshistory

    To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.

    So far I have:

    The Ottonians

    Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy

    Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen

    Frederick II Stupor Mundi

    Saxony and Eastward Expansion

    The Hanseatic League

    The Teutonic Knights

    The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356

    The Reformation before the Reformation
    Voir plus Voir moins
    12 min
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