Europe’s high nobility was highly mobile across national borders

Evidence

Attention has been called to the peculiar fact that many families of high noble status in European countries have foreign origins. In England, the Fitzgeralds and the Dukes of Leicester come from Florence, the Dukes of Portland from Holland. In France, the Broglies come from Piedmont, the Dukes des Cars from Perugia, the Luynes from Arezzo. In Austria, the Clarys come from Florence. In Prussia, the Lynars come from Faenza. In Poland, the Poniatowskis come from Bologna. In Italy, the Roccas come from Croatia, the Ruspolis from Scotland, the Torlonias from France, and so on. One would expect members of the nobility to be little disposed to such transplantation by virtue of their attachment to landed property and their traditional nationalism, which is usually tied to a conservative Weltanschauung. All the more potent, then, must be the assimilating forces that are involved in such a changing about within what has been called the republic of nobility. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 500

Categorization

• XREF: This ‘republic of nobility’ transcending national borders resonates with Simmel’s broader point (developed in the Metropolis essay) that group affiliations form a web crossing territorial boundaries — useful counterpoint to Lofland’s place-bound categories of strangers. — connects to: The middle class is open at both boundaries while nobility is closed at both — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 485; Medieval knighthood fused individual authenticity with cosmopolitanism. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 659; Medieval identity was localized rather than European or continental (+5 more)

Related

• Medieval knighthood fused individual authenticity with cosmopolitanism. (similarity 0.86)
• Medieval Europe lost contact with the outside world (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Medieval knighthood fused individual authenticity with cosmopolitanism. #corroborates (0.55) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 659
• Medieval identity was localized rather than European or continental #complicates (0.50)
• Excess rival males over scarce fertile females drove knightly combat in medieval Europe #corroborates (0.35) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 169