德意志近代史

德语国家在政治和宗教上在近代早期（约1500-1800年）的存在分歧和差异。在中世纪晚期（约1250-1500年），组成神圣罗马帝国的国家之间的宗教紧张局势一直存在，尤其体现在波西米亚爆发的胡斯战争。然而这一时期决定性的宗教改革运动，导致了该地区前所未有的暴力和政治动荡。

通常认为宗教改革运动始于马丁·路德1517年在维滕贝格市（当时在萨克森选侯国，现在位于萨克森-安哈尔特境内）发表的九十五条论纲。宗教改革将德国各州划分为新的宗教界线：北部、东部和许多主要城市（如斯特拉斯堡、法兰克福和纽伦堡）成为新教地区，而南部和西部地区基本上仍然是天主教徒。为了维护神圣罗马帝国内部的稳定，1555年德意志诸侯和神圣罗马帝国皇帝签订了奥格斯堡和约。然而这些努力最终会失败，并最终导致了三十年战争（1618-1648年）这场欧洲大陆迄今为止最具破坏性的冲突之一。三十年战争以威斯特伐利亚和约的签订而告终。

这一时期还见证了普鲁士王国的出现和壮大，它成为了前任霸权的哈布斯堡王朝的主要竞争对手。在启蒙时代之后的欧洲近代早期结束和拿破仑战争期间神圣罗马帝国解体之后，这种奥地利-普鲁士的对抗将成为19世纪德国历史发展的最大驱动力。

延伸阅读

Hughes, Michael. Early Modern Germany, 1477-1806 (1992) excerpt （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）
Robisheaux, Thomas. Rural Society and the Search for Order in Early Modern Germany (2002)
Sabean, David. Power in the Blood: Popular Culture and Village Discourse in Early Modern Germany (1988)
Smith, Helmut Walser, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Modern German History (2011), 862 pp; 35 essays by specialists; Germany since 1760 excerpt （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）
Strauss, Gerald, ed. Pre-reformation Germany (1972) 452pp
Wilson, Peter H. The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy (2009)
Wunder, Heide. He Is the Sun, She Is the Moon: Women in Early Modern Germany (1998)

宗教

Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (1978) excerpt and text search
Dickens, A. G. Martin Luther and the Reformation (1969), basic introduction by leading scholar
Gawthrop, Richard, and Gerald Strauss. "Protestantism and literacy in early modern Germany," Past & Present, 1984 #104 pp 31–55 online^{[失效链接]}
Junghans, Helmar（德语）. Martin Luther: Exploring His Life and Times, 1483–1546. (book plus CD ROM) (1998)
Karant-Nunn, Susan C. The Reformation of Feeling: Shaping the Religious Emotions in Early Modern Germany (2012)
Midelfort, H. C. Erik. Witchcraft, Madness, Society, and Religion in Early Modern Germany: A Ship of Fools (2013)
Ranke, Leopold von. History of the Reformation in Germany (1847) 792 pp; by Germany's foremost scholar complete text online free （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）
Smith, Preserved. The Life and Letters of Martin Luther. (1911) complete edition online free （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）

历史

Brady, Thomas A. "From Revolution to the Long Reformation: Writings in English on the German Reformation, 1970-2005," Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte, 2009, Vol. 100, pp 48–64, in English
von Friedeburg, Robert. "Dickens, the German Reformation, and the issue of nation and fatherland in early modern German history," Historical Research, Feb 2004, Vol. 77 Issue 195, p79-97
Wilson, Peter H. "Historiographical Reviews: Still a Monstrosity? Some Reflections on Early Modern German Statehood," Historical Journal, June 2006, Vol. 49#2 pp 565–576 doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005334