The fifteenth century was of decisive importance for many imperial cities. The bishops could be pushed back further. Arrangements were reached with neighboring princes and other aristocrats which considerably promoted land acquisition in the surrounding area and long-distance trade. The strengthening of the economic position benefited the consolidation of autonomy and increased the value of the city for the emperor and the empire. But how did the cities manage to cope with the regional conflicts associated with this development, and what was the nature of the urban diplomacy that made this achievement possible?

The present dissertation, supervised by Ingrid Baumgärtner (University of Kassel), deals with these aspects, which have so far been little studied in research, using the example of Augsburg, the capital of the Upper German cityscape linked to Italy. The introduction carefully presents the subject, approach, concepts, and sources of the study in detail. At that time, urban diplomacy consisted essentially of oral and correspondence communication practiced by messengers and envoys. This communication was initiated and accompanied by the urban elite with the help of lawyers consulted on a case-by-case basis. However, it could hardly be systematically controlled, because the important envoys had to be granted a rather high degree of autonomy: on the one hand, the technical possibilities to communicate promptly and to transmit new instructions were lacking; on the other hand, the envoys required a high degree of flexibility in order to adapt to the expectations of the rank-conscious and honor-sensitive aristocratic addressees as representatives of a non-aristocratic, bourgeois community.

Both because of the predominant geographic proximity and the equality of rank, the relationship with neighboring cities was different, and Augsburg always tried to secure their support, at least tactically. An essential strategy was to distinguish between simple messengers, “advertising transmitters” (84), and actual envoys and to have them appear one after the other or alternately. As expected, one of the most important instruments for establishing contact and achieving inclination and consent was the gift, not least in the form of payments. In terms of content, however, the formulation and skillful defense of one's own legal positions were decisive, mostly derived from privileges and precedents documented in records and elsewhere. Politically, the city usually made successful use of the power gap and the mutual competition among its addressees. In addition, it favored a regularly informal, discreet approach, which undermined public disputes leading to escalation. Although urban diplomacy had not yet been professionalized, it had become routine and thus optimized. At the same time, the business specialized in at least two respects: above all opposite Rome and then with regard to the Wittelsbach dukes, establishing a separate channel from the imperial city to the church headquarters, making it decisively possible to surpass the bishop in both cases.

It is impressive what detailed findings the author was able to compile from her main sources, the correspondence books, council minutes, and city accounts as well as from some secondary sources, to her six exemplary conflict cases. Historians of Bavarian regional history, the diplomatic history of the Papacy, and the history of the Swabian League of Cities, as well as communication historians, will therefore also profit from the study. The author herself notes (3) that the internal conflicts and different interests of the urban elite require further illumination, i.e., that we should not speak too easily of a diplomatically implemented interest for the whole city. Following from this dissertation, the influence of humanism on oral and written communication in diplomacy should be explored. Augsburg offers important sources for this also.