Das Geschlecht der Rainer zu Rain

The Rainer family of Rain – On the later history of the Thurn und Taxis rule in Lower Bavaria (13th century – 1569)

• Putzer, Katja
• Wilhelm Imkamp/Peter Styra (Ed.):
• Thurn und Taxis Studies – New Series, Volume 11
• Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2018
• Length: 150 p.

Prince Maximilian Karl of Thurn und Taxis purchased the Rain estate in Lower Bavaria in 1840. Purchasing this estate also transferred parts of the Rainer family archive, which were used for the present work, to the Princely Thurn und Taxis Central Archive. The history of this rule was shaped by a hitherto little-researched dynasty for almost 300 years: the Rainer family of Rain. Not only does the volume explore the family’s genealogy, it is also the first examination of the position it held in the social fabric of its time. What was their relationship to the sovereigns? Did tournaments play a role for families belonging to the ‘tournament aristocracy’? Is there evidence of the family actively influencing politics? What social development did it experience until its demise in 1569?

Katja Putzer, Dr. phil., born 1980, studied history and English. She works as a research assistant at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg.