Holy Roman Empire
From Hobson's Choice
Holy Roman Empire, 843-888 Click for larger image |
Holy Roman Empire, 1000 Click for larger image |
Holy Roman Empire, 1786 Click for larger image |
A loose hierarchy of kingdoms, duchies, principalities, ecclesiastical lands, and free cities in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The Holy Roman Empire was created in 800 and dissolved in 1806.
Contents |
Origins
The Holy Roman Empire was originally the Carolinian Empire of Charlemagne, consisting chiefly of Merovingian territories. On Christmas Day, 800, Leo III crowned King Charles I (Charlemagne) of the Franks "Holy Roman Emperor," chiefly as a symbolic gesture; when Charles dies in 814, his empire is divided among his three sons. Over the next 148 years the territories are fought over, but in 962 Otto I is again crowned HRE by Pope John XII, this time beginning the Ottonian dynasty of emperors.
Dissolution
The Holy Roman Empire was liquidated by the dynastic Hapsburg rulers, partly to prevent the possibility of election of a Bonaparte to the imperial throne. The final crisis arose with the French conquest of a large swathe of German territory, accompanied by the lay princes' collusion in seizing the ecclesiastical territories of the Empire. At this point, a large number of electoral votes were in the hands of Napoleon's allies, who formed the Confederation of the Rhine.
With Napoleon's defeat in 1813, the Confederation dissolved but the Hapsburgs did not restore the Empire; instead, they swapped territories to create a purely dynastic state.
See Also
External Links
- The Journal of the Holy Roman Empire
- "History of the Holy Roman Empire," History World
