Print and Power

Vol. 326 of the Studien zur europäischen Rechtsgeschichte has been published

The invention of printing with movable type also had profound consequences from the perspective of legal history. Not only could collections of laws and legal commentaries now be disseminated more quickly, the authorities also benefited directly from working with printers. Saskia Limbach’s study addresses this topic by comparing the production of official publications in the Duchy of Württemberg with that of the Free Imperial City of Cologne in the course of the 16th century. On a broad source basis, and as comprehensively as has rarely been done, the author analyzes the economic conditions that made the creation of administrative documents (e.g. the so-called police ordinances) possible in the Holy Roman Empire. The work is recommended to anyone interested in the book history, legal history or economic history of the early modern period.