This well-illustrated translation of Bůžek's 2006 study of the Bohemian nobility in the sixteenth century is extremely welcome. Not only does it provide access for those without Czech to a subject vital to our understanding of early-modern Habsburg history, but it also demonstrates, along with the work of Petr Mat'a in particular, how research on the Bohemian nobility is being integrated into current historiographical debates. Although traditional political, religious, and legal approaches to the relationship between ruler and subject in the Habsburg lands are, with good reason, resilient, newer issues such as court ceremonial, communication, and representation are as revealing for Bohemia as for elsewhere in Europe.

Bůžek considers how the Bohemian nobility engaged with Habsburg rule in the sixteenth century, and specifically the authority exercised and displayed by Archduke Ferdinand, son of Emperor Ferdinand I and brother of Emperor Maximilian II. His father appointed Ferdinand Statthalter in Bohemia in 1547, and from 1567 until his death in 1695, Ferdinand was ruler of Tirol and Further Austria. Ferdinand was appointed to Bohemia in the wake of a revolt against Habsburg authority, but this book is an account of neither political emasculation nor religious intransigence.

Using an “historical-anthropological” approach, Bůžek convincingly identifies experiences and processes that brought some members of the Bohemian nobility more closely into the Habsburg orbit. Three features of this encounter frame his study: service at court in Vienna, Prague, or Innsbruck; the interaction of the leading members of the Bohemian nobility with the Statthalter that resulted from their participation in provincial government; and finally, participation in and reception of staged events such as coronations, ceremonial entries, or tournaments. In each instance, Bůžek demonstrates an often subtle accommodation to the authority of the Habsburgs that was not necessarily at the expense of the nobility's pleasure, long-standing privileges, or preeminence. The supreme provincial officials who worked with Habsburg interests would decorate their castles with portraits of Habsburg rulers but also with frescoes of the provincial judicial court, which they deemed the jewel of kingdom of Bohemia. (145–49).

The ramifications of this developing relationship provided new opportunities for some noble families. Engagement with a Habsburg court brought, for example, knowledge of international affairs that had been notably lacking among the estates (112), personal ties beyond the borders of Bohemia, and even an opportunity to acquire German. The necessary interaction between royal and provincial authorities over internal issues such as inheritance or debt created a network of communication between Habsburgs and provincial officials that acted as a catalyst for the flow of information. Although such engagement with the Habsburg court was meaningful for the leading nobles, more significant still were family duties played out within regional power centers. But the ties to the court, in turn, bound these Herren und Freunden into Habsburg interests. The Bohemian nobility who accepted the call to arms against the Turks in 1556 were likely to have served at court or have been supreme provincial officials (133).

Particularly stimulating here is Bůžek's engagement with the social and ceremonial world of the Habsburgs, which could include nobles without specific ties to the court. Carefully staged and increasingly elaborate festivities provided entertainment and pleasure. Such allegorical events were, however, also an opportunity to reinforce the image of the ruler as the virtuous medieval knight or as the divinely appointed ruler who defended Christendom from the Turks or dispensed peace and justice. Another form of display was provided by architecture, in which both Habsburgs and nobles engaged with styles that reflected interests beyond Bohemia itself. Such cultural and social associations continued even after the political bonds had been broken with Ferdinand's move to Innsbruck: Some members of Bohemian noble families held positions at his new court, but more significant were, for example, the Fastnacht celebrations and drinking games to which Bohemian nobles were invited.

The strengths of this book lie in both the refreshing material and in an approach that allows for a subtle sense of context. When Bůžek places this textured portrayal alongside more blunt traditional interpretations, such as the defense of traditional rights, the attitude of a conservative old-style nobility, or centralizing or bureaucratizing tendencies, the result can be jarring. The author's success lies rather in his ability to situate Ferdinand within his family, within both realities and representations of Habsburg authority, and within processes of social interaction and accommodation that buttressed, rather than strained, relations between nobility and ruler in sixteenth-century Bohemia.