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The Holy Roman Empire and from the 16th century on also '''The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation''' was a political conglomeration of below). In the 18th century, when the Empire was already in decline, Voltaire ridiculed its nomenclature by saying that the Holy Roman Empire was "neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire ". CHARACTER OF THE EMPIRE s of the Holy Roman Empire. Pen-and-ink miniature from the picture chronicle of Henry VII (Balduineum).]] The Holy Roman Empire was an institution 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.
The ''Reich'' contained a number of Prince-Bishop rics and can thus best be described as a cross between a state and a religious confederation. NAMES AND DESIGNATIONS OF THE EMPIRE The Holy Roman Empire was an attempt to resurrect the Western Roman Empire in western Europe, which was established in 800 when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, though the empire and the imperial office did not become formalized for some decades. Charlemagne went on to adopt the title 'Augustus' from earlier Roman times. The name of the Empire, in various (modern successor) languages spoken within its confines:
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 , and ''Holy Empire'' in 1157 . The use of the term ''Roman Emperor'' to refer to Northern Europe an rulers started earlier with Otto II (Emperor 973–983). Emperors from Charlemagne (c. 742 or 747 – 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 ''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 later described it as "neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire". In '' Faust I,'' in a scene written in 1775 , the German author Goethe has one of the drinkers in Auerbach's Cellar in Leipzig ask "Our Holy Roman Empire, lads, what still holds it together?" Goethe also has a longer, not very favourable essay about his personal experiences as a trainee at the '' Reichskammergericht '' in his autobiographical work '' Dichtung Und Wahrheit ''. STRUCTURE AND INSTITUTIONS From the High Middle Ages onwards, the '' Reich '' was stamped by a most peculiar coexistence of the Empire with the struggle of the Duke s of the local territories to take Power 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, 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 one side, and the ''Reichsstände'' (imperial estates) on the other. King of the Romans Schatzkammer .]] The pope's crowning of , which initiated the notion of the ''Reich'' being the protector of the western Church . Becoming Emperor required becoming , the King Of Bohemia , the Duke Of Saxony , the Margrave Of Brandenburg , and the Archbishops of Köln , Mainz , and Trier . During the Thirty Years War , the Duke Of Bavaria was given the right to vote as the eighth elector. In order to be elected king, a candidate had to first win over the electors, usually with bribes or promises of land. Until 1508 , the newly-elected king then travelled to Rome to be crowned Emperor by the Pope. In many cases, this took several years while 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 issue decrees 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. Imperial estates An entity was considered ''Reichsstand'' (imperial estate) if, according to Feudal Law , it had no authority above it except the Holy Roman Emperor himself. They included:
The number of territories was amazingly large, rising to several hundred at the time of the Peace Of Westphalia . Many of these comprised no more than a few square miles, so the Empire is aptly described as a "patchwork carpet" (''Flickenteppich'') by many- see Kleinstaaterei . For a list as in 1792, see List Of Reichstag Participants (1792) . Reichstag The Reichstag was the legislative body of the Holy Roman Empire. It was divided into three distinct classes:
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 ''Reichskammergericht'' (Imperial Chamber Court) , established with the Imperial Reform of 1495 . Imperial circles As part of the '' Reichsreform '', ten Imperial Circle s were established in 1512 . These were regional groupings of most (though not all) of the various states of the Empire for the purposes of defence and imperial taxation. Each circle had its own ''Kreisrat'' ("Circle Diet"). CHRONOLOGY From the East Franks to the Investiture Controversy , 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 at the latest in 962 by Otto I The Great . 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 The Child , the last Carolingian in the eastern part. The leaders of Alamannia, Bavaria, Frankia and Saxonia elected Conrad I of the Franks, not a Carolingian, as their leader in 911 . His successor, Henry (Heinrich) I 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 Frankish (still ruled by the Carolingians) in 921, calling himself ''rex Francorum orientalum'' (King of the East Franks). He founded the Ottonian dynasty. Heinrich designated his son Otto to be his successor, who was elected King in Aachen in 936 . His later crowning as Emperor Otto I (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 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 died in 1024 without any children. Conrad II , first of the Salian Dynasty , 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 Electors . 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 (king 983, Emperor 996–1002), who began to utilize bishopries all over the Empire as temporary seats of government. Also, his successors, Henry II , Conrad II , and Henry III , 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 (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 "Barbarossa" (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 prosecution 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 Staufer 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 Emperor, Frederick II , was in many ways different from that of earlier Emperors. Still a child, he first reigned in Sicily , while in Germany, Barbarossa's second son 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 Principibus Ecclesiasticis '', Frederick basically gave up a number of ''regalia'' in favour of the bishops, among them tariffs, coining, jurisdiction and fortification. The 1232 '' Statutum 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 Teutonic Knights were invited to Poland by the duke of Masovia Konrad Of Masovia to Christianize the Prussians in 1226 . During the long stays of the Hohenstaufen emperors (1138-1254) in Italy , the German princes became stronger and began a successful, mostly peaceful colonisation of West Slavic lands, so that the empire's influence increased to eventually include Pomerania and Silesia The rise of the territories after the Staufen 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 William Of Holland ) to 1273 , when Rudolph I Of Habsburg was elected king, is commonly referred to as the Interregnum . During the Interregnum, much of what was left of imperial authority was lost, as the princes were given time to consolidate their holdings and become even more independent rulers. The difficulties in electing the king eventually led to the emergence of a fixed college of electors, the '' Kurfürsten '', 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-Staufen 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 Styria to his own sons. With of Wittelsbach (king 1314, emperor 1328–1347) relied on his lands in Bavaria; Charles IV 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 Of Luxemburg (king 1410, emperor 1433–1437) and Frederick III Of Habsburg (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 '' 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 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 In 1517 , Martin Luther initiated what would later be known as the Reformation . At this time, many local dukes saw a chance to oppose the hegemony of Emperor Charles V . The empire became then fatally divided along religious lines, with the North, the East, and many of the major cities—Strassburg, Frankfurt and Nuremberg—became Protestant while the southern and western regions largely remained Catholic . Religious conflicts were waged in various parts of Europe for a century, though in German regions there was relative quiet from the Peace Of Augsburg in 1555 until the Defenestration Of Prague in 1618. When Bohemians rebelled against the emperor, the immediate result was the series of conflicts known as the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which devastated the Empire. Foreign powers, including France and Sweden intervened in the conflict and strengthened those fighting Imperial power, but they also seized considerable chunks of territory for themselves. The long conflict bled the Empire to such a degree that it would never recover its former strength. The long decline 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. By the rise of Louis XIV of France , the Holy Roman Empire as such had lost all power and clout in major European politics. The Habsburg emperors relied more on their role as Austrian archdukes than as emperors when challenged by Prussia , portions of which were part of the Empire. Throughout the 18th century, the Habsburgs were embroiled in various European conflicts. From 1792 onwards, Revolutionary France was at war with various parts of the Empire intermittently. The Empire was formally dissolved on August 6 , 1806 when the last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (from 1804, Emperor Francis I of Austria ) abdicated, following a military defeat by the French Army under Napoleon (see Treaty Of Pressburg ). Napoleon reorganized much of the empire into the Confederation Of The Rhine . This ended the so-called First Reich . Francis II's family continued to be called Austrian emperors until 1918 . Germany itself would not become one unified state until 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War . 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 . {Link without Title} Many attempts have been made to explain why the ''Reich'' never managed to gain a strong centralized power over the territories, as opposed to neighboring France. Some reasons include:
SUCCESSIVE GERMAN REICHS 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 while the new empire was known as the Second Reich. After the end of World War I , the creation of the Weimar Republic , and Nazi Germany 's rise, the Nazis referred to Germany 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. The modern German usage is that the first Reich is called "Altes Reich" (old empire) and the second reich as "Kaiserreich" or "Wilhelminisches Reich". SEE ALSO
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