The Holy Roman Empire V
************************************************** **********
Germany
There was no notion of "nationality" during the Early Modern Era. Peasants were peasants, not Germans or Frenchmen. The nobility felt at home with their peers in other countries, but despised those who had to perform physical labor. Certainly, no nobleman would have entertained the notion that he shared the same blood as a peasant living on his land, and owing him rent and tribute. The clergy, likewise, was divided into local parish priests and high officials drawn from different social strata. Their loyalty was with their social peers, not with their "nation."
At the same time, a small group of intellectuals, raised on literature printed in the local vernacular, rather than Latin, began to embrace an idea of the nation that would be familiar to us. If this group grows in size and influence, they might be able to drive a powerful member state of the Empire to pursue the unification of all German states under a single authority.
The convener of an Imperial Circuit will be especially well positioned to take advantage of such a movement. But there are dangers in embracing a popular idea, when you are a monarch. After all, your power does not derive from the people, but from God. The idea of the nation may get out of hand, when the people become convinced that they are sovereign. That is of course a ridiculous notion, and we have nothing to fear from such folly.
Voili, voilou