This volume, deriving from a broadly conceived interest in polity, seeks to emphasize the aspirations of church or an imperial system, to a more comprehensive, universal order. The period 1520-1640 affords notable examples in the context of renascence and reform, as the emerging territorial states or national monarchies, especially Spain, adopted some of the attributes traditionally associated with the Holy Roman Emperor. The articles presented here focus on the thought of leading individuals who contended with the universalizing theme in some form, whether as churchmen or statesmen - More, Luther, Gattinara, San Carlo Borromeo and Tommas Campanella - and concludes with Europe's global expansion, both in thought and deed.