The Holy Roman Empire encompassed, at various times, the present-day countries of Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. It had no central capital. The Emperor did not rule the individual nations in the coalition; thus, it was not a unitary state, but a confederation of constituent polities. It did not have common laws, language or customs. What did unite the countries of the empire was the Catholic faith, under the twin leadership of the papacy, and an emperor, the ‘Defender of the Roman Catholic Faith’. Though there was no centralised governance, it was Germany and its kings, who emerged as the core region of the empire. By 1030 German kings were consistently crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor.
[1]
At an earlier stage, the Empire consisted of the Kingdoms of Germany, Italy and Burgundy (from 1052) and was known more commonly as the Ottonian Empire. It wasn’t until the mid-twelfth century that historians generally consider it to be the Holy Roman Empire when other states such as Bohemia and Hungary were taken within its borders.
[2]
There is a lack of literature on the HRE as a single entity: “A major reason for the Empire’s relative scholarly neglect is that its history is so difficult to tell. The Empire lacked the things giving shape to conventional national history: a stable heartland, a capital city, centralized political institutions and, perhaps most fundamentally, a single ‘nation’. It was also very large and lasted a long time. A conventional chronological approach would become unfeasibly long, or risk conveying a false sense of linear development and reduce the Empire’s history to a high political narrative.”
[3]
Because the Holy Roman Empire was such an inchoate polity, assigning its start and end dates, by necessity, involves a degree of arbitrariness. The origins of this polity go back to East Francia, which formed after the division of the Carolingian Empire in 843. In 919 the kingship of this polity passed from the Carolingian to the Ottonian dynasty. The first ruler of the Kingdom of Germany was the Duke of Saxony Henry the Fowler. His son, Otto I the Great, was crowned as Roman Emperor in 963. Thus, the medieval German Empire formed in stages between 843 and 963; we chose to assign the beginning date to 919, thus designating East Francia, ruled by Charlemagne descendants, to a separate Seshat polity.
The Ottonian period was generally characterized by (relative) internal peace and territorial expansion, and is considered as one of the three medieval renaissances.
When the last Ottonian emperor, Henry II, died childless, the imperial princes elected Conrad II as emperor. As a result, the empire passed from the Ottonian to Salian dynasty, the latter being based in Franconia. The Salian dynasty produced four Emperors.
Towards the end of the Salian rule, the Empire was riven by multiple conflicts between the emperor and the pope, imperial bishops, and secular princes. The last Salian emperor, Henry V, died childless in 1125, and the empire passed on to the Hohenstaufen dynasty.
[1]: Wilson 2016: 5-7. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Power 2006: 17, 210. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK.
[3]: Wilson 2016: 5. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
| 32 U |
| Holy Roman Empire - Ottonian-Salian Dynasty |
| None |
| German Kingdom | |
| Sacrum Imperium Romanum | |
| Heiliges Römisches Reich |
| Holy Roman Empire - Hohenstaufen and Welf Dynasties |
| continuation |
| Preceding: East Francia (de_east_francia) [continuity] | |
| Succeeding: Holy Roman Empire - Hohenstaufen and Welf Dynasties (de_empire_2) [continuity] |
| confederated state |
| 100,000 people |
| 1,000,000 km2 | 1050 CE |
| 21,500,000 people |
| 1683 |
| present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| present |
| Year Range | Holy Roman Empire - Ottonian-Salian Dynasty (de_empire_1) was in: |
|---|
There was no permanent capital during this period of the HRE. There were several cities and palaces that the emperor and his itinerant court would travel between and reside in. Around 800-1556 CE, the city of Aachen in Germany was the site at which all Emperors were crowned and held the most favoured royal palace, but it was not a capital. [1] There were attempts in the thirteenth century to create a permanent royal centre but they did not take hold. [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 428, 434. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Power 2006: 103. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK.
1050 CE could arguably be a peak date for the HRE under the Salian dynasty as they held the most territory (around 1 million square kilometres) of the polity period.
Inhabitants. Northern Italy had the largest cities in continental Europe (except for Paris which was not part of the HRE). Milan, Genoa, Venice, Naples, Florence and Palermo were likely to have exceeded 100,000 inhabitants in the early fourteenth century. [1]
[1]: Power 2006: 73. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK.
in squared kilometers.The earlier size of the HRE during Charlemagne’s rule as the first Holy Roman Emperor (r. 800-823) was 1.2 million square kilometres. [1] However, from this polity period and beyond the HRE’s territory was less than 1 million square kilometres, with its peak of around 1 million square kilometres in 1050. [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 758. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Taagepera 1997: 496. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5A6JA43D
People.Population estimates for the HRE are not forthcoming in the sources and any that are available are labelled as guesswork. [1] The above figures are estimates based on partial data in the sources consulted. By the end of the Carolingian dynasty in 887 CE, the empire had a population of around 20 million. [2] In 1300 the estimated population of the Empire was: Germany – 14 million, Italy - 7.5 million, Hungary and Slavic states – 10.5 million, but this is missing some significant territories such as France and Bohemia. [3] However, the total Empire population was again only 20 million in 1700, so the figure of 21,500,000 for 1300, prior to the Black Death devastating Europe’s population may well be close to correct. Churches, cathedrals, abbeys, chapels and other places of worship were present across the Empire. [4] The overall population figure for the whole of Europe has been estimated at 38.5 million in 1000 CE, and 73.5 million at 1340 CE. [1] Further calculations and research will be needed to have a more accurate figure.
[1]: Power 2006: 57. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK.
[2]: Wilson 2016: 320. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[3]: Wilson 2016: 490. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[4]: Wilson 2016: 496. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
in kilometers.From Hamburg in the north of Germany to Rome, which was at the edge of the HRE during this period, is 1,683km. However this is by modern roads so it was likely to be much further in the tenth-to-fourteenth centuries.
levels. [1] [2] : 1. Pope :: 2. Cardinals ::: 3. Archbishops :::: 4. Bishops ::::: 5. Abbotts /Abbess :::::: 6. Monks / Nuns
[1]: Wilson 2016: 79-89. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Power 2006: 209. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK.
levels. There was no central military in the HRE, rather, the nation states within its borders would raise their own armies when needed.
levels.The administrative hierarchy of the empire was not simple, owing to the fact that although the pope and emperor provided spiritual and moral leadership, each country within the empire had its own monarch and imperial/local governance.
Professional soldiers were present in the different nation states and could be raised to an army by the monarch/lord when needed as most rulers did not have a standing army, but they were not employed directly by the HRE which did not have a specific army of its own. [1] [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 321. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Power 2006: 21. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK
Professional officers are not mentioned in the sources, however it is likely that they performed the same duties as the soldiers and were called upon by their monarch or lord when needed as most rulers did not have a standing army. [1] [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 5-7. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Power 2006: 21. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK
There were lawyers throughout the various countries of the Empire. [1] In the 1090s lawyers were tasked with piecing together old Roman Empire laws. There were law schools in Italy and France. [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 604. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Wilson 2016: 606. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
There were both written and unwritten laws across the Empire, some of which did not survive in practice as many laws were not codified. The largest territory of the Empire, Germany, had not completely codified its laws until 1806. [1] Laws were also local to each member country of the Empire and so it was not uniform across all territories. There were two forms of institutional law; one comprised the rules for the elite population and their homage, vassalage and fealty to the monarch, while canon law was a more widespread form of moral, legal and ecclesiastical laws. Between 1037 and 1158 Emperor’s issued four statutes regarding feudal relations. [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 604. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Wilson 2016: 606. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
There were both written and unwritten laws across the Empire, some of which did not survive in practice as many laws were not codified. The largest territory of the Empire, Germany, had not completely codified its laws until 1806. [1] Laws were also local to each member country of the Empire and so it was not uniform across all territories. There were two forms of institutional law; one comprised the rules for the elite population and their homage, vassalage and fealty to the monarch, while canon law was a more widespread form of moral, legal and ecclesiastical laws. Between 1037 and 1158 Emperor’s issued four statutes regarding feudal relations. [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 604. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Wilson 2016: 606. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
During the Ottonian period towns expanded to include a permanent market square, and along the Rhine and Danube rivers 130 new market towns were built during this period. [1] Many villages also had a small market. [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 505-506. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Power 2006: 62. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK
The first university was founded in Bologna 1088 and by 1800 there were a total of 45 in the Empire. [1] There were law schools in Italy and France. [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 70-71, 276. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Wilson 2016: 606. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
Roads were present across the Empire and continued to be improved and added to for trade and communication purposes, especially from the early twelfth century. [1] [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 491-2, 581. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Power 2006: 10. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK
There was a surge in written documents from the ninth century onwards across Europe and the territories of the Holy Roman Empire. [1] Religious and administrative documents were originally written in Latin, but from the thirteenth century began to be written in German. . [2] Thousands of charters survive from the eleventh-to-thirteenth century and beyond. [3]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 506. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Wilson 2016: 54, 259. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[3]: Power 2006: 102. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK
Guidelines for running a manor, such as the management of land, agricultural information and manorial law. During the Carolingian period capitularies were written as legally binding administrative guides. [1] The Mirror of the Saxons was written by a Judge, Eike von Repkow, around 1224 which compiled customs, written law, and the workins of the Empire. [2]
[1]: Wilson 2016: 403, 605. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
[2]: Wilson 2016: 607. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N5M9R9XA
Historical works were popular during this period such as the works of Otto of Freising – grandson of Emperor Henry IV – who wrote The Two Cities and Deeds of Frederick I. Imperial histories and histories of the crusades were particularly popular across Europe. [1]
[1]: Power 2006: 166-168. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK
Insignia and holy relics were often put into special storage. [1] Coin hoards have often been found at trading centres. [2]
[1]: Power 2006: 273, 286. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK
[2]: Curta 2005: 79. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/RIISSF6A
There was not one centralised measurement system in the HRE, rather each country had their own standards. For example, Germany and Austria used Stein/Pfund, while in Italy they used rubbo/libbra. [1]
[1]: Cardarelli 2003: 87-88, 100-103. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/UWS9ZN34.
There was not one centralised measurement system in the HRE, rather each country had their own standards. For example, Germany and Austria used scheffel/Metzen/fuder/quart, while in Italy they used moggio/staia/brenta. [1]
[1]: Cardarelli 2003: 87-88, 100-103. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/UWS9ZN34.
There was not one centralised measurement system in the HRE, rather each country had their own standards. For example, Germany and Austria used meile/fuss/zoll, while in Italy they used miglio/piede/oncia. [1]
[1]: Cardarelli 2003: 87-88, 100-103. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/UWS9ZN34.
There was not one centralised measurement system in the HRE, rather each country had their own standards. For example, Germany and Austria used meile/fuss/zoll, while in Italy they used miglio/piede/oncia. [1]
[1]: Cardarelli 2003: 87-88, 100-103. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/UWS9ZN34.