Histoire de l`Alsace

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Histoire de l’Alsace
Tome II: Bas-Rhin
Kevin Smith
2015

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Printing / Binding Instructions
1. Print document double sided on letter size paper
2. Cut the entire printed document in half
3. Fold over making sure the page numbering is continuous
4. For the cover: Print just the first page on card stock paper
Cut the cover in half as well
5. Assemble the covers on the document
6. Punch the left side for a binding, spiral or comb as desired
http://www.lessmiths.com/~kjsmith/html/main.shtml
KJ Smith

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INTRODUCTION
This little guide stems from my interest in “putting it all together”, for
understanding something of the history of Alsace (whence comes my lovely
bride). I am partictularily interested in that history which has left tangible
evidence in the form of many castles dotting the Vosges foothills and the
fortified towns which often opposed them on the fertile plains below. Not
only the towns and castles themselves but the ghosts of those who lived
there, their concerns, motavations, and the broader European social currents
that influenced and often inundated them.
I have started with a backbone of articles describing the many castles which
remain ever present. These are the transition civilation existing between an
early Celtic and Roman world swamped by the growth of Frankish power,
and by a later Europe shaped by new cities and ideas yet retaining the
legacy of feudal/aristocratic ambitions and foibles. The ruins of ideas often
as present as the castles themselves.
Alsace is one of those border states (as it were) always part of larger
neighboring regions without necessarily a unique history of its own. What
happened in Alsace happened in Europe and what happened in Europe
happened in Alsace. As such, a look into this region's history provides
larger insights and understanding. These two volumes are certainly my
version of an argument from the specific to the general.
For each volume I include at the end a more extensive summary of Alsace
history, a slightly larger perspective. As each of the two volumes are
intended to work stand-alone if desired, the Alsace History is repeated in
both volumes.
Kevin Smith
2015
http://www.lessmiths.com/~kjsmith/html/main.shtml