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 25^th, 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 13^th 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 18^th 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 19^th and 20^th 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 19^th and early 20^th 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