The
Holy Roman Empire
By
Josh Manzer
Thesis:
How did the Holy Roman Empire affect the development of
Europe?
What
were the consequences of the conflicts between Prussia and Austria in the
eighteenth century.
About
The Empire
-“The
Holy Roman Empire rested on two lofty ambitions: the unity of all Christians in
a single state as the civil counterpart to the Catholic Church; along with the
concept of hierarchical political organization that called for one ultimate
ruler of Christendom. De facto, the
empire never fully conformed to either ideal.”
(Quote
from www.habsburg.com)
-Concept
of providing a political counterpart to the Roman Catholic Church, and having a
single political leader reigning over all Western Christians
-On
December 25th, 800 AD, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by
pope Leo III
-From
800-925 AD Charlemagne’s empire was technically the Holy Roman
Empire
-In
926 AD Otto I of Germany was crowned Roman king by the Pope John XII; beginning
of German Holy Roman Empire
-At
various points in time encompassed parts of modern Italy, Spain, France,
Germany, Poland and other parts of western Europe
-Fractured
union of up to 360 autonomous states ruled by princes, bishops,
etc
-Emperor
was elected by an electoral college of representatives from 7 states,
established in the Golden Bull of 1356,
however the title become hereditary over several periods of
time
-lack
of strong central power helped Protestant Reformation to take
root
-Francis
II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Emperor Of Austria, dissolved the empire in 1806,
after several resounding victories by Napoleon over his army left other German
princes abandoning him to join the French Empire
Criticisms
And Weaknesses
-In
1756 Voltaire quipped that "This
agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman
Empire is neither holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire."
-Disunity
among states weakened trade, made entire union vulnerable to
invasion
-Original
concept as protector of Catholic Religion lost with excommunication of Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa in 13th century
-separation
and size of territories and amount of different cultures made it difficult to
acheive consensus and make all citizens content
Dynasties
-Carolingian
800-888, Italian 891-924 (Charlemagne’s Frankish Empire)
-Saxon
962- 1024
-Salian
1027-1125
-Supplinburg
1133-1137
-Hohenstauffen
1155-1197, 1220-1271
-Welf
1209-1218
-Habsburg
1271-1291, 1298-1308, 1438-1743
-Nassau
1291-1298
-Luxembourg
1308-1314, 1346-1400, 1410-1438
-Wittelsbach
1314-1347, 1400-1410, 1743-1745
-Habsbourg-Lorraine
1745-1806
Conflicts
Between Austria And Prussia
-Prussia
was unified by “The Great Elector” Frederick William, who helped select the
Emperor.
-By
the early 18th century, Austria (Habsburgs) and Prussia
(Hohenzollern) were by far the dominant powers in the Holy Roman
Empire
-While
Austrian Habsburgs controlled the title of Emperor, Prussia were known to have
talented army in the world at the time, and were envious of the Habsburg
positions
-The
province of Brandenburg (the predecessor of Prussia) allied with the Protestants
in the Thirty Years War which damaged Austrian power
-Habsburg’s
position undermined when they lost their possessions in Spain and when Emperor
Charles VI died with no male heir, leading his daughter, Maria Theresa, to
become Holy Roman Empress, which began the War of Austrian Succession, where she
fought to keep her crown (Prussia instigated much of the
trouble)
-King
Frederick II Of Prussia took over the province of Silesia from Austria to
strenthen their position
-During
the Seven Years War (1756-1763), Fredereck II invaded Saxony, fearing them
allying with Austria and France. This war ended pitting Austria, Saxony and
France against Prussia, Russia, and Sweden with British financial aid. Prussia
held off their enemies, and diminished the Habsburgs power
somewhat.
Consequences
Of The Austria-Prussia Conflict
-Some
conflicts which began between the two quabbling states ended up being fought
elsewhere (example: Seven Years War in North America)
-Most
of the conflicts resulted in a general weakening of the Holy Roman Empire as a
whole
-led
to the military tradition of the Prussia army (which came into play in the
19th and 20th centuries when they became the most powerful
military in the world)
How
Did The Holy Roman Empire Effect The Development Of Europe
-Lack
of unity did disrupt trade and economic growth of central and eastern
Europe
-Thirty
and Seven Years Wars saw shifting of allegiances across the
globe
-Lack
of cooperation led to many territories being gained by other nations, such as
parts of modern Poland going to France
-Not
having a strong central authority allowed Protestant Reformation to get
momentum
-An
interesting experiment in a religious elected monarchy led to plenty of debate
-Years
of heavy religious and political disagreement led to a great deal of
bloodshed
-Conflicts
with the church led to the weakening of both the state and the
church
-The
centuries of turmoil helped set of the Prussia and Germany of the
19th and early 20th centuries
Primary
Sources:
Voltaire
quote:
http://members.tripod.com/~mr_sedivy/quotes8.html
Correspondance
by several people living in the empire, who display different
bias:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook11.html
Secondary
Sources:
Textbook;
The Western Heritage in various different sections
Objective,
factual based site:
http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/hre.htm#Introduction
Objective
but brief Site:
http://www.hfac.uh.edu/gbrown/philosophers/leibniz/BritannicaPages/HolyRomanEmpire/HolyRomanEmpire.html
Pro-Austrian
Site
http://www.habsburg.com