The German Political Broadsheet 1600–1700

This volume – the last of the edition to contain full-page illustrations of broadsheets – reproduces those sheets that have come to light in public and private European collections after previous volumes had already appeared in print. They are exceedingly rare, with in many cases only one known extant copy. The major historical figures at the center of the sheets include Emperor Ferdinand II, Martin Luther, Louis XIV of France, Charles I of England, and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. As with the broadsheets in other volumes, topics are wide-ranging: several armed conflicts between European nations, Ottoman invasions, imperial ceremonies, reactions against foreign fashion, ominous comets, etc. Following the organization of previous volumes, the individual sheets are arranged in chronological order and, thus, can be compared easily with other contemporary sheets. This volume will be followed by an index volume. The entire edition offers modern readers a unique way of understanding the political and social context in which events of major historical importance in the seventeenth century took place.