Origins of Nationalism

In this large-scale work, Kaspar Hirsche offers a new perspective on the origins of nationalism and the formation of European nations. Based on extensive research of written and visual sources from Antiquity to the Early Modern period, the author reintegrates the history of pre-modern Europe into the study of nationalism, describing it as an unintended and inevitable consequence of the legacy of Roman imperialism in the Middle Ages. Hirsche highlights the first nationalists among the humanists of the Renaissance, examining their social roles and ambitions to provide a new perspective on the history of political science in Europe, and argues that their appeal to ancient models for imitation led to serious contradictions between their self-perception and political function.

This book shows that only by understanding the development of politics, science, and art in Europe before the Modern era can we fully appreciate the global power of nationalism in the contemporary political context.