The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was the political entity that succeeded the empire of Charlemagne. It began in the year 962 with the coronation of Otto I, king of the Germans, and was known in history as the First Reich. Its goal was the unification of all Christendom under joint temporal and ecclesiastical authority; the Pope was to serve as the Vicar of Christ in spiritual affairs, and the emperor was to rule earthly matters.
Origin
The origin of the Holy Roman Empire was the Carolingian Empire. In 843, the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious, Charlemagne’s son, divided the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms: 1) Charles II, the Bald, received the western portion, which later would become France. 2) Lothair was granted the central portion, which later would become the Low Countries, Alsace, Lorraine, and Burgundy. 3) Ludwig II, the German, received the eastern portion and was guaranteed the kingships of all lands to the east of the Rhine and to the north and east of Italy; Ludwig’s kingdom’s was either called the Eastern Frankish Realm, or Germania, which was the precursor of the Holy Roman Empire and of modern Germany.
After Ludwig II’s death, the Eastern Frankish Realm got fragmented in many feudal territories which were distributed among powerful noblemen, and by the end of 9th century the kingdom was divided into five duchies: Swabia, Franconia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Lorraine. When Ludwig II the German’s grandson died in 911, Germania found herself without a legitimate king, as Ludwig the Child was the last descendant of Charlemagne. So, the dukes established an elective system to chose the king among them. They elected Conrad, Duke of Franconia, who ruled until 918. Upon’s Conrad’s death a Saxon duke was chosen king, Henry I the Fowler, who ushered in the Saxony Dynasty. Henry I strengthened the royal authority over the dukes’, as he created a regular army and organized the borders defense.
The First Emperor
Otto I was the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, being crowned by the Pope in 962. Henry the Fowler died in 936 and was succeeded by his son Otto who was crowned Otto I, known as the Great (936-973). He was intelligent and bold, and he consolidated the kingdom’s unity, imposing his authority over the great duchies, curbing the power of the counts as he created an ecclesiastical feudalism. Once his royal authority was consolidated, Otto I launched a campaign against the Hungarians who threatened the eastern border, defeating them at the battle of Lech in 955. He was also victorious against the Danes and Slavs and expanded the border eastward and northward.
In 961, as the Lombards invaded the northern Papal Estates, the Pope John XII asked Otto I for help. The German king crossed the Alps and conquered the kingdom of Lombardy. Then Otto I went to Rome and reestablished the papal authority. To reciprocate his actions, the Pope crowned Otto I Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 962. Otto I, the Great, would die in 973 and he would be succeeded by his son Otto II, who took the crown in 983. Otto III was followed by Henry II who was the last king of the house of Saxony, as he died in 1024.
Decline and Loss of Hegemonic Influence
After many wars and political strife, the Holy Roman Empire had lost Italy in the 13th century. By the end of the Middle Ages, it had become a political anachronism. As the emperors, specially Charles V, fought to keep hegemony in Europe and to preserve their power within the Empire, they invariably asserted the reactionary idea of invigorating and strengthening the Holy Roman Empire to give it its lost splendor and power. However, this idea represented a threat to the emerging national States, such as France, England, and Sweden, which resisted it.
After the Thirty Years War, the formal structure of the Empire was defined by the provisions agreed upon by the Peace of Westphalia, which had put an end to this armed struggle in 1648. Thus, the emperor was ultimately only a figurehead. The Holy Roman Empire existed in formal sense until 1806, when Napoleon Bonaparte put an end to it as its last emperor, Francis II, was forced to abdicate, during the Napoleonic Wars.
House of Franconia
Upon Henry II’s death, in 1024, the electors chose Conrad II king of the Germans. Then he was succeeded by:
Henry III, the Black, 1039-1056, son; deposed 3 popes; annexed Burgundy.
Henry IV, 1056-1106, son; regency by his mother, Agnes of Poitou. Banned by Pope Gregory VII, he did penance at Canossa.
Henry V, 1106-1125, son; last of Salic House.
Lothair, duke of Saxony, succeeded Henry V in 1125 and ruled until 1137. He was crowned emperor in Rome, 1134.
House of Hohenstaufen
Frederick I, Barbarossa, 1152-1190; he led a German army to the Third Crusade and drowned as he forded a river.
Henry VI, 1190-1196, took lower Italy from Normans. Son became king of Sicily.
Philip of Swabia, 1197-1208, brother.
Otto IV, of House of Welf, 1198-1215; deposed.
Frederick II, 1215-1250, son of Henry VI; king of Sicily; crowned king of Jerusalem in 5th Crusade.
Conrad IV, 1250-1254, son; lost lower Italy to Charles of Anjou.
Conradin, 1252-1268, son, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, beheaded. Last Hohenstaufen.
Interregnum, 1254-1273.
Rise of the Electors, who, from then on would elect the successors to the throne.
Below, the imperial banner of the Holy Roman Empire.
