Jan 31, 2023 · Holy Roman Empire, German Heiliges Römisches Reich, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium, the varying complex of lands in western and central Europe ruled by the Holy Roman emperor, a title held first by Frankish and then by German kings for 10 centuries. The Holy Roman Empire existed from 800 to 1806.
- How was the Holy Roman Empire formed?Though the term “Holy Roman Empire” was not used until much later, the empire traces its beginnings to Charlemagne, who took control of the Frankis...
- Where was the Holy Roman Empire located?The Holy Roman Empire was located in western and central Europe and included parts of what is now France, Germany, and Italy.
- What was the Holy Roman Empire known for?The Holy Roman Empire ruled over much of western and central Europe from the 9th century to the 19th century. It envisioned itself as a dominion fo...
- Why did the Holy Roman Empire fall?The Holy Roman emperor’s power was chipped away gradually, starting with the Investiture Controversy in the 11th century, and by the 16th century t...
Holy Roman Empire, German Heiliges Römisches Reich, Realm of varying extent in medieval and modern western and central Europe. Traditionally believed to have been established by Charlemagne, who was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in 800, the empire lasted until the renunciation of the imperial title by Francis II in 1806.
- Imperial Institutions in The Renaissance
- Empire and Reformation
- War and Peace in The Confessional Era
- Art and Culture in The PolyCentric Empire
- Austro-Prussian Dualism and The End of The Empire
- Bibliography
At the end of the fifteenth century the empire entered a period of institutional growth and increased political importance. The focus of the empire had shifted to its German-speaking lands, especially the wealthy southern area known as Upper Germany, which saw the birth and growth of effective imperial institutions. Foremost was its parliament, the...
The Protestant Reformation did not cause the division of Germany into dozens of independent territories; in fact, the reverse is true. The extraordinarily diverse and divided political landscape of the empire in the early sixteenth century was the single most important factor in the spread of evangelical ideas and the adoption of church reforms. As...
The Protestant princes and free cities of the empire created their own territorial churches by seizing the lands of monasteries and churches, severing all links with Rome, and overseeing the doctrine and morals of their subjects. Scholars have labeled this process "confessionalization," and it is the defining characteristic of the empire in the per...
In the century after the Peace of Westphalia, the fundamental acceptance of the existence of the empire by the other European powers led to a period of relative peace and prosperity. During this period German art, music, and learned culture once again flourished. Eighteenth-century observers lamented the empire's lack of a capital city that could s...
The revival of the Habsburgs' military power and imperial authority began during the reign of Emperor Leopold I (ruled 1658–1705), as the empire was threatened by French and Turkish aggression. These threats resulted in the loss of imperial cities like Strasbourg to France (1681) and the Ottoman siege of Vienna (1683), but without imperial leadersh...
Primary Sources
Lindberg, Carter, ed.The European Reformations Source-book.Oxford and Malden, Mass., 2000. Good documentation of the Protestant Reformation in the empire. Macartney, C. A., ed.The Habsburg and Hohenzollern Dynasties in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. New York, 1970. Pufendorf, Samuel.Die Verfassung des deutschen Reiches. Translated and edited by Horst Denzer. Frankfurt am Main, 1994. Translation ofDe statu imperii Germanici(1667). Scott, Tom, and Robert W. Scribner, eds. and trans.T...
Secondary Sources
Aretin, Karl Otmar, Freiherr von.Das alte Reich, 1648–1806. 4 vols. Stuttgart, 1993–2000. Fundamental to any discussion of the empire after the Peace of Westphalia. Asch, Ronald G.The Thirty Years War: The Holy Roman Empire and Europe, 1618–1648.Basingstoke, U.K., 1997. Blickle, Peter.Obedient Germans? A Rebuttal: A New View of German History.Translated by Thomas A. Brady, Jr. Charlottesville, Va., 1997. Brady, Thomas A., Jr. "Settlements: The Holy Roman Empire." InHandbook of European Histor...
Jan 4, 2022 · The Holy Roman Empire was a loosely joined union of smaller kingdoms which held power in western and central Europe between A.D. 962 and 1806. It was ruled by a Holy Roman Emperor who oversaw local regions controlled by a variety of kings, dukes, and other officials. The Holy Roman Empire was an attempt to resurrect the Western empire of Rome.
Mar 21, 2023 · In the Holy Roman Empire, the Duke of Lorraine was considered a sovereign prince, and thus would demand that a cardinal cede precedence to him (or give him ‘la main’). Other sources show that Charles stayed at the Luxembourg when he visited Paris rather than his own Hôtel de Lorraine, across the Seine in the Marais, because his estranged ...
1 day ago · During the Roman Empire, in 98 AD, according to Sextus Julius Frontinus, the Roman consul who was named curator aquarum or guardian of the water of the city, Rome had nine aqueducts which fed 39 monumental fountains and 591 public basins, not counting the water supplied to the Imperial household, baths, and owners of private villas. Each of the ...