The Imperial Reform of 1495 with Prof. Duncan Hardy

The Imperial Reform of 1495 with Prof. Duncan Hardy

From History of the Germans from the Middle Ages to Reunification by Dirk Hoffmann-Becking

February 19, 2026 · 1h 3m · Episode 226

About this episode

The episode features an interview with Prof. Duncan Hardy discussing the Imperial reform of 1495 and its implications for the Holy Roman Empire.

Prof Duncan Hardy is one of the leading experts in the history of the Holy Roman Empire and one of his main topics is the Imperial reform of 1495, making him the ideal guest for our show. In his first book, Associative Political Culture in the Holy Roman Empire he tries to define what the Holy Roman Empire was a question we will almost certainly spend quite some time discussing today. His forthcoming book, which he had so kindly sent me an advance copy, should be familiar to you all, since I do use it as a source for the show. It is titled Law, Society and Political Culture in Late Medieval and Reformation Germany and contains a large number of edited and translated primary sources illustrating German history circa 1350 to 1550. As a special treat, listeners to the Hstory of the Germans can order the book at Manchester University press with a 30% discount. The discount code is mentioned at the end of teh interview, so listen out. You can order ithere: Manchester University Press - Law, society and political culture in late medieval and Reformation Germany Duncan has a PHD from Oxford University, fellowships from Cambridge, Erfurt and Bielefeld and currently teaches at the…

People in this episode

Host: Dirk Hoffmann-Becking

Guest: Prof. Duncan Hardy

Topics covered

  • Holy Roman Empire
  • Imperial reform
  • German history
  • political culture
  • medieval society

Keywords

  • Imperial reform
  • Holy Roman Empire
  • Duncan Hardy
  • German history
  • medieval politics
  • academic discussion

Sponsors

Manchester University Press

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Central Florida

Books & works: Associative Political Culture in the Holy Roman Empire, Law, Society and Political Culture in Late Medieval and Reformation Germany

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