Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire, a political organization made up of states in central Europe, existed from 962 until 1806. By the late 1400s, the empire covered an area that reached from France in the west to Denmark in the north and to Poland and Hungary in the east. This vast empire was one of the great powers of Europe during the Renaissance.

Origins. During the Middle Ages many viewed the Holy Roman Empire as the successor to the ancient Roman Empire. The pope had granted the title of emperor to Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, in A.D. 800. But the empire only took full shape in 962, when the pope crowned Otto I as emperor. Otto controlled the eastern lands of Charlemagne's old empire. In the 1100s and 1200s, the rulers began to refer to their realm as the Holy Roman Empire. The link between the empire and the Roman Catholic Church made the realm "holy."

The ruler of the Holy Roman Empire also held the title "king of the Romans." However, he received his two titles in different ways. Emperor Charles IV passed a law in 1356 decreeing that seven electors would have responsibility for choosing the king of the Romans. Four of these electors were secular* rulers and the other three were high church officials. This law, called the Golden Bull, laid out the exact procedure for choosing the king, up to and including his coronation.

Originally, the king of the Romans became Holy Roman Emperor when the pope crowned him in a special ceremony in Rome. However, in 1508 MAXIMILIAN I assumed the title of "Elected Roman Emperor" without the aid of the pope because he was unable to pass through Italy to Rome. In 1530 Emperor CHARLES V became the last Holy Roman Emperor crowned in Italy. The emperors that followed were still elected and crowned king of the Romans. However, each took the title of emperor on the death of the old emperor without a separate coronation by the pope. Although the electors could choose any prince* as their emperor, between 1438 and 1740 the title always fell to a member of the HABSBURG DYNASTY.

The Imperial Diet. The Holy Roman Emperor did not hold absolute control over his realm. A legislative body known as the imperial diet had the power to approve or reject his decisions. The members of the diet were princes and representatives from imperial cities—that is, cities that fell directly under the control of the emperor, such as AUGSBURG, Frankfurt, Cologne, NÜRNBERG, Regensburg, STRASBOURG, and Ulm. In the early 1500s, the Holy Roman Empire included more than 70 imperial cities.

The members of the diet met only when the emperor summoned them. After 1489 the diet split into three separate groups, known as "colleges." The electors sat in one college, the imperial princes in another, and the representatives of imperial cities in a third. The college of imperial princes had two smaller divisions called "benches," one for secular princes and one for bishops and other church officials.

At the beginning of the session, the emperor presented various proposals for discussion. These often concerned the military, the justice system, or the collection of taxes. Representatives from each college discussed and revised the emperor's proposals. Only when all three colleges had hammered out a version that the emperor approved would the proposal become imperial law. Until the early 1600s, the diet met at irregular intervals. After 1663 it became a permanent governing body located in the imperial city of Regensburg.

Reform and Reformation. In the 1400s and 1500s, Holy Roman Emperors introduced a series of reforms to renew the Holy Roman Empire and give it greater security. For example, the imperial diet of 1495, which met in the city of Worms, proclaimed a permanent peace throughout the empire. This announcement aimed to restrict feuds within the realm.

In the early 1500s, the Protestant Reformation* swept across the Holy Roman Empire. Many imperial princes joined the new movement. In 1530 these Protestant princes presented a new declaration of faith at the imperial diet in Augsburg. From that time onward, disputes between Catholic and Protestant forces became more common in the empire.

Religious disputes interfered with the workings of the Chamber Court of Justice, the empire's highest court, which had been founded in 1495. In many cases, the court used religion as a basis for judging disputes, which led to calls for reform, especially from Protestants. Over time, another institution of justice, the imperial council, gained influence. In 1559 this council began to take over the function of a supreme court.

Protestant princes within the Holy Roman Empire formed an alliance against Catholics, known as the Schmalkaldic League. In 1446 they rose up in the Schmalkaldic War, but Charles V defeated them the following year. However, he could not wipe out the Protestant faith in his realm. In 1555 Protestant and Catholic princes reached a compromise called the Peace of Augsburg, which allowed each prince to choose the religion practiced in his realm. This agreement helped calm the religious aspects of the empire for the next 50 years.

However, religious issues continued to complicate the work of the diet. Members from Protestant areas often refused to discuss new taxes unless the diet also agreed to a debate on religious matters. In 1648 the diet finally settled on a method of treating religious and political issues separately.

Social Unrest. Like the rest of Europe, the Holy Roman Empire experienced a steady growth in population throughout the 1500s. Between 1500 and 1600 the population nearly doubled. This increase led to various problems, such as rising prices, falling wages, and shortages of agricultural products. These problems were most severe in towns, where about 10 percent of the population lived. Poverty increased, and with it came social unrest.

In the countryside, most peasants still lived as serfs*. They depended on their lords and had to provide them with money, crops, or labor. The lords determined how peasants could use their land. They also controlled peasant marriages and had the power to prohibit peasants from moving from one place to another. Throughout the 1500s, lords in the Holy Roman Empire raised peasants' dues, making their living conditions still worse. In 1524 the serfs rose up in the PEASANTS' WAR, one of the greatest rural revolts in the history of the empire. Peasants demanded lower dues, an end to serfdom, and other changes. Although the princes crushed the revolt in 1525, local peasant uprisings continued during the 1500s and 1600s.

Despite problems and crises, the Holy Roman Empire was one of the strongest political systems in Europe during the Renaissance. It remained a major European power until the late 1600s. The Holy Roman Empire came to an end in 1806, when the last emperor, Francis II, gave up the imperial crown and the title of Holy Roman Emperor.

Holy Roman Empire

Renaissance Emperors