Back Heilige Romeinse Ryk Afrikaans Heiliges Römisches Reich ALS «ቅዱስ ሮማዊ መንግሥት» Amharic Sacro Imperio Romano Chermanico AN Hālig Rōmānisc Rīce ANG الإمبراطورية الرومانية المقدسة Arabic الامبراطوريه الرومانيه المقدسه ARZ Sacru Imperiu Romanu Xermánicu AST Müqəddəs Roma imperiyası Azerbaijani موقدس روم ژرمن ایمپراتورلوغو AZB

Holy Roman Empire

Not to be confused with Roman Empire.

Holy Roman Empire
Sacrum Imperium Romanum (Latin)
Heiliges Römisches Reich (German)
800/962[a]–1806
Quaternion Eagle (1510)
Quaternion Eagle.svg
The Holy Roman Empire at its greatest territorial extent (c. 1200–1250)
The Holy Roman Empire at its greatest territorial extent (c. 1200–1250)
Capital
Rome (de jure)
Aachen (800–1562)
  • 800–888 (as capital) 800–1562 (Coronation of King of Germany)
Palermo (1194–1254)
Innsbruck (1508–1519)
  • Seat of the Hofkammer and the Court Chancery[5][6]
Vienna (ca. 1550s–1583, 1612–1806)
Frankfurt (1562–1806)
Prague (1583–1612)
Regensburg (1594–1806)
Wetzlar (1689–1806)
Common languagesGerman, Medieval Latin (administrative/liturgical/ceremonial)
Various[c]
Religion
Official religions:
Chalcedonian Christianity (800/962–11th century)
Catholicism (11th century–1806)
Lutheranism (1555–1806)
Calvinism (1648–1806)

see details
GovernmentConfederal feudal elective monarchy
Mixed monarchy (since Imperial Reform)[15]
Emperor 
• 800–814
Charlemagne[a] (first)
• 1792–1806
Francis II (last)
LegislatureImperial Diet
Historical eraMiddle Ages to early modern period
25 December 800
• East Frankish Otto I is crowned Emperor of the Romans
2 February 962
• Conrad II assumes crown of the Kingdom of Burgundy
2 February 1033
25 September 1555
24 October 1648
1648–1789
2 December 1805
6 August 1806
Area
1050[d]1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1700[16]
25,000,000
• 1800[16]
29,000,000
CurrencyMultiple: thaler, guilder, groschen, Reichsthaler
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
East Francia
Kingdom of Italy
Carolingian Dynasty
Confederation of the Rhine Commemorative Medal of the Rhine Confederation.svg
Austrian Empire
Kingdom of Prussia
Papal States
Old Swiss Confederacy
Kingdom of Sardinia
Duchy of Savoy
Dutch Republic
Today part of

The Holy Roman Empire,[17] also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a political entity[18] in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed in the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.[19]

From the accession of Otto I in 962 until the twelfth century, the Empire was the most powerful monarchy in Europe.[20] The functioning of government depended on the harmonious cooperation between monarch and vassals,[21] but this harmony was disturbed during the Salian period.[22] The empire reached the apex of territorial expansion and power under the House of Hohenstaufen in the mid-thirteenth century, but overextending led to partial collapse.[23][24]

On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Roman emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the earlier ancient Western Roman Empire in 476.[25] In theory and diplomacy, the emperors were considered primus inter pares, regarded as first among equals among other Catholic monarchs across Europe.[26] The title continued in the Carolingian family until 888 and from 896 to 899, after which it was contested by the rulers of Italy in a series of civil wars until the death of the last Italian claimant, Berengar I, in 924. The title was revived again in 962 when Otto I, King of Germany, was crowned emperor by Pope John XII, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne[27] and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries.[28][29][e] Some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire,[30][31] while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning.[32][33] Henry the Fowler, the founder of the medieval German state (ruled 919–936),[34] has sometimes been considered the founder of the Empire as well.[35] The modern view favours Otto as the true founder.[36] Scholars generally concur in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, describing a gradual assumption of the imperial title and role.[37][30]

The exact term "Holy Roman Empire" was not used until the 13th century,[38] but the Emperor's legitimacy always rested on the concept of translatio imperii, that he held supreme power inherited from the ancient emperors of Rome.[37] The imperial office was traditionally elective through the mostly German prince-electors.

During the final phase of the reign of Emperor Frederick III (ruled 1452–1493), Imperial Reform began. The reform would largely materialize during Maximilian I's rule (from 1486 as King of the Romans, from 1493 as sole ruler, and from 1508 as Holy Roman Emperor, until his death in 1519). The Empire transformed into the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. It was during this time that the Empire gained most of its institutions, which endured until its final demise in the nineteenth century.[39][40]

According to Thomas Brady Jr., the Empire, after the Imperial Reform, was a political body of remarkable longevity and stability, and "resembled in some respects the monarchical polities of Europe's western tier, and in others the loosely integrated, elective polities of East Central Europe." The new corporate German Nation, instead of simply obeying the emperor, negotiated with him.[41][42] On 6 August 1806, Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire following the creation – the month before, by Emperor of the French Napoleon I – of the Confederation of the Rhine, a confederation of German client states.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ von Aretin, Karl Otmar Freiherr (31 December 1983). Schieder, Theodor; Brunn, Gerhard (eds.). "Das Reich ohne Hauptstadt? Die Multizentralitat der Hauptstadtfunktionen im Reich bis 1806". Hauptstädte in europäischen Nationalstaaten: 5–14. doi:10.1515/9783486992878-003. ISBN 9783486992878.
  2. ^ "UNIO REGNI AD IMPERIUM in "Federiciana"". Treccani.it. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Enrico Vi, Re Di Sicilia E Imperatore In "Federiciana"". Treccani.it. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  4. ^ Lorem ipsum. "Federico Ii Di Svevia, Imperatore, Re Di Sicilia E Di Gerusalemme, Re Dei Romani In "Federiciana"". Treccani.it. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  5. ^ Brady 2009, p. 211.
  6. ^ Pavlac & Lott 2019, p. 249.
  7. ^ Wissenschaften, Neuhausener Akademie der (14 July 2021). Beiträge zur bayerischen Geschichte, Sprache und Kultur (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. p. 106. ISBN 978-3-00-069644-2. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  8. ^ Schmitt, Oliver Jens (5 July 2021). Herrschaft und Politik in Südosteuropa von 1300 bis 1800 (in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 659. ISBN 978-3-11-074443-9. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  9. ^ Buchmann, Bertrand Michael (2002). Hof, Regierung, Stadtverwaltung: Wien als Sitz der österreichischen Zentralverwaltung von den Anfängen bis zum Untergang der Monarchie (in German). Verlag für Geschichte und Politik. p. 37. ISBN 978-3-486-56541-6. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  10. ^ Klopstock, Friedrich Gottlieb (1974). Werke und Briefe: historisch-kritische Ausgabe (in German). W. de Gruyter. p. 999. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  11. ^ Pihlajamäki, Heikki; Dubber, Markus D.; Godfrey, Mark (4 July 2018). The Oxford Handbook of European Legal History. Oxford University Press. p. 762. ISBN 978-0-19-108838-4. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  12. ^ Johnston, William M. (23 March 1983). The Austrian Mind: An Intellectual and Social History, 1848–1938. University of California Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-520-04955-0. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  13. ^ Pavlac & Lott 2019, p. 278.
  14. ^ Žůrek 2014.
  15. ^ Wilson 2016, pp. v–xxvi.
  16. ^ a b Wilson 2016, p. 496.
  17. ^ (Latin: Sacrum Romanum Imperium; German: Heiliges Römisches Reich, pronounced [ˈhaɪlɪɡəs ˈʁøːmɪʃəs ˈʁaɪç] (listen))
  18. ^ Coy, Jason Philip; Marschke, Benjamin; Sabean, David Warren (1 October 2010). The Holy Roman Empire, Reconsidered. Berghahn Books. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-84545-992-5. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference EB.HRE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Peters, Edward (1977). Europe: the World of the Middle Ages. Prentice-Hall. p. 418. ISBN 978-0-13-291898-5. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  21. ^ Weiler, Björn K. U.; MacLean, Simon (2006). Representations of Power in Medieval Germany 800-1500. Isd. p. 126. ISBN 978-2-503-51815-2. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  22. ^ Loud, Graham A.; Schenk, Jochen (6 July 2017). The Origins of the German Principalities, 1100-1350: Essays by German Historians. Taylor & Francis. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-317-02200-8. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  23. ^ Streissguth, Tom (24 June 2009). The Middle Ages. Greenhaven Publishing LLC. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-7377-4636-5. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  24. ^ Wilson 1999, p. 18.
  25. ^ "Charlemagne". History. 9 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  26. ^ Breverton 2014, p. 104.
  27. ^ Cantor 1993, pp. 212–215.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gascoigne was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Davies 1996, pp. 316–317.
  30. ^ a b Bryce 1899, pp. 2–3.
  31. ^ Heer 1967, pp. 1–8.
  32. ^ Davies 1996, pp. 317, 1246.
  33. ^ Kleinhenz 2004, p. 810.
  34. ^ Pavlac & Lott 2019, p. 229.
  35. ^ Eskildsen, Kasper Risbjerg (24 February 2022). Modern Historiography in the Making: The German Sense of the Past, 1700-1900. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-350-27150-0. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  36. ^ Lotito, Mark A. (16 September 2019). The Reformation of Historical Thought. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-34795-3.
  37. ^ a b Whaley 2012a, pp. 17–21.
  38. ^ Garipzanov 2008.
  39. ^ Wilson 2016b, p. 79.
  40. ^ Brady 2009, pp. 104–106.
  41. ^ Brady 2009, pp. 128, 129.
  42. ^ Johnson 1996, p. 23.