The nineteenth century has attracted considerable interest in German historical (socio)linguistics over the last twenty-five years, as it is considered to be the century in which the 'roots' of present-day German can be found. A great deal of the research literature has been devoted to the rise of standard German. Little attention has been paid to the relationship between norms and usage. In order to gain an understanding of their complex relationship, this chapter will first look at socio-historical developments and language ideologies which can be seen as crucial for the external language hi