Aristocracies or nobilities dominated the social, economic, and
institutional history of all European counties until only a few
generations ago. The relics of their power, in traditions and behavior,
in architecture and the arts, are still all around us. This engaging
Very Short Introduction shows how ideas of aristocracy originated in
ancient times, were transformed in the middle ages, and have only fallen
apart over the last two centuries, following the outbreak of the
American and French Revolutions. William Doyle, an authority on
eighteen-century European history, here strips away the myths in which
aristocracies have always sought to shroud themselves, but he also
astutely delineates the true sources of their enduring power. Their
outlook and behavior affected the rest of society in innumerable and
sometimes surprising ways, but perhaps most surprising was the way in
which the centuries-old aristocratic hegemony crumbled away. In this
Very Short Introduction William Doyle
considers why this happened and what is left today.