Medievalism as an Instrument of Political Renewal in Nineteenth-Century Germany
The medieval period provided for nineteenth-century German-speaking lands the ostensible model to fulfil the general yearning for a unified Germany, namely as a country with a Kaiser (emperor) at its head. This striving took the better part of the nineteenth century and involved all levels of society and all types of activity. For much of the century, for example, the completion of Cologne cathedral was the most important symbol of the hoped-for national and confessional unity. In the end, however, it was the political/diplomatic manoeuvres of Bismarck that enabled Wilhelm I in 1871 to assume the title of ‘Kaiser des deutschen Reiches’. With that, Germany was, to be sure, unified in terms of language, but the high ideals of earlier in the century remained unfulfilled.