Investiture Controversy
World famous French Enlightenment writer once said, “The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.” Many historians have contested each other over any of these three attributes of the empire. Was it truly a “holy”, “roman”, or even an “empire”?
The Empire’s beginning started when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, King of the Franks at the time, emperor of the newly formed state. The prestigious title remained to the Carolingian family until around 888 A.D. and from 896 to 899. During this time of chaos, the throne was constantly contested between the various factions of what is now Italy. Many civil wars occurred until the last Italian claim was broken when Berenger died in 924 A.D. Pope John XII crowned the next king, Otto, …show more content…
in 962. During this period, peace reigned as both emperor and pope worked together in what was called the “renewal of the Roman Empire.” The two set their sights on colonizing the “wild” Slavic lands of the east and bringing them into the Empire’s influence. The revival of peace in the age is called the “Ottonian Revival.” This was the beginning of the Middle Ages.
The peace and stability in the realm slowly tore apart the alliance as the Pope no longer needed the emperor for protection and the Empire no longer wanted to be ruled by the Pope and wanted to do its own tasks and ideas.
This began a two century struggle between popes and emperors. The first part of the struggle is called the “Investiture Controversy” which lasted between 1070 to 1125. This conflict was saw both anti-popes rise and fake emperors talk false claims of legitimacy. The second phase came as the Homenstaufen family, having defeated during the Investiture Controversy, tried to re-instate the faltering empire as a secular, feudal state. In this conflict, the word “holy” was placed in the name of the empire to separate the Empire and the Papacy. The emperors believed the Empire was inheritably sacred and did not need the Pope’s blessing to the Empire. The emperors also still believed Italy was in the Empire, which in turn saw the opposition of the Papal States. After the death of Emperor Frederick II in 1250, the Holy Roman Empire was in complete ruin. The emperors held any local authority if that. The empire would not rise up any more times after that. It was no longer a single “state” but a touchy alliance between princes under a powerless Emperor. “Of the German Nation” was added during the late 14th Century when all of Italy and the rest of Europe were out of the Empire’s
control.
The Holy Roman Empire, at its height, was the largest “country” in Europe. But it was not a state by conventional or even feudal levels. For instance, it had no royal family, no central government or authority and didn’t have a capital. In all, there were about 25 feudal principalities and bout 1800 separate, independent territories. Only 80 of these territories had a saw when it came to autonomy and some ruled territory outside the territory.
During the conflicts between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy, a large number of princes could elect a new emperor. But during the decline of the Empire, the number slowly dwindled to the final 7 princes. These being the Markgraf of Brandenburg, the King of Bohemia, the count Palatine of the Rhine and the Archbishops of Trier, Mainz and Cologne. Kings of other countries could also be valid for being an emperor. The voting was rarely fair as the electors would usually prefer a son of the previous emperor which developed into a series of mini-dynasties for a few generations. These collapsed as the emperor was disliked or a new candidate held vast wealth and promised land of electors. Most emperors would just us the position they were in to increase the size of the holding of their house, since most could only be one generation.
An example being of this being Rudolph of Hapsburg, elected in 1273 only because he was unknown, ending a period of 19 years without a single emperor in power. He ruled 20 years and during the time the only notable act he did was acquire Austria for his family. A rising power was the Hapsburg family. The family grew massively in power and would conquer with marriages instead of actual military strength. A famous saying quoted “Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube” which means Let others wage war: thou, happy Austria, marry.” From 1450 to the end of the empire, a Hapsburg elected was usually automatic. By 1519, Charles V was crowned and with him owned a massive swouth of land covering the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, The Netherlands, territories in Austria and southern Italy.
It was not to last however as the dreams of centralization were dashed as the Thirty Years War in 1618, left the Empire weak and fragmented. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 marks the decisive end of the Empire as the territories gained almost complete independence. From 1792 onwards, France was at war with factions of the Empire. The Empire officially fell on August 6 1806 as the French, under general Napoleon, abdicated the last emperor, Francis II. The French put a satellite confederation called the Confederation of the Rhine.
So back to Voltaire’s quip stating the Holy Roman Empire. The empire during Voltaire’s era was not unified by Catholicism anymore as the Protestant movements swept through northern Germany. The roman part of the name came from Charlemagne’s claim when crowned “Emperor of the Romans.” This is set on very wary reports and claims to the heir of the Roman Republic. This contradicted the actual roman emperor at this time as Basileus Irene held power in the East. As the rest of Europe would not accept a female Roman Emperor the fake emperor was a utterly false claim. Also during Voltaire’s time, Italy was not under the Holy Roman Empire’s control anymore so the Roman claim would null if it didn’t rule Rome. The Empire quote would not be a suitable name as it wasn’t a singular state but a series of independent princedoms that existed as a very shaky group of alliances. Other empires at the time would use marriage and families for their emperors, but the Holy Roman Empire would elect their own emperor which is not in the definition of an emperor. By the time its power faded and its provinces lost to other nations, the Empire had little to no power over its various princedoms.
The Empire’s beginning started when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, King of the Franks at the time, emperor of the newly formed state. The prestigious title remained to the Carolingian family until around 888 A.D. and from 896 to 899. During this time of chaos, the throne was constantly contested between the various factions of what is now Italy. Many civil wars occurred until the last Italian claim was broken when Berenger died in 924 A.D. Pope John XII crowned the next king, Otto, …show more content…
in 962. During this period, peace reigned as both emperor and pope worked together in what was called the “renewal of the Roman Empire.” The two set their sights on colonizing the “wild” Slavic lands of the east and bringing them into the Empire’s influence. The revival of peace in the age is called the “Ottonian Revival.” This was the beginning of the Middle Ages.
The peace and stability in the realm slowly tore apart the alliance as the Pope no longer needed the emperor for protection and the Empire no longer wanted to be ruled by the Pope and wanted to do its own tasks and ideas.
This began a two century struggle between popes and emperors. The first part of the struggle is called the “Investiture Controversy” which lasted between 1070 to 1125. This conflict was saw both anti-popes rise and fake emperors talk false claims of legitimacy. The second phase came as the Homenstaufen family, having defeated during the Investiture Controversy, tried to re-instate the faltering empire as a secular, feudal state. In this conflict, the word “holy” was placed in the name of the empire to separate the Empire and the Papacy. The emperors believed the Empire was inheritably sacred and did not need the Pope’s blessing to the Empire. The emperors also still believed Italy was in the Empire, which in turn saw the opposition of the Papal States. After the death of Emperor Frederick II in 1250, the Holy Roman Empire was in complete ruin. The emperors held any local authority if that. The empire would not rise up any more times after that. It was no longer a single “state” but a touchy alliance between princes under a powerless Emperor. “Of the German Nation” was added during the late 14th Century when all of Italy and the rest of Europe were out of the Empire’s
control.
The Holy Roman Empire, at its height, was the largest “country” in Europe. But it was not a state by conventional or even feudal levels. For instance, it had no royal family, no central government or authority and didn’t have a capital. In all, there were about 25 feudal principalities and bout 1800 separate, independent territories. Only 80 of these territories had a saw when it came to autonomy and some ruled territory outside the territory.
During the conflicts between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy, a large number of princes could elect a new emperor. But during the decline of the Empire, the number slowly dwindled to the final 7 princes. These being the Markgraf of Brandenburg, the King of Bohemia, the count Palatine of the Rhine and the Archbishops of Trier, Mainz and Cologne. Kings of other countries could also be valid for being an emperor. The voting was rarely fair as the electors would usually prefer a son of the previous emperor which developed into a series of mini-dynasties for a few generations. These collapsed as the emperor was disliked or a new candidate held vast wealth and promised land of electors. Most emperors would just us the position they were in to increase the size of the holding of their house, since most could only be one generation.
An example being of this being Rudolph of Hapsburg, elected in 1273 only because he was unknown, ending a period of 19 years without a single emperor in power. He ruled 20 years and during the time the only notable act he did was acquire Austria for his family. A rising power was the Hapsburg family. The family grew massively in power and would conquer with marriages instead of actual military strength. A famous saying quoted “Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube” which means Let others wage war: thou, happy Austria, marry.” From 1450 to the end of the empire, a Hapsburg elected was usually automatic. By 1519, Charles V was crowned and with him owned a massive swouth of land covering the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, The Netherlands, territories in Austria and southern Italy.
It was not to last however as the dreams of centralization were dashed as the Thirty Years War in 1618, left the Empire weak and fragmented. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 marks the decisive end of the Empire as the territories gained almost complete independence. From 1792 onwards, France was at war with factions of the Empire. The Empire officially fell on August 6 1806 as the French, under general Napoleon, abdicated the last emperor, Francis II. The French put a satellite confederation called the Confederation of the Rhine.
So back to Voltaire’s quip stating the Holy Roman Empire. The empire during Voltaire’s era was not unified by Catholicism anymore as the Protestant movements swept through northern Germany. The roman part of the name came from Charlemagne’s claim when crowned “Emperor of the Romans.” This is set on very wary reports and claims to the heir of the Roman Republic. This contradicted the actual roman emperor at this time as Basileus Irene held power in the East. As the rest of Europe would not accept a female Roman Emperor the fake emperor was a utterly false claim. Also during Voltaire’s time, Italy was not under the Holy Roman Empire’s control anymore so the Roman claim would null if it didn’t rule Rome. The Empire quote would not be a suitable name as it wasn’t a singular state but a series of independent princedoms that existed as a very shaky group of alliances. Other empires at the time would use marriage and families for their emperors, but the Holy Roman Empire would elect their own emperor which is not in the definition of an emperor. By the time its power faded and its provinces lost to other nations, the Empire had little to no power over its various princedoms.