Pictures of German Life in the XVIIIth and XIXth Centuries, Vol. I.

by Gustav Freytag

CHAPTER II.

The Life of the Lower Nobility (1500-1800).--The country nobles in the sixteenth century--The court nobles--The detrimental effects of the Great War--Description of a wealthy nobleman from 1650-1700--Patents of nobility--Description of the life of the newly-ennobled merchants from 1650-1700--The country nobles and Krippenreiters from 1660-1700--Description of the same from "The Nobleman," by Paul Winckler--Better condition after 1700--Privileges of the nobles--Introduction of a new culture--Gellert--Union of the nobles with the citizens