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Footnote 4 In this narrative, the empire's dissolution demarcated the temporal boundary between an antiquated legalistic structure thought to have been ‘incompatible with modernisation and the building of the nation-state’ and the system of sovereign states replacing it.
- Charlotte Johann
- 2021
The clash between the Church and the Empire. From the time of Constantine I's conversion to Christianity in the 4th century, the question of the relationship between temporal and spiritual power was constant, causing a clash between the Church and the Empire. The disappearance of imperial power initially enabled the pope to assert his independence.
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What was the role of rank and ritual in early European courts?
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Mar 14, 2022 · On the princes’ appeal, see “The Elector's Reply to the Emperor's Proposal, May 31, 1530,” in Reu, The Augsburg Confession, 130–37, at 133. 10 10 Martin Luther, To the Saxon Princes: To the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse on the Captive Duke of Braunschweig , trans. Frederick C. Ahrens, in Luther's Works 43:(251–57)259 ...
Oct 20, 2023 · This chapter will focus on Enlightenment Europe as the most immediate background and point of reference for the early development of American ideas and practices. It will provide an analytical survey of what might be considered, from the early modern perspective, ‘live options’ in church-state relations. Despite the title’s use of ...
- kmaas@hillsdale.edu
- Introduction
- The Emperor
- The Reichstag
- The Courts of The Empire
- Structure of The Empire
- The End of The Empire
- The Dissolution of 1806 and Mediatization
- References and Resources
Origin and Evolution
The Holy Roman Empire (HRE) never achieved the political unificationthat France did; a prolonged attempt at centralizing authority startingwith Maximilian I (1493-1519) was wrecked by the Reformation and the ensuingwars, culminating with the Thirty Years War (1618-48) and the Treaty ofWestphalia (1648). The latter formalized the relationship between the Emperorand his vassals, who thereby achieved all but complete sovereignty. Asa result, the HRE was still composed at the end of the 18th cent...
The nature of the Holy Roman Empire: limited elective monarchy
The Empire was an elective monarchy since the end of the Carolingiandynasty in the early 10th century, although the principle was not firmlyset in writing until the constitution of 1338 and the Golden Bull of 1356(see a picturehere and the text here). Later, as part of everyelectioral capitulation, the newly elected emperor swore not to make hisoffice hereditary. The Empire was also a limited monarchy, in the sense that anyexercise of the Emperor's powers that was not purely executive require...
Sources of law
1. the constitutions of Frankfurt 1220 (original text and partialGerman translation) and 1232( originaltext and partialGerman translation) recognising the rights of spiritual and temporalprinces 2. the constitution of 1338 (Frankfurt) freeing the election of the emperorfrom papal control 3. the GoldenBull of 1356 on the electors (Englishtranslation, partialGerman translation) 4. the edict of pacification (ewiger Landfriede)of 1495, on criminaljustice (partialGerman version) 5. the ordinances...
Qualifications
The office was not hereditary, but elective. However, from 1453 to 1740,a Habsburg was always Emperor. The last Habsburg Charles VI died leavingonly daughters, and the Elector of Bavaria was elected as Charles VII in1742, but he died in 1745 and Charles VI's son-in-law Francis of Lorrainewas elected emperor in 1745; until the end of the Empire in 1806, the imperialcrown was in the Habsburg-Lorraine family.
Household
The emperor was entitled to have a Household, a real one as well as one"for show" composed of the High Offices of the Empire (Erzämter,archiofficia). The four High Offices appear under the Ottonian dynasty:at the coronation of Otto I in 936, each of the Stammherzögeheldone of the functions. The Golden Bull of 1356 assigned them to the lay electors (in fact, someelectors may have become so because they were High Officers). After a newelectorate was created for the count Palatine, a new office...
Powers
executive: 1. he enforced the laws and rulings of the empire, although most of this wasdelegated to the Reichskreise; 2. he appointed imperial officers; legislative: 1. he could propose, approve and promulgate laws; in particular, he had theright to withhold approval; 2. but he could not levy taxes without approval judiciary: 1. he was the ultimate judge in Germany, although he could only exercise thispower through legally appointed courts, and had no right to intervene inthe Reichskammergeri...
The composition of the Reichstagevolved over the Middle Ages.By 1495 it had been divided into three colleges or sections: 1. the Electoral Council (Kurfürstenrat), 2. the Council of Princes (Fürstenrat), 3. the Council of the Imperial Cities (Collegiumder Reichstädte).
Reichskammergericht
The Reichskammergericht (Camerae Imperialis Judicium), ImperialChamber Court, was created at the Worms Reichstag of 1495. Its initialpurpose was to sit in judgment of violations of the Landfriedenof 1495, but over time became the main court of the Empire and the guarantorof imperial law. The Court consisted initially of a Judge assisted by 16 assessors (anumber increased to 50 in 1648 and reduced to 25 in 1729). The Judge, twoPresidents and one assessor were appointed by the Emperor, the othe...
Reichshofrath
Maximilian I had only reluctantly agreed to the formation of the Reichskammergericht.To help him in his direct administration of justice, he established in1518 a Reichshofrath(Consulium imperiale aulicum),Imperial Court or Aulic Council, which became accepted as equal to the Reichskammergerichtin 1648. Contrary to the Court, this body was a creature of the Emperor. It hada president, a vice-president, and 16 councillors, all appointed by theEmperor. The imperial vice-chancellor, appointed by...
allodial and feudalstates of the Empire and non-statesimmediate and mediate lands or peoplesovereign and subjectA. The Secularization of 1803
The new distribution increased the number of votes from 100 (35spiritual princes, 2 prelates' benches, 59 temporal princes, 4 counts'benches) to 131. 1. -2: all members of the two prelates' benches of Swabia and the Rhine were allocated to various princes and counts. 2. -7: of the temporal princes, 7 seats were eliminated. 3. -11: of the 35 existing spiritual states, 3 survived (archduke ofAustria, the Teutonic Order and the Order of St. John), 11 wereformally eliminated (annexed by France) a...
The Empire, which had become a loose confederation of virtuallysovereignstates in 1648, was close to collapse after the major territorialchangeswrought by France. Napoleon, whose ambitions found Russia, Prussia andAustria arrayed against him, tried to create a coalition of Germanstatesfree from the influence of either Prussia or Austria. More gener...
Most of the material on the legal and political structure in this pageis taken from 1. Heinrich Zoepfl: Grundsätze des gemeinen deutschen Staatsrechts,Leipzig 1863; reprint Scriptor Reprints, Regensburg 1975 2. Recht und Verfassung des Reiches in der Zeit Maria Theresias(editedby Hermann Conrad), Westdeutscher Verlag, Cologne, 1964 (which is the pu...
Mar 24, 2022 · Abstract. Time and temporality are common themes in the social sciences and sociology. The sociological literature on time remains solipsistically empirical, while theoretical elaborations are focused on modernity, capitalism, and technology, through notions of speed and acceleration. Although existing studies on time are imbued with political ...
May 18, 2021 · Rank and ritual were defining elements of courtly life on the one hand and signs used by monarchs to represent sovereign powers on the other. Focusing the analysis on the issues of rank and ritual therefore allows for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of early modern European courts. The authors of the chapters in this volume discuss ...