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Throughout much of its history Germany has been more a geographical expression than a political one. Unity was denied the German people as they emerged from the Middle Ages, and real consolidation did not begin until after the middle of the 19th century. The era from 1914 to 1990 has been tumultuous and often horrific but, at the dawn of the 21st century, Germany seems to have achieved a level of unity seldom seen previously. A record of the rulers of German states is an exceedingly complex undertaking, inasmuch as German feudal theory encouraged rampant subdivision of territories within various branches of governing noble families. Additionally, the continental practice of assigning to all descendents of one granted a patent of nobility the rank so proferred (as opposed to merely the Salic heirs - eldest surviving male of eldest surviving male, etc.) insured one level or another of corporate rulership based on "committees" of brothers and often cousins. These conditions created between the 12th and 18th centuries many hundreds of small or often miniscule statelets, each with a considerable degree of autonomy, each with its own peculiar traditions and customs, and each liable to be united with its neighbours - or further subdivided - depending upon genealogical accident. What follows are master indices to the various Germany files within the archive. Please note, this is a work-in-progress. I have yet to link most of the references I intend to join yet, and beyond that, the data itself must be regarded as tentative, since sources for this material vary widely in reliability and completeness. As I refine this material, I will edit corresponding improvements into this collection, and I earnestly solicit your patience. Go to: German Indices - specific states and
territories
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GERMANYAn
overall survey of the Kingdom as a whole. See also, the
Holy
Roman Empire.
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