Holy Roman Empire

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Heiliges Römisches Reich
The Holy Roman Empire[1]
←
962 – 1806 ↓

Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor Coat of arms of Maximilian II
The extent of the Holy Roman Empire around 1600, superimposed over modern European state borders.
Capital No de jure capital (de facto capitals varied over time)
Language(s) Latin, Germanic, Romance and Slavic dialects
Religion Roman Catholicism
Government Elective monarchy
Emperor For the full list of Holy Roman Emperors, see Holy Roman Emperor.
Legislature Reichstag
Historical era Middle Ages
 - Otto I crowned
    Emperor of Italy 2 February, 962
 - Conrad II assumes
    crown of Burgundy 1034
 - Peace of Augsburg 1555
 - Peace of Westphalia 24 October 1648
 - Disestablished 1806
Preceded by Succeeded by
East Francia
Old Swiss Confederacy
Dutch Republic
Confederation of the Rhine
Austrian Empire
First French Empire
Kingdom of Prussia
United States of Belgium

The Holy Roman Empire (HRE; German: Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR), Latin: Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI)) was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first Holy Roman Emperor was Otto the Great in 962.[2] The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. It was officially known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (German: Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation, Latin: Sacrum Romanum Imperium Nationis Germanicæ) from the 16th century onwards.

The Empire's territorial extent varied over its history, but at its peak it encompassed the Kingdom of Germany, the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Burgundy; territories embracing the present-day Germany (except Southern Schleswig), Austria (except Burgenland), Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Slovenia (except Prekmurje), as well as significant parts of modern France (mainly Artois, Alsace, Franche-Comté, Savoie and Lorraine), Italy (mainly Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Alto Adige-South Tyrol), and Poland (mainly Silesia, Pomerania, and Neumark). For much of its history the Empire consisted of hundreds of smaller sub-units, principalities, duchies, counties, Free Imperial Cities, as well as other domains. Despite its name, for much of its history the Empire did not include Rome within its borders.

Institutions

From the High Middle Ages onwards, the Empire was stamped by an uneasy coexistence of the Empire with the struggle of the princes of the local territories to take power away from it. To a greater extent than in other medieval kingdoms such as France and England, the Emperors were unable to gain much control over the lands that they formally owned. Instead, to secure their own position from the threat of deposition, Emperors were forced to grant more and more autonomy to local rulers, both nobles and bishops. This process began in the 11th century with the Investiture Controversy and was more or less concluded with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Several Emperors attempted to reverse this steady dissemination of their authority, but were thwarted both by the papacy and by the princes of the Empire.

King of the Romans

A prospective Emperor had first to be elected King of the Romans ('Rex romanorum' / 'römischer König'). Kings had been elected since time immemorial: in the 9th century by the leaders of the five most important tribes: (the Salian Franks of Lorraine, the Ripuarian Franks of Franconia, and the Saxons, Bavarians, and Swabians); later by the main dukes and bishops of the kingdom; finally only by the so-called Kurfürsten (electing dukes, electors). This electoral college was formally established in 1356 by the King of Bohemia Charles IV, through a decree known as the Golden Bull. Initially, there were seven electors: the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the King of Bohemia, the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg, and the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz, and Trier. During the Thirty Years' War, the Duke of Bavaria was given the right to vote as the eighth elector. A candidate for election would be expected to offer concessions of land or money to the electors in order to secure their vote.

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. Later Emperors dispensed with the papal coronation altogether, being content with the styling Emperor-Elect: the last Emperor to be crowned by the Pope was Charles V in 1530.

The Emperor had to be a man of good character over 18 years. All four of his grandparents were expected to be of noble blood. No law required him to be a Catholic, though imperial law assumed that he was. He did not need to be a German (Alfonso X of Castile was not). By the 17th century candidates generally possessed estates within the Empire, such as Louis XIV of France.

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:

• 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 (an elector), were not allowed to become 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 from 1714 until the dissolution of the Empire.
• Feudal territories led by a clerical dignitary, who was then considered a prince of the church. In the common case of a Prince-Bishop, this temporal territory (called a prince-bishopric) frequently overlapped his—often larger—ecclesiastical diocese (bishopric), giving the bishop both worldly and clerical powers. Examples include the three prince-archbishoprics: Cologne, Trier, and Mainz.
• Imperial Free Cities

The number of territories was amazingly large, rising to approximately 300 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 of Reichsstände in 1792, see List of Reichstag participants (1792).