Holy+Roman+Empire

Holy Roman Empire By: Christian Bach If you are thinking that this is the Roman Empire or the Roman Republic, you are wrong! The Holy Roman Empire may be named after the Roman Empire, but the land in the Holy Roman Empire did not include the city of Rome. Instead, it streached from Germany down to Northern Italy. Even though the real Holy Roman Empire started in 962 C.E., its roots streach back all the way to Charlemagne's empire. The first king of the empire was King Otto I. In King Otto I life, he was asked by the pope for help to defeat enemies that were attacking the pope. The king said yes and managed to defeat the pope's enemies. When King Otto I died, he was succeeded by his sons King Otto II and III.

In the High Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire faced many election problems. Unlike other kingdoms at the time, the Holy Roman Emperors were elected, not by family bloodlines. In one period of the High Middle ages, from about 1250 to 1273 C.E. no emperor ruled the empire. Also, some elections ended with a civil war breaking out. In 1338, King Louis IV issued the Decaration of Rense which said that the king only had to be choosen from the electoral collage of princes in order to make elections easier. Though three years later he was disposed of by the pope. Not only could the pope dispose of emperors, but high officials and Rome, which is where crowning of kings took place, could dispose of an emperor. The Golden Bull then later then took away Rome's right to deny the crowning of an elected emperor.

Despite King Otto I helping the pope, relationships between the Holy Roman Emeror and the pope were very tense. King Otto I sons, King Otto II and III, were known to dismiss emperors during their reign. Sometimes, things between the two got out of hand. In the 11th century, the Holy Roman Emeror and the pope clashed. Also, Pope Gregory VII excommunicated King Henry IV which was later lifted.

Even though Rome wasn't part of the Holy Roman Empire, attempts to add it to the Holy Roman Empire were made. One Emperor, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa attempted to take back Rome and Italy, but failed.

During the late middle ages and the Protestant Reformation did the Holy Roman Empire fall. When the Protestant Reformation began, Germany split in two. The family that ruled at that time, the Habsburg, is when the Holy Roman Empire took its final shape. The Empire came to its end in the 19th century, when Emperor Francis II abolished the Holy Roman Empire.

Here is a map that shows the location of the Holy Roman Empire (orange). Here is a picture of Maximilian I, the last of the Habsburg family. [] []

Works Cited Holy Roman Empire. 1998. End of Europe’s Middle Ages. April 16, 2009. “Holy Roman Empire.” World Book World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 2002. History of the Holy Roman Empire. Historyworld. April 16,2009 .