
:''This page is about the Germanic empire. For the ancient empire centered on Rome, see Roman Empire.'' The Holy Roman Empire was a political conglomeration of lands in Central Europe in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Emerging from the eastern part of the Franks after its division in the Treaty of Verdun (843), it lasted almost a millennium, until its dissolution in 1806. By the 18th century, it consisted of the larger part of modern Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as large parts of modern Poland and small parts of the Netherlands. Previously, it had included all of the Netherlands and Switzerland, and parts of France and Italy. The name of the Empire was translated into many languages. (German language: ''Heiliges Römisches Reich (later: Heiliges Römisches Reich deutscher Nation)''; Italian language: ''Sacro Romano Impero''; Latin: ''Sacrum Romanum Imperium''; Czech language: ''Svatá říše římská''; French language: ''Saint Empire Romain Germanique''; Polish language: ''Święte Cesarstwo Rzymskie Narodu Niemieckiego''; Dutch language: ''Heilige Roomse Rijk''; Slovene language: ''Sveto rimsko cesarstvo''; Hungarian: ''Német-Római Császárság'') Contemporary terminology for the Empire varied greatly over the centuries. The term ''Roman Empire'' was used in 1034 to denote the lands under Conrad II of the Holy Roman Empire, and ''Holy Empire'' in 1157. The use of the term ''Roman Emperor'' to refer to Northern European rulers started earlier with Otto II (Emperor 973–983). Emperors from Charlemagne (died 814) to Otto I the Great (Emperor 962–973) had simply used the phrase ''Imperator Augustus'' ("August Emperor"). The precise term ''Holy Roman Empire'' dates from 1254; the final version ''Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation'' (German language ''Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation'') appears in 1512, after several variations in the late 15th century. Contemporaries did not quite know how to describe this entity either. In his famous 1667 description ''De statu imperii Germanici'', published under the alias Severinus de Monzambano, Samuel Pufendorf wrote: ''"Nihil ergo aliud restat, quam ut dicamus Germaniam esse irregulare aliquod corpus et monstro simile ..."'' ("We are therefore left with calling Germany a body that conforms to no rule and resembles a monster"). Voltaire later described it as "neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire". In ''Faust I,'' in a scene written in 1775, the German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has one of the drinkers in Auerbach's Cellar in Leipzig ask "Our Holy Roman Empire, lads, What holds it still together?" Goethe also has a longer, not very favorable essay about his personal experiences as a trainee at the ''Reichskammergericht'' in his autobiographical work ''Dichtung und Wahrheit''. == Character of the ''Reich'' == [[Image:Electoral princes.png|thumb|right|200px|The prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. From Bildatlas der Deutschen Geschichte by Dr Paul Knötel (1895)]] The Holy Roman Empire was an institution which is unique in world history and therefore difficult to grasp. To understand what it was, it might be helpful to assess first what it was not. * It was never a nation state. Despite the German ethnicity of most of its rulers and subjects, from the very beginning many ethnicities constituted the Holy Roman Empire. Many of its most important noble families and appointed officials came from outside the German-speaking communities. At the height of the empire it contained most of the territory of today's Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Slovenia, as well as eastern France, northern Italy and western Poland. Its languages thus comprised not only German and its many dialects and derivatives, but many Slavic languages, and the languages which became modern French and Italian as well. Furthermore, its division into territories ruled by numerous secular and ecclesiastical princes, prelates, counts, imperial knights, and free cities made it, in the early modern period at least, far less cohesive than the emerging modern states around it. * However, during most of its time, it was more than a mere confederation. The concept of the ''Reich'' not only included the government of a specific territory, but had strong Christian religious connotations (hence the ''holy'' prefix). Until 1508, the German Kings were not considered Emperors of the ''Reich'' until the Pope, Christ's vicar on earth, had formally crowned them as such. The ''Reich'' can thus best be described as a cross between a state and a religious confederation. == Structure and institutions == From the High Middle Ages on, the ''Reich'' was stamped by a most peculiar coexistence of the Empire and the struggle of the dukes of the local territories to take power (sociology) away from it. As opposed to the rulers of the West Frankish lands, which later became France, the Emperor never managed to gain much control over the lands that he formally owned. Instead, from that time on, the Emperor was forced to grant more and more powers to the individual dukes in their respective territories. This process began in the 12th century and was more or less concluded with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Several attempts were made to reverse this degradation of the ''Reich's'' former glory, but failed. Formally, the ''Reich'' comprised the King, to be crowned Emperor by the pope (until 1508), on the one side, and the ''Reichsstände'' (imperial estates) on the other side. ===German king=== [[Image:Holy Roman Empire crown dsc02909.jpg|thumb|200px|The crown of the Holy Roman Empire (2nd half of the 10th century), now held in the Vienna Schatzkammer.]] The pope's crowning of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in 800 formed the example that later kings would follow: it was the result of Charlemagne having defended the pope against the rebellious inhabitants of Rome, which initiated the notion of the ''Reich'' being the protector of the church. Becoming Emperor required becoming King of the Germans (''Deutscher König'') first. German kings had been elected since time immemorial; in the 9th century by the leaders of the five most important tribes (the Franks, Saxons, Bavarians, Swabians and Thuringians), later by the main lay and clerical dukes of the kingdom, finally only by the so-called ''Kurfürsten'' (electing dukes, electors). This collegiate was formally established by a 1356 decree known as the Golden Bull. Initially, there were seven electors; this number varied slightly over the following centuries (see prince-elector for details). Until 1508, the newly elected king then travelled to Rome to be crowned Emperor by the Pope. In many cases, this took several years when the King was held up by other tasks: frequently he first had to resolve conflicts in rebellious northern Italy or was in quarrel with the Pope himself. At no time could the Emperor simply decree rulings and govern autonomously over the Empire. His power was severely restricted by the various local leaders; after the late 15th century, the ''Reichstag'' established itself as the legislative body of the Empire, a complicated assembly that convened irregularly at the request of the Emperor at varying locations. Only after 1663 would the ''Reichstag'' become a permanent assembly; see Reichstag (institution) for details. ===Imperial estates=== An entity was considered ''Reichsstand'' (imperial estate) if, according to feudal law, it had no authority above it besides the Holy Roman Emperor himself. They included: * Territories governed by a prince or duke, and in some cases kings. (Rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of the King of Bohemia, were not allowed to become a king within the Empire, but some had kingdoms outside the Empire, as was, for instance, the case in the Kingdom of Great Britain, where the ruler was also the Prince-elector of Hanover (state).) * Clerical territories led by a Bishop or Prince-Bishop. In the latter case, the territory was frequently identical in area with a bishopric, giving the Bishop both worldly and clerical powers. An example, among many others, would be Osnabrück. A noteworthy Prince-Bishop (Fürstbischof) within the Holy Roman Empire was the Bishop of Mainz with his episcopal see at Mainz Cathedral. * Imperial Free Cities The number of territories was amazingly large, rising to several hundreds at the time of the Peace of Westphalia. Many of these comprised no more than a few square miles. The Empire is thus aptly described as a "patchwork carpet" ''(Flickenteppich)'' by many. For a list as of 1792, refer to List of Reichstag participants (1792). ===Reichstag=== The Reichstag was the legislative body of the Holy Roman Empire. It was divided into three distinct classes: * The Council of Electors, which included the Electors of the Holy Roman Empire. * The Council of Princes, which included both laypersons and clerics. ** The Secular Bench: Princes (those with the title of Prince, Grand Duke, Duke, Count Palatine, Margrave, or Landgrave) held individual votes; some held more than one vote on the basis of ruling several territories. Also, the Council included Counts or Grafs, who were grouped into four Colleges: Wetterau, Swabia, Franconia, and Westphalia. Each College could cast one vote as a whole. ** The Ecclesiastical Bench: Bishops, certain Abbots, and the two Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order and the Knights Hospitaller had individual votes. Certain other Abbots were grouped into two Colleges: Swabia and the Rhine. Each College held one collective vote. * The Council of Imperial Cities, which included representatives from Imperial Cities grouped into two Colleges: Swabia and the Rhine. Each College had one collective vote. The Council of Imperial Cities was not fully equal to the others; it could not vote on several matters such as the admission of new territories. ===Imperial Courts=== The ''Reich'' also had two courts: the ''Reichshofrat'' (also known in English as the Aulic Council) at the court of the King/Emperor (that is, later in Vienna), and the Imperial Chamber Court, established with the Imperial Reform of 1495. == Chronology == === From the East Franks to the Investiture Controversy === [[Image:Western_empire_verdun_843.png|thumb|300px|right|The Western Empire, as divided at Battle of Verdun, 843. From the 'Atlas to Freeman's Historical Geography', edited by J.B. Bury, Longmans Green and Co. Third Edition 1903.]] The Holy Roman Empire is usually considered to have been founded in 962 by Otto I the Great, at the latest. Although some date the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire from the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Charlemagne himself more typically used the title king of the Franks. This title also makes clearer that the Frankish Kingdom covered an area that included modern-day France and Germany and was thus the kernel of both countries. Most historians therefore consider the establishment of the Empire to be a process that started with the split of the Frankish realm in the Treaty of Verdun in 843, continuing the Carolingian dynasty independently in all three sections. The eastern part fell to Louis the German, who was followed by several leaders until the death of Louis IV of Germany, called "the Child", the last Carolingian in the eastern part. The leaders of Alamannia, Bavaria, Frankia and Saxonia elected Conrad_of_Franconia of the Franks, not a Carolingian, as their leader in 911. His successor, Henry the Fowler (r. 919–936), a Saxon elected at the Reichstag of Fritzlar in 919, achieved the acceptance of a separate Eastern Empire by the West Franks (still ruled by the Carolingians) in 921, calling himself ''rex Francorum orientalum'' (King of the East Franks). Heinrich designated his son Otto to be his successor, who was elected King in Aachen in 936. His later crowning as Emperor Otto I the Great (later called "the Great") in 962 would mark an important step, since from then on the Empire – and not the West-Frankish kingdom that was the other remainder of the Frankish kingdoms – would have the blessing of the pope. Otto had gained much of his power earlier, when, in 955, the Magyars were defeated in the Battle of Lechfeld. In contemporary and later writings, the crowning would be referred to as ''translatio imperii'', the transfer of the Empire from the Romans to a new Empire. The German Emperors thus thought of themselves as being in direct succession of those of the Roman Empire; this is why they initially called themselves ''Augustus.'' Still, they did not call themselves "Roman" Emperors at first, probably in order not to provoke conflict with the Roman Emperor who still existed in Constantinople. The term ''imperator Romanorum'' only became common under Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor later. At this time, the eastern kingdom was not so much "German" as rather a "confederation" of the old Germanic tribes of the Bavarians, Alamanns, Franks and Saxons. The Empire as a political union probably only survived because of the strong personal influence of King Henry the Saxon and his son, Otto. Although formally elected by the leaders of the Germanic tribes, they were actually able to designate their successors. This changed after Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor died in 1024 without any children. Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, first of the Salian, was then elected king in 1024 only after some debate. How exactly the king was chosen thus seems to be a complicated conglomeration of personal influence, tribal quarrels, inheritance, and acclamation by those leaders that would eventually become the collegiate of prince-elector. Already at this time the dualism between the "territories", then those of the old tribes rooted in the Frankish lands, and the King/Emperor, became apparent. Each king preferred to spend most time in his own homelands; the Saxons, for example, spent much time in palatinates around the Harz mountains, among them Goslar. This practice had only changed under Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (king 983, Emperor 996–1002), who began to utilize bishopries all over the Empire as temporary seats of government. Also, his successors, Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, apparently managed to appoint the dukes of the territories. It is thus no coincidence that at this time, the terminology changes and the first occurrences of a ''regnum Teutonicum'' are found. The glory of the Empire almost collapsed in the Investiture Controversy, in which Pope Gregory VII declared a ban on King Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (king 1056, Emperor 1084–1106). Although this was taken back after the 1077 Walk to Canossa, the ban had wide-reaching consequences. Meanwhile, the German dukes had elected a second king, Rudolf of Swabia, whom Henry IV could only defeat after a three-year war in 1080. The mythical roots of the Empire were permanently damaged; the German king was humiliated. Most importantly though, the church became an independent player in the political system of the Empire. === The Empire under the Hohenstaufen === Conrad III came to the throne in 1138, being the first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, which was about to restore the glory of the Empire even under the new conditions of the 1122 Concordat of Worms. It was Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor (king 1152, Emperor 1155–1190) who first called the Empire "holy", with which he intended to address mainly law and legislation. Also, under Barbarossa, the idea of the "Romanness" of the Empire culminated again, which seemed to be an attempt to justify the Emperor's power independently of the (now strengthened) pope. An imperial assembly at the fields of Roncaglia in 1158 explicitly reclaimed imperial rights at the advice of ''quattuor doctores'' of the emerging judicial facility of the University of Bologna, citing phrases such as ''princeps legibus solutus'' ("the leader is not bound by law") from the ''Digestae'' of the Corpus Juris Civilis. That the Roman laws were created for an entirely different system and didn't fit the structure of the Empire was obviously secondary; the point here was that the court of the Emperor made an attempt to establish a ''legal'' constitution. Imperial rights had been referred to as ''regalia'' since the Investiture Controversy, but were enumerated for the first time at Roncaglia as well. This comprehensive list included public roads, tariffs, coining, collecting punitive fees, and the investiture, the seating and unseating of office holders. These rights were now explicitly rooted in Roman Law, a far-reaching constitutional act; north of the Alps, the system was also now connected to feudal law, a change most visible in the withdrawal of the feuds of Henry the Lion in 1180 which led to his public banning. Barbarossa thus managed for a time to more closely bind the stubborn Germanic dukes to the Empire as a whole. Another important constitutional move at Roncaglia was the establishment of a new peace ''(Landfrieden)'' for all of the Empire, an attempt to (on the one hand) abolish private vendettas not only between the many local dukes, but on the other hand a means to tie the Emperor's subordinates to a legal system of jurisdiction and public persecution of criminal acts – a predecessor concept of "rule of law", in modern terms, that was, at this time, not yet universally accepted. In order to solve the problem that the emperor was (after the Investiture Controversy) no longer as able to use the church as a mechanism to maintain power, the Stauffers increasingly lent land to ''ministerialia'', formerly unfree service men, which Frederick hoped would be more reliable than local dukes. Initially used mainly for war services, this new class of people would form the basis for the later knights, another basis of imperial power. Another new concept of the time was the systematic foundation of new cities, both by the emperor and the local dukes. These were partly due to the explosion in population, but also to concentrate economic power at strategic locations, while formerly cities only existed in the shape of either old Roman foundations or older bishoprics. Cities that were founded in the 12th century include Freiburg, possibly the economic model for many later cities, and Munich. The later reign of the last Staufer, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, was in many ways different from that of earlier Emperors. Still a child, he first reigned in Sicily, while in Germany, Barbarossa's grandson Philip of Swabia and Henry the Lion's son Otto IV competed with him for the title of King of the Germans. After finally having been crowned emperor in 1220, he risked conflict with the pope when he claimed power over Rome; astonishingly to many, he managed to claim Jerusalem in a Crusade in 1228 while still under the pope's ban. While Frederick brought the mythical idea of the Empire to a last highpoint, he was also the one to initiate the major steps that led to its disintegration. On the one hand, he concentrated on establishing a – for the times – extraordinarily modern state in Sicily, with public services, finances, and jurisdiction. On the other hand, Frederick was the emperor who granted major powers to the German dukes in two far-reaching privileges that would never be reclaimed by the central power. In the 1220 ''Confoederatio cum princibus ecclesiasticis'', Frederick basically gave up a number of ''regalia'' in favor of the bishops, among them tariffs, coining, jurisdiction and fortification. The 1232 ''Statutem in favorem principum'' mostly extended these privileges to the other (non-clerical) territories (Frederick II was forced to give those privileges by a rebellion of his son, Henry). Although many of these privileges had existed earlier, they were now granted globally, and once and for all, to allow the German dukes to maintain order north of the Alps while Frederick wanted to concentrate on his homelands in Italy. The 1232 document marked the first time that the German dukes were called ''domini terrae'', owners of their lands, a remarkable change in terminology as well. === The rise of the territories after the Stauffen === After the death of Frederick II in 1250, none of the dynasties worthy of producing the king proved able to do so, and the leading dukes elected several competing kings. The time from 1246 (beginning with the election of Heinrich Raspe and Count William II of Holland) to 1273, when Rudolph I of Habsburg was elected king, is commonly referred to as the Interregnum. The difficulties in electing the king eventually led to the emergence of a fixed college of electors, the ''prince-elector'', whose composition and procedures were set forth in the Golden Bull of 1356. This development probably best symbolizes the emerging duality between ''Kaiser und Reich'', emperor and realm, who were no longer considered identical. This is also revealed in the way the post-Stauffen kings attempted to sustain their power. Earlier, the Empire's strength (and finances) greatly relied on the Empire's own lands, the so-called ''Reichsgut,'' which always belonged to the respective king (and included many Imperial Cities). After the 13th century, its relevance faded (even though some fractions of it did remain until the Empire's end in 1806). Instead, the ''Reichsgut'' was increasingly pawned to local dukes sometimes to raise money for the Empire but, more frequently, to reward faithful duty or as an attempt to civilize stubborn dukes. The direct governance of the ''Reichsgut'' no longer matched the needs of either the king or the dukes. Instead, the kings, beginning with Rudolph I of Habsburg, increasingly relied on the lands of their respective dynasties to support their power. In contrast with the ''Reichsgut'', which was mostly scattered and difficult to administer, the territories were comparably compact and thus easier to control. In 1282, Rudolph I thus lent his own Austria and the Steiermark to his own sons. With Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor, the House of Luxembourg entered the stage. In 1312, he was crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor since Frederick II. After him all kings and emperors relied on the lands of their own family (''Hausmacht''): Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor of Wittelsbach (king 1314, emperor 1328–1347) relied on his lands in Bavaria; Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor of Luxembourg, the grandson of Henry VII, drew strength from his own lands in Bohemia. Interestingly, it was thus increasingly in the king's own interest to strengthen the power of the territories, since the king profited from such a benefit in his own lands as well. The 13th century also saw a general structural change in how land was administered. Instead of personal duties, money increasingly became the common means to represent economic value in agriculture. Peasants were increasingly required to pay tribute for their lands. The concept of "property" more and more replaced more ancient forms of jurisdiction, although they were still very much tied together. In the territories (not at the level of the Empire), power became increasingly bundled: Whoever owned the land had jurisdiction, from which other powers derived. It is important to note, however, that jurisdiction at this time did not include legislation, which virtually did not exist until well into the 15th century. Court practice heavily relied on traditional customs or rules described as customary. It is during this time that the territories began to transform themselves into predecessors of modern states. The process varied greatly among the various lands and was most advanced in those territories that were most identical to the lands of the old Germanic tribes, ''e.g.'' Bavaria. It was slower in those scattered territories that were founded through imperial privileges. === Imperial Reform === The "constitution" of the Empire was still largely unsettled at the beginning of the 15th century. Although some procedures and institutions had been fixed, for example by the Golden Bull of 1356, the rules of how the king, the electors, and the other dukes should cooperate in the Empire much depended on the personality of the respective king. It therefore proved somewhat fatal that Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (king 1410, emperor 1433–1437) and Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (king 1440, emperor 1452–1493) neglected the old core lands of the empire and mostly resided in their own lands. Without the presence of the king, the old institution of the ''Hoftag'', the assembly of the realm's leading men, deteriorated. The ''Reichstag (institution)'' as a legislative organ of the Empire did not exist yet. Even worse, dukes often went into feuds against each other that, more often than not, escalated into local wars. At the same time, the church was in crisis too. The conflict between several competing popes was only resolved at the Council of Constance (1414–1418); after 1419, much energy was spent on fighting the heresy of the Hussites. The medieval idea of a unified Corpus christianum, of which the papacy and the Empire were the leading institutions, began to decline. With these drastic changes, much discussion emerged in the 15th century about the Empire itself. Rules from the past no longer adequately described the structure of the time, and a reinforcement of earlier ''Landfrieden'' was urgently called for. During this time, the concept of "reform" emerges, in the original sense of the Latin verb ''re-formare'', to regain an earlier shape that had been lost. When Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor needed the dukes to finance war against Hungary in 1486 and at the same time had his son, later Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor elected king, he was presented with the dukes' united demand to participate in an Imperial Court. For the first time, the assembly of the electors and other dukes was now called ''Reichstag'' (to be joined by the Imperial Cities later). While Frederick refused, his more conciliant son finally convoked the ''Reichstag'' at Worms, Germany in 1495, after his father's death in 1493. Here, the king and the dukes agreed on four bills, commonly referred to as the Imperial Reform: a set of legal acts to give the disintegrating Empire back some structure. Among others, this act produced the Imperial Circle Estates and the ''Reichskammergericht,'' (Imperial Chamber Court); structures that would – to a degree – persist until the end of the Empire in 1806. However, it should take a few more decades until the new regulation was universally accepted and the new court began to actually function; only in 1512 would the Imperial Circles be finalized. The King also made sure that his own court, the ''Reichshofrat'', continued to function in parallel to the ''Reichskammergericht''. It is interesting to note that in this year, the Empire also receives its new title, the ''Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation'' ("Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation"). === Crisis after Reformation === When Martin Luther in 1517 initiated what would later be known as the Reformation, many local dukes saw the chance to oppose the Emperor. The empire became fatally divided along religious lines, with the North and East and many of the major cities, such as Strassburg, Frankfurt and Nuremberg, becoming protestant, and the southern and western regions largely remaining Roman Catholic. After a century of quarrels, this conflict – among others – eventually lead to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which devastated the Empire. Foreign powers, including France and Sweden intervened in the conflict, strengthening those fighting Imperial power, and seizing considerable chunks of territory for themselves. === After the Peace of Westphalia === The actual end of the empire came in several steps. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which gave the territories almost complete sovereignty, even allowing them to form independent alliances with other states; the Empire was only a mere conglomeration of largely independent states. Voltaire mocked: ''neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire''. === The implosion of the Empire === *''(French Revolution, Napoleon overrunning Europe, Confederation of the Rhine)'' *''(Secularization, 1803 Reichsdeputationshauptschluss)'' The Empire was formally dissolved on August 6, 1806 when the last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire (from 1804, Emperor Francis I of Austria) resigned, following a military defeat by the French Army under Napoleon. Francis II's family continued to be called Austrian emperors until 1918. == Analysis == It has been said that modern history of Germany was primarily predetermined by three factors: the ''Reich'', the Reformation, and the later dualism between Austria and Prussia (state).[1] Many attempts have been made to explain why the ''Reich'' never managed to gain a strong centralised power over the territories, as opposed to neighboring France. Some reasons include: * The ''Reich'' had been a very federal body from the beginning: again, as opposed to France, which had mostly been part of the Roman Empire, in the eastern parts of the Frankish kingdom, the Germanic tribes were much more independent and reluctant to cede power to a central authority. All attempts to make the kingdom hereditary failed; instead, the king was always elected. Later, every candidate for the king had to make promises to his electorate, the so-called ''Wahlkapitulationen'' (election capitulations), thus granting the territories more and more power over the centuries. * Due to its religious connotations, the ''Reich'' as an institution was severely damaged by the contest between the Pope and the German Kings over their respective coronations as Emperor. It was never entirely clear under which conditions the pope would crown the emperor and especially not whether the worldly power of the emperor was dependent on the clerical of the pope. Much debate occurred over this, especially during the 11th century, eventually leading to the Investiture Controversy and the Concordat of Worms in 1122. * Whether the feudal system of the ''Reich'', where the King formally was the top of the so-called "feudal pyramid", was a cause for or a symptom of the Empire's weakness, is unclear. In any case, military obedience, which – according to Germanic tradition – was closely tied to the giving of land to tributaries, was always a problem: when the ''Reich'' had to go to war, decisions were slow and brittle. * Until the sixteenth century, the economic interests of the south and west diverged from those of the north where the Hanseatic League operated. This was far more closely allied to Scandinavia and the Baltic than the rest of Germany. ==German Third Reich== After the unification of Germany as a nation state in 1871 (see German Empire), the Holy Roman Empire was sometimes known as the First ''Reich.'' Nazi Germany then referred to itself as the Third Reich, counting the 1871 Empire as the second, to connect itself with an idealized past and present itself as being in continuity with ancient traditions. == See also == * History of Germany * Holy Roman Emperor * Reichstag (institution) * List of German Kings and Emperors * List of states in the Holy Roman Empire * Brandenburg * Prussia (state) * Austria * Bavaria * Saxony * Hanover * Palatinate * Studium_generale ==References== # Heinrich August Winkler, Der lange Weg nach Westen, Vol. 1: Deutsche Geschichte vom Ende des Alten Reiches bis zum Ende der Weimarer Republik, ISBN 3-406-46001-1, p. 5. # ''The Holy Roman Empire'' by James Bryce ISBN 0333036093 ==External links== *[http://www.orteliusmaps.com/book/ort56.html 1570 map of H.R.E. Germany with double-headed eagle flag] *[http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/germany/milxhrempire.html List of Wars of the Holy Roman Empire] *[http://www.mgh-bibliothek.de/lexikothek/reich2.html Deutschland beim Tode Kaiser Karls IV. 1378 (The Holy Roman Empire at the death of emperor Charles IV.) taken from "Meyers Kleines Konversationslexikon in sechs Bänden. Bd. 2. Leipzig u. Wien : Bibliogr. Institut 1908", map inserted after page 342] Holy Roman Empire Austria Emperors German history Habsburg Monarchy Vienna Former monarchies History of Austria lv:Svētā Romas impērija nds:Römsche Riek vun de düütsche Natschoon
==beginning of the "Holy" part of the title== It would be useful to insert a date for the beginning of the 'Holy' part of the title. Sure not the Carolingians. Whose fault is it? Things to add for a better entry: the Electors; coronation by the popes, frequently in Milan; King of Germany; King of Rome; list of dynasties; anything else pressing? --MichaelTinkler ---- I think HRE came in with Otto in 962, but don't hold me to it. I have always heard that Otto's family were the Saxon dynasty, but the Imperial dynasty was the Ottonians...it's that Arnulfing/Pippinid/Carolingian thing. Aha -- Cantor (not entirely to be trusted because it's a gloss-everything-over textbook) Claims the HRE Started with Charlemagne but that C was crowned the first Western Roman Emperor (which makes me wonder what the Western Roman Emperors of the 4th and 5th centuries called themselves). Otto I was supposedly called king of the Romans. Otto II was first to use the title Emperor Augustus of the Romans -- no Holy. Just checked another source -- Otto I or II, Saxon OR Ottonian dynasty. User:JHK :*sigh*. What ever got us interested in these people who couldn't even adopt clear entitulation? --MichaelTinkler ==End of the Middle Ages== What end of the Middle Ages? just wondering.User:JHK Any of them, depending on exactly how weak you want the Emperor to get. ;) ==Centralized== Out of curiosity, how is it unsupportable to claim that the HRE was one of the most centralized kingdoms in Europe? French kings had very little control outside of Paris, the east and north were still somewhat chaotic, but the Imperial government could make decrees and expect people would at least pretend to listen. :perhaps I should have said unsupported. The lack of clear succession, the shifting role of ministeriales, the endless Italian problem - all those sprang to my mind. The word 'centralized' has a definite implication for modern readers which has to be severely qualified to apply to any pre-modern organization, even including the Roman and Byzantine empires. (oh, and I hold no brief for the French - they were even worse, but that doesn't make the HRE a success!) --MichaelTinkler Hence the qualifier ''most''. I'll agree the HRE had great disparities among its parts, and was never a tight knit government. However, since it is so often presented as the shadow it became in the 1600s and 1700s, I think it is worth commenting that at one point it was doing as well as could be expected. Otherwise it would seem we are simply replacing exaggerated success by exaggerated failure, the same applying to the Romans, Byzantines, and others as well. :well, I suppose. I'm not a pessimist about much of anything else, but I find it hard to be enthusiastic about the success of government institutions in the middle ages. --MichaelTinkler ==S.R.I./H.R.R.== ''Holy Roman Empire (of German Nation) was often written in official documents in Latin language as Sacrum Romanum Imperium , abbr. S.R.I. or in German language H. R. R. ('Heilig Roemisch Reich').'' Took this from the front page; can one of our historians extract the useful information and integrate it? --User:Stephen Gilbert :To my thinking, it needs to go. Also, I am absolutely not convinced of the whole first use of SRI thing. I would like to see the source and a confirmation that 1254 was the first instance. Everybody agrees that HRE started with the Ottonians (unless they try to take it back to Charlemagne). I have NEVER seen anything to indicate that the Ottonians styled themselves plain old emperors. This is VERY DUBIOUS...:JHK ==Slovenia== Slovenia should be added to the modern list of countries formerly found in the Holy Roman Empire. Slovene lands were added to the Empire in the 800's and remained in the Empire until dissolution in 1806. ==major extension== I have done a major extension, but it's still just a first stab. It's only about major lines right now, and more dates are needed. Some comments are directly in the text. See also Talk:History of Germany for what I'm aiming for. -- User:Djmutex 2003-04-30 ==... Deutscher Nation== Regarding the name, the variant ".. Deutscher Nation" is more common in German than the variant without it and commonly used in history books and papers; also cf. * [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22Heiliges+R%F6misches+Reich%22+-%22Deutscher+Nation%22&btnG=Google+Search short variant] (550 hits) * [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22Heiliges+R%F6misches+Reich+Deutscher+Nation%22&btnG=Google+Search long variant] (3800 hits) I think it is unfair to classify this designation as a "user:H.J.ism", as it is still very much in modern use, not only by nationalists. --User:Eloquence 05:55 25 May 2003 (UTC) :user:H.J.-isms because it's her IP and she put that stuff in before. left a few curiosity (non- argument) questions on your talk page. User:JHK :It appears that user:H.J. has been unbanned. No idea when or why this happened, though. --User:Eloquence 06:05 25 May 2003 (UTC) I have removed the "Deutscher Nation" suffix again. All the sources I could find confirm what is said in the section a little farther down that the suffix was only added later in the 15/16th century. Besides, the suffix shouldn't appear at the top where a translation of "Holy Roman Empire" is needed. User:Djmutex 16:59 27 May 2003 (UTC) ---- (sorry for my english...i am used to read, not write english) The Name "Roman Empire" is used since the Ottonians and Salians; "Holy Roman Empire" is a term used by the Staufer (Frederick Barbarossa). But the official title of the emperor was: "[NAME] Dei gratia Romanorum imperator semper augustus" - "[Name] by the grace of God emperor of the Romans and always Augustus". In german, the word "Augustus" was translated as "Mehrer des Reiches" - approximately "Increaser of the Empire". The title "Holy Roman empire of the German Nation" was used since the late 15. century, as the empire lost its old dominions in Italy and much of its supernational character. Before that, the emperors never called themself "German emperor" - they believed, they were the successors of the old Roman Empire ("Translatio Imperii" = the translation of the imperial crown by the coronation of Charlemagne (Karl der Große) and by the coronation of Otto the Great in 962). I could post german refernce works. To example: H. Mitteis, Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte, Munich 1992. H. Thomas, Deutsche Geschichte des Spätmittelalters, Stuttgart 1983. Or read the passages in the "New Cambridge Medieval History" ==elected kings and Clovis== ''German kings had been elected since time immemorial''. But Clovis passed his office to his son, and Charlemagne inherited his and passed on to his son. How is that? - User:Lev Clovis wasn´t a german king. Germany developed from the collapsing Carolingian empire, but especially since the 12. century. And "germanic" and "german" isn´t the same...it would be the same, if historians would call all citizens of the USA "Indians". ==Map== This article needs a map ::I completely agree. If nobody else uploads one, I will have to take a blank map of Europe (say from the CIA World Factbook) and draw the lines myself... Assuming it's OK, legally speaking (is it?) User:ShrimpEr 14:41, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC). ==Territories== "Territories governed by a prince or duke, and in some cases kings. (Rulers of the Holy Roman Empire were not allowed to become a king within the Empire, but some had kingdoms outside the Empire, as was, for instance, the case in Great Britain, where the King was also the ruler of Hanover.) " Wasn't the ruler of Bohemia (a territory, unlike Britain or Prussia, that was inside the empire) a king? :Bohemia was a special case, in that its position as part of the Empire was, iirc, somewhat unique. But yes. User:John Kenney User_talk:John Kenney 06:59, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::I added that Bohemia was an exception.-Count Mippipopolous ==Hate it== I hate this article. I simply hate it. The introduction is not clear at all in explaining what the Holy Roman Empire is, even granting the relative vagueness of the term 'HRE'. It goes into a lot of detail about whatever, but an encyclopedic article should be rather clear and brief -- this article is neither (at least from what I could tolerably finish reading). (What the heck did I just read?) User:Nortexoid 05:55, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC) == The HRE resembles nothing of the EU! == Except for its Christian character, the Empire may be thought of as anticipating the European Union of today. I reccomend someone remove this passage, as although I could see some vague similarities in that they both united different ethinc groups, but if anything it provides more of a basis for a German State, not a United Europe. == first section == I was browsing this article and I found it distracting that the first sentence is interupted by list the name of the HRE in several different languages. Assuming that this information belongs in the article, could it be placed further down? I think the 1st para should give mainly the context and essential facts to orient the reader. I would normally be bold, but in this case I'd rather defer to those of you who have been refining this article. User:Ike9898 19:01, Jun 16, 2005 (UTC)
Middle Ages Former monarchies German history Historical regions
#REDIRECT Holy Roman Empire
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Holy Roman Empire
:''This page is about the Germanic empire. For the ancient empire centered on Rome, see Roman Empire.'' The Holy Roman Empire was a political conglomeration of lands in Central Europe in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Emerging from the eastern part of the Franks after its division in the Treaty of Verdun (843), it lasted almost a millennium, until its dissolution in 1806. By the 18th century, it consisted of the larger part of modern Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as large parts of modern Poland and small parts of the Netherlands. Previously, it had included all of the Netherlands and Switzerland, and parts of France and Italy. The name of the Empire was translated into many languages. (German language: ''Heiliges Römisches Reich (later: Heiliges Römisches Reich deutscher Nation)''; Italian language: ''Sacro Romano Impero''; Latin: ''Sacrum Romanum Imperium''; Czech language: ''Svatá říše římská''; French language: ''Saint Empire Romain Germanique''; Polish language: ''Święte Cesarstwo Rzymskie Narodu Niemieckiego''; Dutch language: ''Heilige Roomse Rijk''; Slovene language: ''Sveto rimsko cesarstvo''; Hungarian: ''Német-Római Császárság'') Contemporary terminology for the Empire varied greatly over the centuries. The term ''Roman Empire'' was used in 1034 to denote the lands under Conrad II of the Holy Roman Empire, and ''Holy Empire'' in 1157. The use of the term ''Roman Emperor'' to refer to Northern European rulers started earlier with Otto II (Emperor 973–983). Emperors from Charlemagne (died 814) to Otto I the Great (Emperor 962–973) had simply used the phrase ''Imperator Augustus'' ("August Emperor"). The precise term ''Holy Roman Empire'' dates from 1254; the final version ''Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation'' (German language ''Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation'') appears in 1512, after several variations in the late 15th century. Contemporaries did not quite know how to describe this entity either. In his famous 1667 description ''De statu imperii Germanici'', published under the alias Severinus de Monzambano, Samuel Pufendorf wrote: ''"Nihil ergo aliud restat, quam ut dicamus Germaniam esse irregulare aliquod corpus et monstro simile ..."'' ("We are therefore left with calling Germany a body that conforms to no rule and resembles a monster"). Voltaire later described it as "neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire". In ''Faust I,'' in a scene written in 1775, the German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has one of the drinkers in Auerbach's Cellar in Leipzig ask "Our Holy Roman Empire, lads, What holds it still together?" Goethe also has a longer, not very favorable essay about his personal experiences as a trainee at the ''Reichskammergericht'' in his autobiographical work ''Dichtung und Wahrheit''. == Character of the ''Reich'' == [[Image:Electoral princes.png|thumb|right|200px|The prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. From Bildatlas der Deutschen Geschichte by Dr Paul Knötel (1895)]] The Holy Roman Empire was an institution which is unique in world history and therefore difficult to grasp. To understand what it was, it might be helpful to assess first what it was not. * It was never a nation state. Despite the German ethnicity of most of its rulers and subjects, from the very beginning many ethnicities constituted the Holy Roman Empire. Many of its most important noble families and appointed officials came from outside the German-speaking communities. At the height of the empire it contained most of the territory of today's Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Slovenia, as well as eastern France, northern Italy and western Poland. Its languages thus comprised not only German and its many dialects and derivatives, but many Slavic languages, and the languages which became modern French and Italian as well. Furthermore, its division into territories ruled by numerous secular and ecclesiastical princes, prelates, counts, imperial knights, and free cities made it, in the early modern period at least, far less cohesive than the emerging modern states around it. * However, during most of its time, it was more than a mere confederation. The concept of the ''Reich'' not only included the government of a specific territory, but had strong Christian religious connotations (hence the ''holy'' prefix). Until 1508, the German Kings were not considered Emperors of the ''Reich'' until the Pope, Christ's vicar on earth, had formally crowned them as such. The ''Reich'' can thus best be described as a cross between a state and a religious confederation. == Structure and institutions == From the High Middle Ages on, the ''Reich'' was stamped by a most peculiar coexistence of the Empire and the struggle of the dukes of the local territories to take power (sociology) away from it. As opposed to the rulers of the West Frankish lands, which later became France, the Emperor never managed to gain much control over the lands that he formally owned. Instead, from that time on, the Emperor was forced to grant more and more powers to the individual dukes in their respective territories. This process began in the 12th century and was more or less concluded with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Several attempts were made to reverse this degradation of the ''Reich's'' former glory, but failed. Formally, the ''Reich'' comprised the King, to be crowned Emperor by the pope (until 1508), on the one side, and the ''Reichsstände'' (imperial estates) on the other side. ===German king=== [[Image:Holy Roman Empire crown dsc02909.jpg|thumb|200px|The crown of the Holy Roman Empire (2nd half of the 10th century), now held in the Vienna Schatzkammer.]] The pope's crowning of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in 800 formed the example that later kings would follow: it was the result of Charlemagne having defended the pope against the rebellious inhabitants of Rome, which initiated the notion of the ''Reich'' being the protector of the church. Becoming Emperor required becoming King of the Germans (''Deutscher König'') first. German kings had been elected since time immemorial; in the 9th century by the leaders of the five most important tribes (the Franks, Saxons, Bavarians, Swabians and Thuringians), later by the main lay and clerical dukes of the kingdom, finally only by the so-called ''Kurfürsten'' (electing dukes, electors). This collegiate was formally established by a 1356 decree known as the Golden Bull. Initially, there were seven electors; this number varied slightly over the following centuries (see prince-elector for details). Until 1508, the newly elected king then travelled to Rome to be crowned Emperor by the Pope. In many cases, this took several years when the King was held up by other tasks: frequently he first had to resolve conflicts in rebellious northern Italy or was in quarrel with the Pope himself. At no time could the Emperor simply decree rulings and govern autonomously over the Empire. His power was severely restricted by the various local leaders; after the late 15th century, the ''Reichstag'' established itself as the legislative body of the Empire, a complicated assembly that convened irregularly at the request of the Emperor at varying locations. Only after 1663 would the ''Reichstag'' become a permanent assembly; see Reichstag (institution) for details. ===Imperial estates=== An entity was considered ''Reichsstand'' (imperial estate) if, according to feudal law, it had no authority above it besides the Holy Roman Emperor himself. They included: * Territories governed by a prince or duke, and in some cases kings. (Rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of the King of Bohemia, were not allowed to become a king within the Empire, but some had kingdoms outside the Empire, as was, for instance, the case in the Kingdom of Great Britain, where the ruler was also the Prince-elector of Hanover (state).) * Clerical territories led by a Bishop or Prince-Bishop. In the latter case, the territory was frequently identical in area with a bishopric, giving the Bishop both worldly and clerical powers. An example, among many others, would be Osnabrück. A noteworthy Prince-Bishop (Fürstbischof) within the Holy Roman Empire was the Bishop of Mainz with his episcopal see at Mainz Cathedral. * Imperial Free Cities The number of territories was amazingly large, rising to several hundreds at the time of the Peace of Westphalia. Many of these comprised no more than a few square miles. The Empire is thus aptly described as a "patchwork carpet" ''(Flickenteppich)'' by many. For a list as of 1792, refer to List of Reichstag participants (1792). ===Reichstag=== The Reichstag was the legislative body of the Holy Roman Empire. It was divided into three distinct classes: * The Council of Electors, which included the Electors of the Holy Roman Empire. * The Council of Princes, which included both laypersons and clerics. ** The Secular Bench: Princes (those with the title of Prince, Grand Duke, Duke, Count Palatine, Margrave, or Landgrave) held individual votes; some held more than one vote on the basis of ruling several territories. Also, the Council included Counts or Grafs, who were grouped into four Colleges: Wetterau, Swabia, Franconia, and Westphalia. Each College could cast one vote as a whole. ** The Ecclesiastical Bench: Bishops, certain Abbots, and the two Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order and the Knights Hospitaller had individual votes. Certain other Abbots were grouped into two Colleges: Swabia and the Rhine. Each College held one collective vote. * The Council of Imperial Cities, which included representatives from Imperial Cities grouped into two Colleges: Swabia and the Rhine. Each College had one collective vote. The Council of Imperial Cities was not fully equal to the others; it could not vote on several matters such as the admission of new territories. ===Imperial Courts=== The ''Reich'' also had two courts: the ''Reichshofrat'' (also known in English as the Aulic Council) at the court of the King/Emperor (that is, later in Vienna), and the Imperial Chamber Court, established with the Imperial Reform of 1495. == Chronology == === From the East Franks to the Investiture Controversy === [[Image:Western_empire_verdun_843.png|thumb|300px|right|The Western Empire, as divided at Battle of Verdun, 843. From the 'Atlas to Freeman's Historical Geography', edited by J.B. Bury, Longmans Green and Co. Third Edition 1903.]] The Holy Roman Empire is usually considered to have been founded in 962 by Otto I the Great, at the latest. Although some date the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire from the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Charlemagne himself more typically used the title king of the Franks. This title also makes clearer that the Frankish Kingdom covered an area that included modern-day France and Germany and was thus the kernel of both countries. Most historians therefore consider the establishment of the Empire to be a process that started with the split of the Frankish realm in the Treaty of Verdun in 843, continuing the Carolingian dynasty independently in all three sections. The eastern part fell to Louis the German, who was followed by several leaders until the death of Louis IV of Germany, called "the Child", the last Carolingian in the eastern part. The leaders of Alamannia, Bavaria, Frankia and Saxonia elected Conrad_of_Franconia of the Franks, not a Carolingian, as their leader in 911. His successor, Henry the Fowler (r. 919–936), a Saxon elected at the Reichstag of Fritzlar in 919, achieved the acceptance of a separate Eastern Empire by the West Franks (still ruled by the Carolingians) in 921, calling himself ''rex Francorum orientalum'' (King of the East Franks). Heinrich designated his son Otto to be his successor, who was elected King in Aachen in 936. His later crowning as Emperor Otto I the Great (later called "the Great") in 962 would mark an important step, since from then on the Empire – and not the West-Frankish kingdom that was the other remainder of the Frankish kingdoms – would have the blessing of the pope. Otto had gained much of his power earlier, when, in 955, the Magyars were defeated in the Battle of Lechfeld. In contemporary and later writings, the crowning would be referred to as ''translatio imperii'', the transfer of the Empire from the Romans to a new Empire. The German Emperors thus thought of themselves as being in direct succession of those of the Roman Empire; this is why they initially called themselves ''Augustus.'' Still, they did not call themselves "Roman" Emperors at first, probably in order not to provoke conflict with the Roman Emperor who still existed in Constantinople. The term ''imperator Romanorum'' only became common under Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor later. At this time, the eastern kingdom was not so much "German" as rather a "confederation" of the old Germanic tribes of the Bavarians, Alamanns, Franks and Saxons. The Empire as a political union probably only survived because of the strong personal influence of King Henry the Saxon and his son, Otto. Although formally elected by the leaders of the Germanic tribes, they were actually able to designate their successors. This changed after Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor died in 1024 without any children. Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, first of the Salian, was then elected king in 1024 only after some debate. How exactly the king was chosen thus seems to be a complicated conglomeration of personal influence, tribal quarrels, inheritance, and acclamation by those leaders that would eventually become the collegiate of prince-elector. Already at this time the dualism between the "territories", then those of the old tribes rooted in the Frankish lands, and the King/Emperor, became apparent. Each king preferred to spend most time in his own homelands; the Saxons, for example, spent much time in palatinates around the Harz mountains, among them Goslar. This practice had only changed under Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (king 983, Emperor 996–1002), who began to utilize bishopries all over the Empire as temporary seats of government. Also, his successors, Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, apparently managed to appoint the dukes of the territories. It is thus no coincidence that at this time, the terminology changes and the first occurrences of a ''regnum Teutonicum'' are found. The glory of the Empire almost collapsed in the Investiture Controversy, in which Pope Gregory VII declared a ban on King Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (king 1056, Emperor 1084–1106). Although this was taken back after the 1077 Walk to Canossa, the ban had wide-reaching consequences. Meanwhile, the German dukes had elected a second king, Rudolf of Swabia, whom Henry IV could only defeat after a three-year war in 1080. The mythical roots of the Empire were permanently damaged; the German king was humiliated. Most importantly though, the church became an independent player in the political system of the Empire. === The Empire under the Hohenstaufen === Conrad III came to the throne in 1138, being the first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, which was about to restore the glory of the Empire even under the new conditions of the 1122 Concordat of Worms. It was Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor (king 1152, Emperor 1155–1190) who first called the Empire "holy", with which he intended to address mainly law and legislation. Also, under Barbarossa, the idea of the "Romanness" of the Empire culminated again, which seemed to be an attempt to justify the Emperor's power independently of the (now strengthened) pope. An imperial assembly at the fields of Roncaglia in 1158 explicitly reclaimed imperial rights at the advice of ''quattuor doctores'' of the emerging judicial facility of the University of Bologna, citing phrases such as ''princeps legibus solutus'' ("the leader is not bound by law") from the ''Digestae'' of the Corpus Juris Civilis. That the Roman laws were created for an entirely different system and didn't fit the structure of the Empire was obviously secondary; the point here was that the court of the Emperor made an attempt to establish a ''legal'' constitution. Imperial rights had been referred to as ''regalia'' since the Investiture Controversy, but were enumerated for the first time at Roncaglia as well. This comprehensive list included public roads, tariffs, coining, collecting punitive fees, and the investiture, the seating and unseating of office holders. These rights were now explicitly rooted in Roman Law, a far-reaching constitutional act; north of the Alps, the system was also now connected to feudal law, a change most visible in the withdrawal of the feuds of Henry the Lion in 1180 which led to his public banning. Barbarossa thus managed for a time to more closely bind the stubborn Germanic dukes to the Empire as a whole. Another important constitutional move at Roncaglia was the establishment of a new peace ''(Landfrieden)'' for all of the Empire, an attempt to (on the one hand) abolish private vendettas not only between the many local dukes, but on the other hand a means to tie the Emperor's subordinates to a legal system of jurisdiction and public persecution of criminal acts – a predecessor concept of "rule of law", in modern terms, that was, at this time, not yet universally accepted. In order to solve the problem that the emperor was (after the Investiture Controversy) no longer as able to use the church as a mechanism to maintain power, the Stauffers increasingly lent land to ''ministerialia'', formerly unfree service men, which Frederick hoped would be more reliable than local dukes. Initially used mainly for war services, this new class of people would form the basis for the later knights, another basis of imperial power. Another new concept of the time was the systematic foundation of new cities, both by the emperor and the local dukes. These were partly due to the explosion in population, but also to concentrate economic power at strategic locations, while formerly cities only existed in the shape of either old Roman foundations or older bishoprics. Cities that were founded in the 12th century include Freiburg, possibly the economic model for many later cities, and Munich. The later reign of the last Staufer, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, was in many ways different from that of earlier Emperors. Still a child, he first reigned in Sicily, while in Germany, Barbarossa's grandson Philip of Swabia and Henry the Lion's son Otto IV competed with him for the title of King of the Germans. After finally having been crowned emperor in 1220, he risked conflict with the pope when he claimed power over Rome; astonishingly to many, he managed to claim Jerusalem in a Crusade in 1228 while still under the pope's ban. While Frederick brought the mythical idea of the Empire to a last highpoint, he was also the one to initiate the major steps that led to its disintegration. On the one hand, he concentrated on establishing a – for the times – extraordinarily modern state in Sicily, with public services, finances, and jurisdiction. On the other hand, Frederick was the emperor who granted major powers to the German dukes in two far-reaching privileges that would never be reclaimed by the central power. In the 1220 ''Confoederatio cum princibus ecclesiasticis'', Frederick basically gave up a number of ''regalia'' in favor of the bishops, among them tariffs, coining, jurisdiction and fortification. The 1232 ''Statutem in favorem principum'' mostly extended these privileges to the other (non-clerical) territories (Frederick II was forced to give those privileges by a rebellion of his son, Henry). Although many of these privileges had existed earlier, they were now granted globally, and once and for all, to allow the German dukes to maintain order north of the Alps while Frederick wanted to concentrate on his homelands in Italy. The 1232 document marked the first time that the German dukes were called ''domini terrae'', owners of their lands, a remarkable change in terminology as well. === The rise of the territories after the Stauffen === After the death of Frederick II in 1250, none of the dynasties worthy of producing the king proved able to do so, and the leading dukes elected several competing kings. The time from 1246 (beginning with the election of Heinrich Raspe and Count William II of Holland) to 1273, when Rudolph I of Habsburg was elected king, is commonly referred to as the Interregnum. The difficulties in electing the king eventually led to the emergence of a fixed college of electors, the ''prince-elector'', whose composition and procedures were set forth in the Golden Bull of 1356. This development probably best symbolizes the emerging duality between ''Kaiser und Reich'', emperor and realm, who were no longer considered identical. This is also revealed in the way the post-Stauffen kings attempted to sustain their power. Earlier, the Empire's strength (and finances) greatly relied on the Empire's own lands, the so-called ''Reichsgut,'' which always belonged to the respective king (and included many Imperial Cities). After the 13th century, its relevance faded (even though some fractions of it did remain until the Empire's end in 1806). Instead, the ''Reichsgut'' was increasingly pawned to local dukes sometimes to raise money for the Empire but, more frequently, to reward faithful duty or as an attempt to civilize stubborn dukes. The direct governance of the ''Reichsgut'' no longer matched the needs of either the king or the dukes. Instead, the kings, beginning with Rudolph I of Habsburg, increasingly relied on the lands of their respective dynasties to support their power. In contrast with the ''Reichsgut'', which was mostly scattered and difficult to administer, the territories were comparably compact and thus easier to control. In 1282, Rudolph I thus lent his own Austria and the Steiermark to his own sons. With Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor, the House of Luxembourg entered the stage. In 1312, he was crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor since Frederick II. After him all kings and emperors relied on the lands of their own family (''Hausmacht''): Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor of Wittelsbach (king 1314, emperor 1328–1347) relied on his lands in Bavaria; Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor of Luxembourg, the grandson of Henry VII, drew strength from his own lands in Bohemia. Interestingly, it was thus increasingly in the king's own interest to strengthen the power of the territories, since the king profited from such a benefit in his own lands as well. The 13th century also saw a general structural change in how land was administered. Instead of personal duties, money increasingly became the common means to represent economic value in agriculture. Peasants were increasingly required to pay tribute for their lands. The concept of "property" more and more replaced more ancient forms of jurisdiction, although they were still very much tied together. In the territories (not at the level of the Empire), power became increasingly bundled: Whoever owned the land had jurisdiction, from which other powers derived. It is important to note, however, that jurisdiction at this time did not include legislation, which virtually did not exist until well into the 15th century. Court practice heavily relied on traditional customs or rules described as customary. It is during this time that the territories began to transform themselves into predecessors of modern states. The process varied greatly among the various lands and was most advanced in those territories that were most identical to the lands of the old Germanic tribes, ''e.g.'' Bavaria. It was slower in those scattered territories that were founded through imperial privileges. === Imperial Reform === The "constitution" of the Empire was still largely unsettled at the beginning of the 15th century. Although some procedures and institutions had been fixed, for example by the Golden Bull of 1356, the rules of how the king, the electors, and the other dukes should cooperate in the Empire much depended on the personality of the respective king. It therefore proved somewhat fatal that Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (king 1410, emperor 1433–1437) and Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (king 1440, emperor 1452–1493) neglected the old core lands of the empire and mostly resided in their own lands. Without the presence of the king, the old institution of the ''Hoftag'', the assembly of the realm's leading men, deteriorated. The ''Reichstag (institution)'' as a legislative organ of the Empire did not exist yet. Even worse, dukes often went into feuds against each other that, more often than not, escalated into local wars. At the same time, the church was in crisis too. The conflict between several competing popes was only resolved at the Council of Constance (1414–1418); after 1419, much energy was spent on fighting the heresy of the Hussites. The medieval idea of a unified Corpus christianum, of which the papacy and the Empire were the leading institutions, began to decline. With these drastic changes, much discussion emerged in the 15th century about the Empire itself. Rules from the past no longer adequately described the structure of the time, and a reinforcement of earlier ''Landfrieden'' was urgently called for. During this time, the concept of "reform" emerges, in the original sense of the Latin verb ''re-formare'', to regain an earlier shape that had been lost. When Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor needed the dukes to finance war against Hungary in 1486 and at the same time had his son, later Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor elected king, he was presented with the dukes' united demand to participate in an Imperial Court. For the first time, the assembly of the electors and other dukes was now called ''Reichstag'' (to be joined by the Imperial Cities later). While Frederick refused, his more conciliant son finally convoked the ''Reichstag'' at Worms, Germany in 1495, after his father's death in 1493. Here, the king and the dukes agreed on four bills, commonly referred to as the Imperial Reform: a set of legal acts to give the disintegrating Empire back some structure. Among others, this act produced the Imperial Circle Estates and the ''Reichskammergericht,'' (Imperial Chamber Court); structures that would – to a degree – persist until the end of the Empire in 1806. However, it should take a few more decades until the new regulation was universally accepted and the new court began to actually function; only in 1512 would the Imperial Circles be finalized. The King also made sure that his own court, the ''Reichshofrat'', continued to function in parallel to the ''Reichskammergericht''. It is interesting to note that in this year, the Empire also receives its new title, the ''Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation'' ("Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation"). === Crisis after Reformation === When Martin Luther in 1517 initiated what would later be known as the Reformation, many local dukes saw the chance to oppose the Emperor. The empire became fatally divided along religious lines, with the North and East and many of the major cities, such as Strassburg, Frankfurt and Nuremberg, becoming protestant, and the southern and western regions largely remaining Roman Catholic. After a century of quarrels, this conflict – among others – eventually lead to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which devastated the Empire. Foreign powers, including France and Sweden intervened in the conflict, strengthening those fighting Imperial power, and seizing considerable chunks of territory for themselves. === After the Peace of Westphalia === The actual end of the empire came in several steps. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which gave the territories almost complete sovereignty, even allowing them to form independent alliances with other states; the Empire was only a mere conglomeration of largely independent states. Voltaire mocked: ''neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire''. === The implosion of the Empire === *''(French Revolution, Napoleon overrunning Europe, Confederation of the Rhine)'' *''(Secularization, 1803 Reichsdeputationshauptschluss)'' The Empire was formally dissolved on August 6, 1806 when the last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire (from 1804, Emperor Francis I of Austria) resigned, following a military defeat by the French Army under Napoleon. Francis II's family continued to be called Austrian emperors until 1918. == Analysis == It has been said that modern history of Germany was primarily predetermined by three factors: the ''Reich'', the Reformation, and the later dualism between Austria and Prussia (state).[1] Many attempts have been made to explain why the ''Reich'' never managed to gain a strong centralised power over the territories, as opposed to neighboring France. Some reasons include: * The ''Reich'' had been a very federal body from the beginning: again, as opposed to France, which had mostly been part of the Roman Empire, in the eastern parts of the Frankish kingdom, the Germanic tribes were much more independent and reluctant to cede power to a central authority. All attempts to make the kingdom hereditary failed; instead, the king was always elected. Later, every candidate for the king had to make promises to his electorate, the so-called ''Wahlkapitulationen'' (election capitulations), thus granting the territories more and more power over the centuries. * Due to its religious connotations, the ''Reich'' as an institution was severely damaged by the contest between the Pope and the German Kings over their respective coronations as Emperor. It was never entirely clear under which conditions the pope would crown the emperor and especially not whether the worldly power of the emperor was dependent on the clerical of the pope. Much debate occurred over this, especially during the 11th century, eventually leading to the Investiture Controversy and the Concordat of Worms in 1122. * Whether the feudal system of the ''Reich'', where the King formally was the top of the so-called "feudal pyramid", was a cause for or a symptom of the Empire's weakness, is unclear. In any case, military obedience, which – according to Germanic tradition – was closely tied to the giving of land to tributaries, was always a problem: when the ''Reich'' had to go to war, decisions were slow and brittle. * Until the sixteenth century, the economic interests of the south and west diverged from those of the north where the Hanseatic League operated. This was far more closely allied to Scandinavia and the Baltic than the rest of Germany. ==German Third Reich== After the unification of Germany as a nation state in 1871 (see German Empire), the Holy Roman Empire was sometimes known as the First ''Reich.'' Nazi Germany then referred to itself as the Third Reich, counting the 1871 Empire as the second, to connect itself with an idealized past and present itself as being in continuity with ancient traditions. == See also == * History of Germany * Holy Roman Emperor * Reichstag (institution) * List of German Kings and Emperors * List of states in the Holy Roman Empire * Brandenburg * Prussia (state) * Austria * Bavaria * Saxony * Hanover * Palatinate * Studium_generale ==References== # Heinrich August Winkler, Der lange Weg nach Westen, Vol. 1: Deutsche Geschichte vom Ende des Alten Reiches bis zum Ende der Weimarer Republik, ISBN 3-406-46001-1, p. 5. # ''The Holy Roman Empire'' by James Bryce ISBN 0333036093 ==External links== *[http://www.orteliusmaps.com/book/ort56.html 1570 map of H.R.E. Germany with double-headed eagle flag] *[http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/germany/milxhrempire.html List of Wars of the Holy Roman Empire] *[http://www.mgh-bibliothek.de/lexikothek/reich2.html Deutschland beim Tode Kaiser Karls IV. 1378 (The Holy Roman Empire at the death of emperor Charles IV.) taken from "Meyers Kleines Konversationslexikon in sechs Bänden. Bd. 2. Leipzig u. Wien : Bibliogr. Institut 1908", map inserted after page 342] Holy Roman Empire Austria Emperors German history Habsburg Monarchy Vienna Former monarchies History of Austria lv:Svētā Romas impērija nds:Römsche Riek vun de düütsche Natschoon
Holy Roman Empire
==beginning of the "Holy" part of the title== It would be useful to insert a date for the beginning of the 'Holy' part of the title. Sure not the Carolingians. Whose fault is it? Things to add for a better entry: the Electors; coronation by the popes, frequently in Milan; King of Germany; King of Rome; list of dynasties; anything else pressing? --MichaelTinkler ---- I think HRE came in with Otto in 962, but don't hold me to it. I have always heard that Otto's family were the Saxon dynasty, but the Imperial dynasty was the Ottonians...it's that Arnulfing/Pippinid/Carolingian thing. Aha -- Cantor (not entirely to be trusted because it's a gloss-everything-over textbook) Claims the HRE Started with Charlemagne but that C was crowned the first Western Roman Emperor (which makes me wonder what the Western Roman Emperors of the 4th and 5th centuries called themselves). Otto I was supposedly called king of the Romans. Otto II was first to use the title Emperor Augustus of the Romans -- no Holy. Just checked another source -- Otto I or II, Saxon OR Ottonian dynasty. User:JHK :*sigh*. What ever got us interested in these people who couldn't even adopt clear entitulation? --MichaelTinkler ==End of the Middle Ages== What end of the Middle Ages? just wondering.User:JHK Any of them, depending on exactly how weak you want the Emperor to get. ;) ==Centralized== Out of curiosity, how is it unsupportable to claim that the HRE was one of the most centralized kingdoms in Europe? French kings had very little control outside of Paris, the east and north were still somewhat chaotic, but the Imperial government could make decrees and expect people would at least pretend to listen. :perhaps I should have said unsupported. The lack of clear succession, the shifting role of ministeriales, the endless Italian problem - all those sprang to my mind. The word 'centralized' has a definite implication for modern readers which has to be severely qualified to apply to any pre-modern organization, even including the Roman and Byzantine empires. (oh, and I hold no brief for the French - they were even worse, but that doesn't make the HRE a success!) --MichaelTinkler Hence the qualifier ''most''. I'll agree the HRE had great disparities among its parts, and was never a tight knit government. However, since it is so often presented as the shadow it became in the 1600s and 1700s, I think it is worth commenting that at one point it was doing as well as could be expected. Otherwise it would seem we are simply replacing exaggerated success by exaggerated failure, the same applying to the Romans, Byzantines, and others as well. :well, I suppose. I'm not a pessimist about much of anything else, but I find it hard to be enthusiastic about the success of government institutions in the middle ages. --MichaelTinkler ==S.R.I./H.R.R.== ''Holy Roman Empire (of German Nation) was often written in official documents in Latin language as Sacrum Romanum Imperium , abbr. S.R.I. or in German language H. R. R. ('Heilig Roemisch Reich').'' Took this from the front page; can one of our historians extract the useful information and integrate it? --User:Stephen Gilbert :To my thinking, it needs to go. Also, I am absolutely not convinced of the whole first use of SRI thing. I would like to see the source and a confirmation that 1254 was the first instance. Everybody agrees that HRE started with the Ottonians (unless they try to take it back to Charlemagne). I have NEVER seen anything to indicate that the Ottonians styled themselves plain old emperors. This is VERY DUBIOUS...:JHK ==Slovenia== Slovenia should be added to the modern list of countries formerly found in the Holy Roman Empire. Slovene lands were added to the Empire in the 800's and remained in the Empire until dissolution in 1806. ==major extension== I have done a major extension, but it's still just a first stab. It's only about major lines right now, and more dates are needed. Some comments are directly in the text. See also Talk:History of Germany for what I'm aiming for. -- User:Djmutex 2003-04-30 ==... Deutscher Nation== Regarding the name, the variant ".. Deutscher Nation" is more common in German than the variant without it and commonly used in history books and papers; also cf. * [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22Heiliges+R%F6misches+Reich%22+-%22Deutscher+Nation%22&btnG=Google+Search short variant] (550 hits) * [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22Heiliges+R%F6misches+Reich+Deutscher+Nation%22&btnG=Google+Search long variant] (3800 hits) I think it is unfair to classify this designation as a "user:H.J.ism", as it is still very much in modern use, not only by nationalists. --User:Eloquence 05:55 25 May 2003 (UTC) :user:H.J.-isms because it's her IP and she put that stuff in before. left a few curiosity (non- argument) questions on your talk page. User:JHK :It appears that user:H.J. has been unbanned. No idea when or why this happened, though. --User:Eloquence 06:05 25 May 2003 (UTC) I have removed the "Deutscher Nation" suffix again. All the sources I could find confirm what is said in the section a little farther down that the suffix was only added later in the 15/16th century. Besides, the suffix shouldn't appear at the top where a translation of "Holy Roman Empire" is needed. User:Djmutex 16:59 27 May 2003 (UTC) ---- (sorry for my english...i am used to read, not write english) The Name "Roman Empire" is used since the Ottonians and Salians; "Holy Roman Empire" is a term used by the Staufer (Frederick Barbarossa). But the official title of the emperor was: "[NAME] Dei gratia Romanorum imperator semper augustus" - "[Name] by the grace of God emperor of the Romans and always Augustus". In german, the word "Augustus" was translated as "Mehrer des Reiches" - approximately "Increaser of the Empire". The title "Holy Roman empire of the German Nation" was used since the late 15. century, as the empire lost its old dominions in Italy and much of its supernational character. Before that, the emperors never called themself "German emperor" - they believed, they were the successors of the old Roman Empire ("Translatio Imperii" = the translation of the imperial crown by the coronation of Charlemagne (Karl der Große) and by the coronation of Otto the Great in 962). I could post german refernce works. To example: H. Mitteis, Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte, Munich 1992. H. Thomas, Deutsche Geschichte des Spätmittelalters, Stuttgart 1983. Or read the passages in the "New Cambridge Medieval History" ==elected kings and Clovis== ''German kings had been elected since time immemorial''. But Clovis passed his office to his son, and Charlemagne inherited his and passed on to his son. How is that? - User:Lev Clovis wasn´t a german king. Germany developed from the collapsing Carolingian empire, but especially since the 12. century. And "germanic" and "german" isn´t the same...it would be the same, if historians would call all citizens of the USA "Indians". ==Map== This article needs a map ::I completely agree. If nobody else uploads one, I will have to take a blank map of Europe (say from the CIA World Factbook) and draw the lines myself... Assuming it's OK, legally speaking (is it?) User:ShrimpEr 14:41, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC). ==Territories== "Territories governed by a prince or duke, and in some cases kings. (Rulers of the Holy Roman Empire were not allowed to become a king within the Empire, but some had kingdoms outside the Empire, as was, for instance, the case in Great Britain, where the King was also the ruler of Hanover.) " Wasn't the ruler of Bohemia (a territory, unlike Britain or Prussia, that was inside the empire) a king? :Bohemia was a special case, in that its position as part of the Empire was, iirc, somewhat unique. But yes. User:John Kenney User_talk:John Kenney 06:59, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::I added that Bohemia was an exception.-Count Mippipopolous ==Hate it== I hate this article. I simply hate it. The introduction is not clear at all in explaining what the Holy Roman Empire is, even granting the relative vagueness of the term 'HRE'. It goes into a lot of detail about whatever, but an encyclopedic article should be rather clear and brief -- this article is neither (at least from what I could tolerably finish reading). (What the heck did I just read?) User:Nortexoid 05:55, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC) == The HRE resembles nothing of the EU! == Except for its Christian character, the Empire may be thought of as anticipating the European Union of today. I reccomend someone remove this passage, as although I could see some vague similarities in that they both united different ethinc groups, but if anything it provides more of a basis for a German State, not a United Europe. == first section == I was browsing this article and I found it distracting that the first sentence is interupted by list the name of the HRE in several different languages. Assuming that this information belongs in the article, could it be placed further down? I think the 1st para should give mainly the context and essential facts to orient the reader. I would normally be bold, but in this case I'd rather defer to those of you who have been refining this article. User:Ike9898 19:01, Jun 16, 2005 (UTC)
Holy Roman Empire
Middle Ages Former monarchies German history Historical regions
Holy Roman empire
#REDIRECT Holy Roman Empire
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