Volker Press
Encyclopedia
Volker Press was a German historian
.
and English
from 1957 to 1965 at the University of Munich. He completed his doctorate in 1966 with Friedrich Hermann Schubert with a dissertation on the Electoral Palatinate in the confessional age. After serving as an assistant at the University of Kiel
and the University of Frankfurt, he took a post as a full professor (Professor ordinarius) of modern history at the University of Giessen
. In 1980 he moved to a post at the University of Tübingen where he taught medieval and modern history until his sudden death in 1993.
The focal points of Press's research included the imperial knights
, the ecclesiastical territories seized by the imperial nobles, and the position of the Habsburg
emperors in the Holy Roman Empire
and in their home territories. His papers are in the possession of the archive of the University of Tübingen. His voluminous library was acquired by the University of Prague
. Press had been a member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences since 1991.
Edited volumes
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
.
Life and career
Volker Press studied historyHistory
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
from 1957 to 1965 at the University of Munich. He completed his doctorate in 1966 with Friedrich Hermann Schubert with a dissertation on the Electoral Palatinate in the confessional age. After serving as an assistant at the University of Kiel
University of Kiel
The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...
and the University of Frankfurt, he took a post as a full professor (Professor ordinarius) of modern history at the University of Giessen
University of Giessen
The University of Giessen is officially called the Justus Liebig University Giessen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.-History:The University of Gießen is among the oldest institutions of...
. In 1980 he moved to a post at the University of Tübingen where he taught medieval and modern history until his sudden death in 1993.
The focal points of Press's research included the imperial knights
Imperial Knight
The Free Imperial Knights, or the Knights of the Empire was an organisation of free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor, remnants of the medieval free nobility and the ministeriales...
, the ecclesiastical territories seized by the imperial nobles, and the position of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
emperors in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and in their home territories. His papers are in the possession of the archive of the University of Tübingen. His voluminous library was acquired by the University of Prague
University of Prague
Prague UniversitiesSocial Science:*Charles University in PragueEconomic University:*University of Economics, Prague*The University of Finance and AdministrationTechnical University:*Czech Technical University in Prague...
. Press had been a member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences since 1991.
Works
Monographs- Calvinismus und Territorialstaat: Regierung und Zentralbehörden der Kurpfalz 1559–1619. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1970.
- Das alte Reich: Ausgewählte Aufsätze. Stephanie Blankenhorn and Johannes Kunisc, eds. 2nd. edition, Berlin: 2000, ISBN 3-428-09138-8.
- Kaiser Karl V., König Ferdinand und die Entstehung der Reichsritterschaft. Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1976.
- Kriege und Krisen: Deutschland 1600–1715. Neue Deutsche Geschichte. Munich: C.H. Beck, 1991., ISBN 3-406-30817-1.
- Südwestdeutsche Bischofsresidenzen ausserhalb der Kathedralstädte. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1992.
Edited volumes
- Moraw, Peter and Volker Press, ed. Academia Gissensis: Beiträge zur älteren Giessener Universitätsgeschichte. Marburg, 1982, ISBN 3-7708-0734-0.
- Press, Volker, and Dieter Stievermann, ed. Altes Reich und Deutscher Bund: Kontinuität in der Diskontinuität. Munich: Oldenbourg, 1995.
- Press, Volker, and Dieter Stievermann, ed. Martin Luther: Probleme seiner Zeit. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1986. ISBN 3-608-91431-5.
- Press, Volker, ed. Alternativen zur Reichsverfassung in der frühen Neuzeit? Munich: Oldenbourg, 1995. ISBN 3-486-56035-2.
Further reading
- Peter Moraw, Volker Press. in Historische ZeitschriftHistorische ZeitschriftHistorische Zeitschrift, founded in 1859 by Heinrich von Sybel is considered to be the first and for a time the foremost historical journal. The creation of this journal inspired Gabriel Monod to found the French Revue historique in 1876. In 1886 the English Historical Review was founded and in...
vol. 259 (1994): 878–883.