4. The early modern empire (1)

‘The early modern empire (1): from Maximilian I to the Thirty Years War’ outlines the period from 1493 to 1648. Maximilian I’s reign (1493–1519) transformed the empire. It remained a feudal society, in which the princes owed allegiance to the emperor, but it now gained more elements of a written constitution. Subsequently, the empire acquired a more extensive body of constitutional law than any other early modern European monarchy. The reigns of Charles V, Ferdinand I, and Maximilian II, and key events including Martin Luther’s Reformation movement, the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, and the Thirty Years War (1618–48) that started with a Bohemian rebellion against Habsburg rule, are all described.

2. The high medieval empire

‘The high medieval empire: from the Salians to the Hohenstaufen’ describes the Salian and Hohenstaufen dynasties who ruled until the mid-13th century; the increasingly problematic relationship between empire and papacy; and the development of a German identity. It begins with the early Salian kings, Conrad II (r. 1024–39) and Henry III (r. 1039–56), who achieved consolidation of the empire and church reform. Conflict with the papacy increased during the reigns of Henry IV (r. 1056–1106) and Henry V (r. 1106–25). The Hohenstaufen dynasty inherited the imperial aspirations of the Ottonians and Salians, but after increasing problems in Italy, the dynasty ended in failure with the death of Frederick II in 1250.

3. The later medieval empire

After the post-Hohenstaufen era, two decades of weak kings were followed by several dynasties competing for the German crown before the Habsburgs emerged dominant in the 15th century. During this period, the German kingdom evolved constitutional structures that institutionalized the elective monarchy. The most important was the establishment of a formal group of royal electors. ‘The later medieval empire: the emergence of the Habsburgs’ describes this key period, including the reigns of the first Habsburg king, Rudolf; Charles IV of Bavaria (r. 1347–78) and his important law the Golden Bull of 1356; Sigismund (r. 1410–37) and the reform of the church and empire; and the long reign of Frederick III (r. 1440–93)

Introduction

The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was founded in 800 with the coronation of Charlemagne as emperor by the pope, and was dissolved in 1806. ‘What was the Holy Roman Empire?’ explains that the original Frankish kingdom was a tribal society that followed an elected leader. On this foundation subsequent ruling dynasties developed what became a fully fledged feudal system. From the middle of the 14th century, the empire developed institutional and legal structures that ultimately became more important than the feudal relationship between the emperor and his vassals. The territories of the empire and its imperial coronations and insignia are described.

1. Roman Empire and German kingdom

‘Roman Empire and German kingdom: from Charlemagne to the Ottonians’ describes the period of time after the decline of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the Germanic tribes of the Franks on its north-western periphery through to the reign of Henry of Bavaria, whose death in 1024 ended the Ottonian dynasty. Charlemagne’s reign and the Carolingians are described, followed by the eastern kingdom of the Franks, which under the rule of the sons of Louis the German (r. 843–76) developed a distinct sense of identity. The Saxon-German kingdom; the kingdom of Italy; Otto I’s imperial rule in Germany; and the new aspirations of Otto II and Otto III are also outlined.

Epilogue

‘The legacy of the Holy Roman Empire’ describes the region’s history after 1806. The empire’s dissolution in 1806 effectively partitioned its territory into four zones. Would ‘Germany’ ever be united again? Napoleon’s defeat by the Austrians is discussed along with the creation of the German Confederation, the failure of the Frankfurt Parliament, the 1866 Austro-Prussian war, the creation of the German Empire in 1871, the aftermath of World War I, and the rise of the Third Reich. Is the empire relevant as a model for the present? There is no doubt that its traditions of law and of rights contributed, alongside the traditions that evolved in other European countries, to the development of modern Europe.

5. The early modern empire (2)

The Thirty Years War was a disaster for much of the empire, yet the post-war era provided new opportunities and developments, which all contributed to the extraordinary cultural vitality of the German lands, manifest especially in the literary, musical, and philosophical achievements of the 18th and early 19th centuries. ‘The early modern empire (2): from the Peace of Westphalia to 1806’ outlines the empire’s revival after 1648 and the external threats that helped maintain its solidarity—the Ottoman wars, hostilities with France, and conflicts with Sweden in the north. It concludes with the French Revolution and Napoleon, whose insistence on the abdication of Francis II resulted in the dissolution of the empire in 1806.