Through a wide variety of key documents -- most of which appear in English for the first time here -- this sourcebook reveals the origins, significance, and consequences of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the first great, and catastrophic, pan-European conflict. Headnotes introduce each selection, and a general Introduction provides both a brief history of the War and a discussion of its causes. Maps and a chronology are included, as are an index, a select bibliography, and several examples of 17th-century artwork.