[MR] Wikipedia: Holy Roman Emperor(s)

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today there is an astounding lack of medieval material upon which to
comment. For some time I have been pondering the Holy Roman Emperors, and
today is a perfect opportunity to present this topic for your edification.
It's a big topic spanning 1000 years, so this only scratches the surface.

The Holy Roman Emperor was a title bestowed on a long line of nobles who
were considered rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, viewed by the Church as
the successor to the Roman Empire. It generally described the King of Italy
and/or the King of Germany, though in reality such states did not exist at
that time. Rather the Emperors' domain was a collection of more-or-less
independent countries, as well as the states that were the personal
possessions of an emperor. An emperor's power was dependent upon his own
holdings, allies, and lesser rulers with common interests. During the 13th
century the position became elective, with the Emperor chosen by vote of
other nobles called "electors". The Emperor was always a Catholic, even
during the reformation period when many of the electors were themselves
Protestants. Confusing? You bet.

The first HRE was Charlemagne (742-814, ruled 800-814), crowned by Pope Leo
III in Rome. Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire broke up during his grandson
Lothair I's reign as Charlemagne's descendants warred for control. Despite
the end of the Empire, the the titles of King of the Franks and King of
Italy continued, generally known as "Emperor". All together, there 47
asknowledged Holy Roman Emperors, though the term was not used
consistently, and some additional men who claimed the title were not
acknowledged by the Popes. The official title of Holy Roman Emperor dates
to 962 when Otto I was crowned.

The Holy Roman Empire was a major force in European politics when the
Emperors were strong. It reached its greatest extent between 1155 and 1268.
What may have actually been its height of power came after 1477 when all of
Burgundy's non-French possessions came to the eventual Emperor Maximilian I
via his marriage to Mary of Burgundy. This gave Max control of the Low
Countries, particularly Flanders, which was where the money was thanks to
the wool trade.

Side issue: Of special interest to many Scadians is Empress Matilda (aka
Empress Maude). Daughter of the English King Henry I, she was married off
in 1114 to another Henry, Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. Matilda
controversially acted like a full ruler, though she was not "Holy Roman
Empress" (no woman ever held this title in her own right, only as
consorts). After Henry V's death, Matilda married Geoffrey of Anjou. She
was, of course, no longer "Empress", but the title stuck. Meanwhile,
English King Henry I's only son William Adelin drowned in the White Ship
disaster of 1120. When Henry I died, both Matilda and her cousin Stephen of
Blois claimed the English throne. This set off years of civil war, and gave
Ellis Peters' the background for her delightful Brother Cadfael delightful
novels and the later television series, which we Scadians so love.

Eventually the title Holy Roman Emperor passed to the Habsburgs with
Frederick III in 1440. His son, Maximilian inherited the title in 1493, but
he was not crowned in Rome. In 1508 Pope Julius II settled this question by
naming Max "Elected Emperor of the Romans", which the title remained though
everybody called him "Holy Roman Emperor". The Habsburgs also remained,
until a crushing defeat at Austerlitz by Napoleon in 1804 forced the last
Emperor (Francis II) to dissolve the rapidly shrinking Empire in 1806.

Wikipedia has a complete list of Holy Roman Emperors at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperor .

More about the Empire, including a nifty map that changes to show the
Empire's boundaries,  can be found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆