THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR (1618–1648): CLIMATIC CONTEXT, GEOPOLITICAL CONSEQUENCES AND THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE AGE
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##
Abstract
This article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) – the bloodiest armed conflict of early modern Europe – across several interrelated dimensions: geopolitical, climatic, and cultural-material. The key phases of the conflict, its participants, and long-term consequences are examined – from the Peace of Westphalia to post-war instability. Particular attention is paid to the role of the climatic factor – the cold depression of the Maunder Minimum – in deepening the humanitarian catastrophe. The influence of extreme winters on the formation of René Descartes’s philosophical method is explored. A separate section is devoted to cast-iron fireback plates of the Richelieu era – artefacts reflecting the state of metallurgical production under wartime conditions, as well as the regional artistic and heraldic traditions of Burgundy, Dauphiné, and Champagne. The study combines methods of historical climatology, genealogy, art history, and regional history.
How to Cite
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
Thirty Years’ War, René Descartes, Cardinal Richelieu, fireback plates, Franche-Comté, early modern period, France, 17th century.
2. Belhoste, J.-F. (1992). Fonte, fer, acier en Rhône-Alpes: XVe – début XXe siècle. Inventaire Général – A.D.I.R.A. Rhône-Alpes.
3. Bogdan, H. (2006). La guerre de Trente Ans. 1618–1648. Perrin.
4. Bourgin, H., & Bourgin, G. (1920). L'Industrie sidérurgique en France au début de la Révolution. Imprimerie nationale.
5. Brázdil, R., Dobrovolný, P., Pfister, C., Kleemann, K., Chromá, K., Szabó, P., & Olinski, P. (2023). Weather and climate and their human impacts and responses during the Thirty Years' War in Central Europe. Climate of the Past, 19, 1863–1890.
6. Courcelles, J.-B.-P. J. de. (1820). Dictionnaire universel de la noblesse de France. Tome deuxième (M–Z). Au bureau général de la noblesse de France.
7. Descartes, R. (1966). Discours de la méthode, suivi des Méditations métaphysiques. Ernest Flammarion.
8. Descartes, R. (2011). Méditations sur la philosophie première (1641, 1647) [Electronic ed., v. 1.0]. Les Échos du Maquis. http://philosophie.cegeptr.qc.ca
9. Donovan, K. (2025, July 14). Bannon and Caldwell warning, Ukraine war spiraling out of control as President Trump faces escalation pressure. War Room. https://warroom.org/sitrep-bannon-and-caldwell-warning-ukraine-war-spiraling-out-of-control-as-president-trump-faces-escalation-pres-sure/
10. Du Boys de Riocourt, N. (1861). Relation des sièges et du blocus de la Mothe (1634–1642–1645). Chaumont.
11. Faure, M.-N. (2019). La guerre de Trente Ans. Ellipses Édition Marketing S.A.
12. Gallier, A. de. (1866). Notice sur Hector de Maniquet, seigneur du Fayet en Dauphiné, suivie de documents inédits relatifs à sa mission en Allemagne. Imprimerie de Chenavier et Chavet.
13. Gantet, C. (2024). La Guerre de Trente Ans, 1618–1648. Tallandier / Ministère des Armées.
14. Girardot de Noseroy, J. (1843). Histoire de dix ans de la Franche-Comté de Bourgogne (1632–1642). Besançon.
15. Haldane, E. S. (1905). Descartes: His life and times. John Murray.
16. Lassus, F. (1987). Plaques de cheminée : à propos de trois platines fondues autour de 1710 au fourneau d'Igny (Haute-Saône). Barbizier. Bulletin de liaison de folklore comtois, nouv. série(14), 463–480.
17. Makhun, S. (2006, February 10). Kholodna zyma 1650-ho, abo taiemnytsia smerti Dekarta [The cold winter of 1650, or the mystery of Descartes's death]. Dzerkalo tyzhnia. https://zn.ua/ukr/amp/SOCIUM/holodna_zima_1650-go,_abo_taemnitsya_smerti_dekarta.html [in Ukrainian]
18. Münkler, H. (2023). Der Dreißigjährige Krieg. Europäische Katastrophe, deutsches Trauma 1618–1648 (5. Aufl.). Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag.
19. Parker, G. (2013). Global crisis: War, climate change and catastrophe in the seventeenth century. Yale University Press.
20. Pompery, O. de. (1906). Généalogie de la famille de Maniquet: Dauphiné, Lyonnais, Forez, Brie, duché de Nevers, île de la Martinique… Revue d'histoire de Lyon, A. Rey & Cie.
21. Royal, F. (2017). À l'aube de la campagne : l'impact du quartier d'hiver dans la campagne de Flandre de 1712. In H. Drévillon, B. Fonck, & J.-P. Cénat (Eds.), Les dernières guerres de Louis XIV (pp. 205–226). Presses universitaires de Rennes.
22. Voice of America. (2024, July 19). "U nykh chudova stratehiia": heneral NATO Kavoli pro dii ukraintsiv u viini ["They have an excellent strategy": NATO General Cavoli on Ukrainian actions in the war]. Voice of America (Ukrainian Service). https://www.holosameryky.com/a/u-nyh-chudova-stratehiia-heneral-nato-kavoli-pro-dii-ukrainciv-u-voini/7703909.html [in Ukrainian]
23. Wedgwood, C. V. (1947). The Thirty Years War. Jonathan Cape. [in English]