Der zweite Mann im Staat

Favorites and prime ministers of European monarchs have long enjoyed the attention of early modern scholars. However, historical scholarship has not yet systematically investigated the existence of a "second man in the state" within the imperial princes' circles, who exerted considerable influence over the princes and significantly shaped political decisions. This volume aims to fill this gap. It focuses on the circle of favorites, favorites, leading officials, and ministers at the courts of German territorial princes. Numerous examples are used to examine the conditions that made the existence of favorites within the ruler's circle possible. This study clearly demonstrates that the political circumstances of the Old Empire resulted in a specific form of the favorite type. A look at the particular variation of a pan-European structural phenomenon of early modern rule at the courts of the Old Empire reveals both similarities and differences between the European monarchies and the territories of the Empire.