Holy Roman Empire
Germany, 962 CE–1806. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Holy Roman Empire was a polity in Central Europe and Western Europe, headed by the Holy Roman Emperor and characterized by a decentralized political structure. It began in the Early Middle Ages and lasted for a millennium, until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1517 Martin Luther launched what became the Protestant Reformation, which divided the empire along religious lines.
Seat of power: Aachen
Rulers
Henry IV
Holy Roman Emperor, 1084–1106
He insisted on his royal right to appoint bishops and abbots, which led to the Investiture Controversy. In 1103 he proclaimed the first Reichsfriede, an imperial peace extending across the whole of Germany.
Portrait of Henry IV: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, file
Henry V
Holy Roman Emperor, 1111–1125
He forced Henry IV to abdicate on 31 December 1105 and ruled for five years in compliance with the imperial princes. In 1122 he and Pope Callixtus II ended the Investiture Controversy in the Concordat of Worms.
Portrait of Henry V: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
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Frederick Barbarossa
Holy Roman Emperor, 1155–1190
Historians credit him with re-establishing the Corpus Juris Civilis, the Roman rule of law, which counterbalanced papal power. He joined the Third Crusade and drowned in 1190 while trying to cross the Saleph River.
Portrait of Frederick Barbarossa: Montecappio, Public domain, file
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor, 1220–1250
He ruled a vast area stretching from Sicily in the south, through much of Italy, to Germany in the north. In the Kingdom of Sicily and much of Italy he built an early absolutist state held together by an efficient secular bureaucracy. He was often at war with the papacy and was excommunicated four times between 1227 and his death in 1250.
Portrait of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Louis IV of Bavaria
Holy Roman Emperor, 1328–1347
His election as king of Germany in 1314 was controversial, because his Habsburg cousin Frederick the Fair was elected king at the same time by a separate set of electors. He defeated Frederick in the Battle of Mühldorf in 1322, but Pope John XXII opposed and excommunicated him.
Portrait of Louis IV of Bavaria: Edelmauswaldgeist, CC0, file
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Charles IV
Holy Roman Emperor, 1355–1378
The Golden Bull of 1356 marked a structural change in the politics of the Holy Roman Empire. With his coronation as King of Burgundy at Arles in 1365, he became the crowned ruler of all the kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire.
Portrait of Charles IV: Circle of Theodoric of Prague, Public domain, file
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor, 1452–1493
Frederick concentrated on re-uniting the Habsburg hereditary lands of Austria and took a lesser interest in Imperial affairs. His reign of 41 years is the longest in the history of the Holy Roman Empire or the German monarchy.
Portrait of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor: Unknown author, Public domain, file
Charles V
Holy Roman Emperor, 1519–1556
He had no fixed capital and made 40 journeys through the different entities he ruled. He spent most of his life waging war to defend the integrity of the Holy Roman Empire from the Protestant Reformation, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, and wars with France.
Portrait of Charles V: Attributed to Titian, Public domain, file
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Emperor Rudolf II
Holy Roman Emperor, 1576–1612
Determined to unify Christendom, he began the Long Turkish War with the Ottoman Empire, which lasted from 1593 to 1606. There was a policy of tolerance towards Judaism under his reign.
Portrait of Emperor Rudolf II: Workshop of Martino Rota, Public domain, file
_Portrait_of_Emperor_Rudolf.jpg){kind=link}
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor, 1619–1637
As ruler of the Inner Austrian provinces, he introduced strict Counter-Reformation measures from 1598. He ordered the expulsion of all Protestant pastors and teachers.
Portrait of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor: Unidentified painter, Public domain, file
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Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor, 1637–1657
He introduced lenient policies that departed from the old ideas of divine right held by his father, because he wished to end the Thirty Years' War quickly. After military defeats he was compelled to abandon many political stances of his Habsburg predecessors, which opened the long road towards the Peace of Westphalia.
Portrait of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor: Jan van den Hoecke, Public domain, file
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor, 1658–1705
Elected in 1658, he ruled the Holy Roman Empire until his death in 1705, as the second-longest-ruling emperor of the House of Habsburg. His reign is known for conflicts with the Ottoman Empire in the Great Turkish War and rivalry with Louis XIV in the west. He fought three wars against France: the Franco-Dutch War, the Nine Years' War, and the War of the Spanish Succession.
Portrait of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor: Benjamin Block, Public domain, file
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor, 1711–1740
Faced with a lack of male heirs, he issued the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to provide for a failure of the male line. Many states recognised the sanction, but France, Spain, Saxony-Poland, Bavaria and Prussia later reneged.
Portrait of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor: Johann Gottfried Auerbach, Public domain, file
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor, 1745–1765
He became the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and Tuscany through his marriage to Maria Theresa of Austria. Maria Theresa gave him responsibility for the empire's financial affairs, which he handled well.
Portrait of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor: Martin van Meytens, Public domain, file
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor, 1765–1790
Joseph was a proponent of enlightened absolutism, but his secularising, liberalising and modernising reforms caused significant opposition, so he could not fully implement his programs. His policies are now known as Josephinism.
Portrait of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor: Anton von Maron, Public domain, file
Culture
- The imperial office was traditionally elected, mostly by a handful of prince-electors and archbishops.
- The Golden Bull of 1356, issued by Charles IV, set out the make-up and procedures of a fixed college of prince-electors.
- Printing and a postal system helped ideas spread, and the decentralized nature of the empire made censorship difficult.
Picture
The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, the coronation crown of the Holy Roman Emperor, is now kept in the Imperial Treasury in Vienna, Austria.
Image: (Gryffindor) CSvBibra, Public domain, file
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Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.