Presenting these pages to the reader, I feel some excitement. The subject covered in the book is so complex that it may even seem boring to some. But how can it be presented clearly, without going into excesses and without distorting reality? So many beautiful trees would have to be cut down to lay the alleys of a French garden in the forest!
Indeed, the history of the German Holy Roman Empire is woven of paradoxes. Was this empire really Holy? She began to be considered as such from the moment when her rulers accepted the papacy. Was this empire Roman, if The eternal City was considered its capital in the strict sense of the word only for a short time, to the misfortune of those who made such an attempt? And finally, this empire could not be considered purely German. By its definition, it had to be all-encompassing, to stand above all the peoples subject to it. Of course, the connection of the empire with Germany was very strong. The Germans perceived themselves as a single nation, because, having long left their lands in pursuit of the idea of creating great empire they realized their commonality. However, the king they elected was not called a king. Germanic peoples, but the King of Rome, since he was to be emperor, just as the son of the French emperor Napoleon was one day to become the ruler of Rome. The German kingdom and the supranational empire are so closely linked that in German there is only one word - Reich - to denote both of these concepts, in Latin, on the contrary, they distinguish kingdom and empire.
If logic historical events seems contradictory to us, this happens because we do not perceive history as something integral, but rather we are looking for those connections with some basic, core idea, "one of the dominant themes of the formation of mankind." The core idea, inherited by the Roman intelligentsia from the Greek philosophers, was the community of people in the universal sense, the community, unity and protection of which was ensured by the state created by the Romans. After the adoption of Christianity by Constantine, the Roman Empire ( orbis romanus) turned into a Christian empire ( orbis christianus), the patron of which was God, and the governor on earth - the emperor, combining political and religious power. When the hordes of barbarians destroyed the Western Roman Empire, its idealized image became even more vivid. In a world where unbridled power and cruelty dictated their laws, the memory of law and order was maintained as a guarantee of a better future. Thus was born "the myth of the Roman Christian community, which found the territory it had long dreamed of and a single faith." The clergy fully supported this idea, since his teaching was turned to the past, which seemed to them especially beautiful for the reason that weapons in those days, they believed, served only a just cause. In a society where the rules are now military force they felt defenseless. It was not in their power to revive the empire. And only active, powerful, insightful and ambitious rulers could feel this myth and bring it to life. Or, more correctly, to try to do it, since the task was not easy. Difficult political conditions did not allow to act freely, building a state that only remotely resembled an empire, always in need of strong, knowledgeable people with exceptional abilities. These qualities, unfortunately, were not inherent in everyone and were manifested in each in different ways. Some rulers, succumbing to impulse, went to extremes in their desire to realize this utopia. For others, more pragmatic, what was more important was not the size of the empire, but its power. The deeds of each of them bore the imprint of their personality. The history of the empire thus became the history of its emperors.
The most famous of them, Charlemagne, it would seem, should not appear in the gallery of portraits that we are about to present to you. Holy Empire was founded in 962, about a century and a half after his death. However, both Otto and all his successors sought to follow in his footsteps. They all wanted to take the throne in the court church in Aachen and be crowned in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, like Charlemagne, whose coronation took place on Christmas Day 800. Memories of him turned into a legend, giving the dream of a great empire another feature that has passed through the ages - the idea of the chosen people, who are destined by Providence to find unity. After the Romans, this mission passed to the Franks. Moreover, it became impossible to claim the empire without being a descendant of the most noble Frankish families. The empire almost inevitably split in two. Two cities embodied its duality - first of all Rome, but to the same extent Aachen.
And although the memory of Charlemagne survived the centuries, the empire he created turned out to be short-lived. In 843 it broke up. Never again will the lands of the East Franks, today's Germany, and the West Franks, today's France, unite. In a short time, what had previously been a single community of the West broke up into countless principalities and kingdoms. At the beginning of the 10th century, the imperial crown was only an ornament, paraded by small princelings. The last time it was thrown off in 924. Otto picked it up on February 2, 962. Lombardy and Lorraine, whose lands stretched to the Meuse, were also subordinate to him, the ruler of East Francia. The victory over the Hungarian conquerors greatly strengthened his influence, and he considered that it was he who was worthy of reviving the empire. His possessions were very extensive, but the means to keep them in obedience remained rather average. The power of the Carolingians east of the Rhine was limited, and besides, in all other lands its mechanism was poorly adjusted. The dukes who elevated Otto to the throne were by no means uncomplaining executors of his will. The ethnic diversity of the peoples that made up the empire made it difficult to manage it, and even the peoples who spoke the same Germanic language did not constitute a single nation. To replenish his treasury, Otto used his power as an emperor. Like Charlemagne and all Christian emperors, he was considered the vicar of God on earth. Both spiritual and secular power was concentrated in his hands, so he could count on the full support of the Church. The clergy, on the other hand, constituted a certain framework of society, more like an organism, devoid of nerves and bones. Many problems and dramatic situations hindered the development of this structure, which still had to endure severe trials, but the symbiosis of religion and politics proved to be viable. Otto's successors did their best to maintain such a system. She contributed rapid development empire and allowed it to reach the peak of its development in the middle of the X century.
Later, this magnificent structure was shaken. The popes realized that they had a responsibility to the whole of Christendom and that serious abuses undermined it. To change the situation required complete freedom of action. It was not enough to put some secular ruler at the head of the empire, who would constantly interfere in the affairs of the church. The situation in which the emperor would claim the role of the new Messiah and appoint bishops at his own discretion was absolutely unacceptable. What annoyed the pope most of all was that the emperor had unshakable power. Conflict was inevitable; the fight became merciless. The unhealthy situation that had developed in the state threatened him with death. After half a century of bitter struggle, an agreement was reached. The empire emerged from the crisis significantly weakened. Prelates ceased to be officials, becoming vassals. The state no longer had the right to demand absolute submission from them. Friedrich Hohenstaufen, nicknamed Barbarossa, learned from these changes and introduced a well-organized feudal system, which became one of the pillars on which the monarchy rested. The clergy occupied their niche in it, and the empire began to be called Sacred. But Barbarossa wanted to take advantage of the riches that Italy abounded. The marriage of his son Henry VI to the Norman heiress in Sicily was to secure the Hohenstaufen's power in the peninsula. This decision was made despite the desire of the Lombard cities for independence, with which the popes, who did not want to fall into the iron tongs, entered into a strong alliance. The premature death of Henry VI and the troubled times that followed it allowed the Holy See to achieve unprecedented opportunities, leaving the emperor only the rights of Peter's heir. Taking as a basis the Sicilian state, inherited from his mother, the grandson of Barbarossa Frederick II, on the contrary, declared himself a full-fledged ruler, "the embodiment of the law on earth." Violent confrontation resumed with new force but, despite mutual efforts, it did not lead to anything. Frederick II remained invincible, but in 1250 he too was stricken with illness. The news of his death was a wake-up call. Everything was destroyed almost at once, and complete anarchy ensued, lasting almost twenty years. The puppet emperors weren't strong enough to put an end to this.
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Francis Rapp
"The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation: From Otto the Great to Charles V"
In memory of my mentor Robert Foltz
Introduction
Presenting these pages to the reader, I feel some excitement. The subject covered in the book is so complex that it may even seem boring to some. But how can it be presented clearly, without going into excesses and without distorting reality? So many beautiful trees would have to be cut down to lay the alleys of a French garden in the forest!
Indeed, the history of the German Holy Roman Empire is woven of paradoxes. Was this empire really Holy? She began to be considered as such from the moment when her rulers accepted the papacy. Was this empire Roman if the Eternal City was considered its capital in the strict sense of the word only for a short time, to the misfortune of those who made such an attempt? And finally, this empire could not be considered purely German. By its definition, it had to be all-encompassing, to stand above all the peoples subject to it. Of course, the connection of the empire with Germany was very strong. The Germans perceived themselves as a single nation, because, having long since left their lands in pursuit of the idea of creating a great empire, they realized their commonality. However, the king they elected was not called the king of the German peoples, but the king of Rome, since he was to be emperor, just as the son of the French emperor Napoleon was one day to become the ruler of Rome. The German kingdom and the supranational empire are so closely linked that in German there is only one word - Reich - to denote both of these concepts, in Latin, on the contrary, they distinguish kingdom and empire.
If the logic of historical events seems contradictory to us, then this is because we do not perceive history as something integral, but rather we are looking for in it those connections with some basic, core idea, "one of the dominant themes of the formation of mankind." The core idea, inherited by the Roman intelligentsia from the Greek philosophers, was the community of people in the universal sense, the community, unity and protection of which was ensured by the state created by the Romans. After the adoption of Christianity by Constantine, the Roman Empire ( orbis romanus) turned into a Christian empire ( orbis christianus), the patron of which was God, and the governor on earth - the emperor, combining political and religious power. When the hordes of barbarians destroyed the Western Roman Empire, its idealized image became even more vivid. In a world where unbridled power and cruelty dictated their laws, the memory of law and order was maintained as a guarantee of a better future. Thus was born "the myth of the Roman Christian community, which found the territory it had long dreamed of and a single faith." The clergy fully supported this idea, since his teaching was turned to the past, which seemed to them especially beautiful for the reason that weapons in those days, they believed, served only a just cause. In a society now ruled by military force, they felt defenseless. It was not in their power to revive the empire. And only active, powerful, insightful and ambitious rulers could be imbued with this myth and bring it to life. Or, more correctly, to try to do it, since the task was not easy. Difficult political conditions did not allow to act freely, building a state that only remotely resembled an empire, always in need of strong, knowledgeable people with exceptional abilities. These qualities, unfortunately, were not inherent in everyone and were manifested in each in different ways. Some rulers, succumbing to impulse, went to extremes in their desire to realize this utopia. For others, more pragmatic, what was more important was not the size of the empire, but its power. The deeds of each of them bore the imprint of their personality. The history of the empire thus became the history of its emperors.
The most famous of them, Charlemagne, it would seem, should not appear in the gallery of portraits that we are about to present to you. The Holy Empire was founded in 962, about a century and a half after his death. However, both Otto and all his successors sought to follow in his footsteps. They all wanted to take the throne in the court church in Aachen and be crowned in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, like Charlemagne, whose coronation took place on Christmas Day 800. Memories of him turned into a legend, giving the dream of a great empire another feature that has passed through the ages - the idea of the chosen people, who are destined by Providence to find unity. After the Romans, this mission passed to the Franks. Moreover, it became impossible to claim the empire without being a descendant of the most noble Frankish families. The empire almost inevitably split in two. Two cities embodied its duality - first of all Rome, but to the same extent Aachen.
And although the memory of Charlemagne survived the centuries, the empire he created turned out to be short-lived. In 843 it broke up. Never again will the lands of the East Franks, today's Germany, and the West Franks, today's France, unite. In a short time, what had previously been a single community of the West broke up into countless principalities and kingdoms. At the beginning of the 10th century, the imperial crown was only an ornament, paraded by small princelings. The last time it was thrown off in 924. Otto picked it up on February 2, 962. Lombardy and Lorraine, whose lands stretched to the Meuse, were also subordinate to him, the ruler of East Francia. The victory over the Hungarian conquerors greatly strengthened his influence, and he considered that it was he who was worthy of reviving the empire. His possessions were very extensive, but the means to keep them in obedience remained rather average. The power of the Carolingians east of the Rhine was limited, and besides, in all other lands its mechanism was poorly adjusted. The dukes who elevated Otto to the throne were by no means uncomplaining executors of his will. The ethnic diversity of the peoples that made up the empire made it difficult to manage it, and even the peoples who spoke the same Germanic language did not constitute a single nation. To replenish his treasury, Otto used his power as an emperor. Like Charlemagne and all Christian emperors, he was considered the vicar of God on earth. Both spiritual and secular power were concentrated in his hands, so he could count on the full support of the Church. The clergy, on the other hand, constituted a certain framework of society, more like an organism, devoid of nerves and bones. Many problems and dramatic situations hindered the development of this structure, which still had to endure severe trials, but the symbiosis of religion and politics proved to be viable. Otto's successors did their best to maintain such a system. It contributed to the rapid development of the empire and allowed it to reach its peak in the middle of the 10th century.
Later, this magnificent structure was shaken. The popes realized that they had a responsibility to the whole of Christendom and that serious abuses undermined it. To change the situation required complete freedom of action. It was not enough to put some secular ruler at the head of the empire, who would constantly interfere in the affairs of the church. The situation in which the emperor would claim the role of the new Messiah and appoint bishops at his own discretion was absolutely unacceptable. What annoyed the pope most of all was that the emperor had unshakable power. Conflict was inevitable; the fight became merciless. The unhealthy situation that had developed in the state threatened him with death. After half a century of bitter struggle, an agreement was reached. The empire emerged from the crisis significantly weakened. Prelates ceased to be officials, turning into vassals. The state no longer had the right to demand absolute submission from them. Friedrich Hohenstaufen, nicknamed Barbarossa, learned from these changes and introduced a well-organized feudal system, which became one of the pillars on which the monarchy rested. The clergy occupied their niche in it, and the empire began to be called Sacred. But Barbarossa wanted to take advantage of the riches that Italy abounded. The marriage of his son Henry VI to the Norman heiress in Sicily was to secure the Hohenstaufen's power in the peninsula. This decision was made despite the desire of the Lombard cities for independence, with which the popes, who did not want to fall into the iron tongs, entered into a strong alliance. The premature death of Henry VI and the troubled times that followed it allowed the Holy See to achieve unprecedented opportunities, leaving the emperor only the rights of Peter's heir. Taking as a basis the Sicilian state, inherited from his mother, the grandson of Barbarossa Frederick II, on the contrary, declared himself a full-fledged ruler, "the embodiment of the law on earth." The fierce confrontation resumed with renewed vigor, but, despite mutual efforts, it did not lead to anything. Frederick II remained invincible, but in 1250 he too was stricken with illness. The news of his death was a wake-up call. Everything was destroyed almost at once, and complete anarchy ensued, lasting almost twenty years. The puppet emperors weren't strong enough to put an end to this.
Francis Rapp
"The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation: From Otto the Great to Charles V"
In memory of my mentor Robert Foltz
Introduction
Presenting these pages to the reader, I feel some excitement. The subject covered in the book is so complex that it may even seem boring to some. But how can it be presented clearly, without going into excesses and without distorting reality? So many beautiful trees would have to be cut down to lay the alleys of a French garden in the forest!
Indeed, the history of the German Holy Roman Empire is woven of paradoxes. Was this empire really Holy? She began to be considered as such from the moment when her rulers accepted the papacy. Was this empire Roman if the Eternal City was considered its capital in the strict sense of the word only for a short time, to the misfortune of those who made such an attempt? And finally, this empire could not be considered purely German. By its definition, it had to be all-encompassing, to stand above all the peoples subject to it. Of course, the connection of the empire with Germany was very strong. The Germans perceived themselves as a single nation, because, having long since left their lands in pursuit of the idea of creating a great empire, they realized their commonality. However, the king they elected was not called the king of the German peoples, but the king of Rome, since he was to be emperor, just as the son of the French emperor Napoleon was one day to become the ruler of Rome. The German kingdom and the supranational empire are so closely linked that in German there is only one word - Reich - to denote both of these concepts, in Latin, on the contrary, they distinguish kingdom and empire.
If the logic of historical events seems contradictory to us, then this is because we do not perceive history as something integral, but rather we are looking for in it those connections with some basic, core idea, "one of the dominant themes of the formation of mankind." The core idea, inherited by the Roman intelligentsia from the Greek philosophers, was the community of people in the universal sense, the community, unity and protection of which was ensured by the state created by the Romans. After the adoption of Christianity by Constantine, the Roman Empire ( orbis romanus) turned into a Christian empire ( orbis christianus), the patron of which was God, and the governor on earth - the emperor, combining political and religious power. When the hordes of barbarians destroyed the Western Roman Empire, its idealized image became even more vivid. In a world where unbridled power and cruelty dictated their laws, the memory of law and order was maintained as a guarantee of a better future. Thus was born "the myth of the Roman Christian community, which found the territory it had long dreamed of and a single faith." The clergy fully supported this idea, since his teaching was turned to the past, which seemed to them especially beautiful for the reason that weapons in those days, they believed, served only a just cause. In a society now ruled by military force, they felt defenseless. It was not in their power to revive the empire. And only active, powerful, insightful and ambitious rulers could be imbued with this myth and bring it to life. Or, more correctly, to try to do it, since the task was not easy. Difficult political conditions did not allow to act freely, building a state that only remotely resembled an empire, always in need of strong, knowledgeable people with exceptional abilities. These qualities, unfortunately, were not inherent in everyone and were manifested in each in different ways. Some rulers, succumbing to impulse, went to extremes in their desire to realize this utopia. For others, more pragmatic, what was more important was not the size of the empire, but its power. The deeds of each of them bore the imprint of their personality. The history of the empire thus became the history of its emperors.
The most famous of them, Charlemagne, it would seem, should not appear in the gallery of portraits that we are about to present to you. The Holy Empire was founded in 962, about a century and a half after his death. However, both Otto and all his successors sought to follow in his footsteps. They all wanted to take the throne in the court church in Aachen and be crowned in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, like Charlemagne, whose coronation took place on Christmas Day 800. Memories of him turned into a legend, giving the dream of a great empire another feature that has passed through the ages - the idea of the chosen people, who are destined by Providence to find unity. After the Romans, this mission passed to the Franks. Moreover, it became impossible to claim the empire without being a descendant of the most noble Frankish families. The empire almost inevitably split in two. Two cities embodied its duality - first of all Rome, but to the same extent Aachen.
And although the memory of Charlemagne survived the centuries, the empire he created turned out to be short-lived. In 843 it broke up. Never again will the lands of the East Franks, today's Germany, and the West Franks, today's France, unite. In a short time, what had previously been a single community of the West broke up into countless principalities and kingdoms. At the beginning of the 10th century, the imperial crown was only an ornament, paraded by small princelings. The last time it was thrown off in 924. Otto picked it up on February 2, 962. Lombardy and Lorraine, whose lands stretched to the Meuse, were also subordinate to him, the ruler of East Francia. The victory over the Hungarian conquerors greatly strengthened his influence, and he considered that it was he who was worthy of reviving the empire. His possessions were very extensive, but the means to keep them in obedience remained rather average. The power of the Carolingians east of the Rhine was limited, and besides, in all other lands its mechanism was poorly adjusted. The dukes who elevated Otto to the throne were by no means uncomplaining executors of his will. The ethnic diversity of the peoples that made up the empire made it difficult to manage it, and even the peoples who spoke the same Germanic language did not constitute a single nation. To replenish his treasury, Otto used his power as an emperor. Like Charlemagne and all Christian emperors, he was considered the vicar of God on earth. Both spiritual and secular power were concentrated in his hands, so he could count on the full support of the Church. The clergy, on the other hand, constituted a certain framework of society, more like an organism, devoid of nerves and bones. Many problems and dramatic situations hindered the development of this structure, which still had to endure severe trials, but the symbiosis of religion and politics proved to be viable. Otto's successors did their best to maintain such a system. It contributed to the rapid development of the empire and allowed it to reach its peak in the middle of the 10th century.