Joseph Bergin – författare

This study of Cardinal Richelieu's career as chief minister to Louis XIII of France presents the original research of eight experts in the field. Linking their work is the belief that Richelieu's ministry was a significant moment in the history of early modern France.The authors reject the traditional picture of Richelieu as the single-handed creator of the French absolute state and the original exponent of Realpolitik. Instead they paint a collective portrait of a statesman politically astute but none the less devout. The Richelieu who emerges is in many respects a conservative figure, but one driven by a genuine desire to establish a more just and peaceful society (both in France and in Europe). The emphasis here then is on Richelieu the Cardinal, not Richelieu the secular statesman. The tragedy and irony of his ministry, as the authors also show, was that in order to maintain himself in power, Richelieu had to behave more like a Renaissance prince than a Counter-Reformation prelate.

The complete short Oxford History of Europe provides a concise, readable, and authorititive point of entry for the history of Europe from the Ancient Greeks to the present day in eleven volumes. In each chapter a leading expert offers focused and penetrating insights into the major themes and influences of the period.Lying between the two great 'peaks' of European history, the Reformation and the Enlightenment in the centuries before and after, the seventeenth century lacks a clear identity of its own. And yet, it is the very proliferation of major events, crises, and processes throughout Europe that has made this transitional age so difficult to label.This book fully explores the seventeenth century, highly significant for the future of Europe. In a set of chapters covering and contrasting the European experience across the full century and the full continent, the reader is offered a rich, lively, and provocative introduction to this exciting period.

The complete Short Oxford History of Europe (series editor: Professor T.C.W. Blanning) will cover the history of Europe from Classical Greece to the present in eleven volumes. In each, experts write to their strengths tackling the key issues - including society, economy, religion, politics, and culture - head-on in chapters that will be at once wide-ranging surveys and searching analyses. Each book is specifically designed with the non-specialist reader in mind; but the authority of the contributors and the vigour of the interpretations will make them necessary and challenging reading for fellow academics across a range of disciplines. Lying between the two great 'peaks' of European history, the Reformation and the Enlightenment in the centuries fore and aft, the seventeenth century seems not to have a popular identity itself. And yet, as Professor Bergin points out in his Introduction, it is the very proliferation of major events, crises and processes throughout Europe that has made this transitional age so difficult to label. In this book, the seventeenth century, heavy with significance for the future of Europe, is fully explored by Professor Bergin and six major authors as they address, in turn, economy, society, politics, war and international relations, science, thought and culture ('The Age of Curiosity'), and Europe in the wider world. In a set of chapters covering and contrasting the European experience across the full century and the full continent, the reader is offered a rich, lively, and provocative introduction to the period, and students a superbly authoritative context for more detailed work.

Cardinal Richelieu (1583-1642) did more than anyone else to lay the foundations of the French hegemony in Europe and of absolute monarchy in his own country.  He was a spokesman for power politics, the idea of raison d’état, and the right of rulers to the unquestioning obedience of their subjects.  He was, in addition, one of the richest men in the entire history of France.  Joseph Bergin’s study of his wealth—the first full-scale analysis of the fortune of a leading political figure of the ancient régime—reveals the multiple connections that existed at that time between the tenure of political office and the accumulation of individual and family wealth.“A brilliant, fascinating, and elegantly written book.”—American Historical Review“Bergin’s study of Richelieu’s fortune achieves the unexpected feat of adding substantially to our knowledge of one of the most important figures in French history, largely through the exploitation of a group of hitherto unused documents…. Well-constructed and elegantly written…. The book’s great virtue is…that it places Richelieu within the social and economic context of his time.”—Robin Briggs, Times Literary Supplement“Here is a vivid and fascinating guide to the financial basis of high society in Louis XIII’s France, and a precise account of how Richelieu gained and maintained his position in government…. A meticulous and scholarly examination of the fortune accumulated by one man, it sheds much light on the more general topic of the nature and means of noble wealth and influence in the early seventeenth century.”—Roger Mettam, History Today

The definitive account of the nature of French religious life across the ‘long seventeenth century’This readable and engaging book by an acclaimed historian is the only wide-ranging synthesis devoted to the French experience of religious change during the period after the wars of religion up to the early Enlightenment. Joseph Bergin provides a clear, up-to-date, and thorough account of the religious history of France in the context of social, institutional, and cultural developments during the so-called long seventeenth century.Bergin argues that the French version of the Catholic Reformation showed a dynamism unrivaled elsewhere in Europe. The traumatic experiences of the wars of religion, the continuing search within France for heresy, and the challenge of Augustinian thought successively energized its attempts at religious change. Bergin highlights the continuing interaction of church and society and shows that while the French experience was clearly allied to its European context, its path was a distinctive one.

Using the same format that has become so popular in Pascal, Karel the Robot has now become object-oriented. This book is intended to teach novice programmers the fundamentals of object-oriented programming. It accomplishes this goal with an analog equivalent of C++ that allows introductory computer science students to work through a programming project from start to finish.The book opens by explaining the elaborate Robot world that Karel lives in, a world filled with objects. The text continues this strong metaphor throughout. Through the metaphor, students learn the art of solving programming problems in an object-oriented paradigm.This text is suitable for any introductory or second course in computer science where C++ is used.

Few modern countries can boast of such a lengthy history as France, whose distinctive shape has been a key feature of the successive stages of European history during the past millennium. This engaging narrative seamlessly weaves together the complex tale of French history since the year 1000. Bringing together political, religious, social and cultural developments, A History of France provides an insightful and readable overview of the country's history as it moved from a dominant position within Europe – with an empire stretching across the continents – to one in which it was invaded and occupied by its largest neighbour. Through revolution, war and peace, Joseph Bergin explores how the Frankland of 1000 CE has mutated into the France we know today.