What are some good sources on life in palatinate (HRE) during the 1450-1500s for an amateur.

by Barbarossa92

Im reading a chronicle about the history of the city where i live in (its called the "Dochnahl") that ranges from 58 CE to about 2k. But its mostly consisting of major political events regarding or affecting the region or the city. Does anybody have some more books to recommend that describe everyday live?

Aethelric

I don't know any good sources for the Palatinate specifically, unfortunately, but I can give you a list of sources for daily life in other areas. Much of these experiences will be translatable, though obviously the Holy Roman Empire is known for its diversity.

Within Germany:

The Burgermeister's Daughter, by Steven Ozment. This covers the life and experiences of a single daughter of a wealthy town leader in Baden-Wurtemburg. Her experience won't be representative of everyone's, but Ozment does a good job of getting into her mindset and the customs of the time.

Peasant Fires: The Drummer of Niklashausen, by Richard Wunderli. This is a really great book that gets deep into the mindset of the early modern peasantry, which is absolutely essential to understanding their lives. It can be a little dense, but feel free to come back and ask me or /r/askhistorians itself if you have any questions.

Outside of Germany:

The Return of Martin Guerre, by the august Natalie Zemon Davis. This one is set in Southern France, but is a great insight into the mind of a run-of-the-mill peasant village in this period. There's also a French-language movie that was developed at the same time as the book, although its anti-Catholic messages are a little stronger than the evidence supports.

I haven't had the time to read this one yet, but The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller by Carlo Ginzburg is reputed to be a great look into an Italian miller and his mental world.

All four of these are "microhistories", meaning that they have a very tight focus, but all give broader insights into the world of their subjects. A good broad history that comes to mind is Europe at Home, by Raffaella Sarti, that gives some insight into the confusing, diverse world of early modern Continental Europe.