Anne Davison

I picked this book up because I know nothing about the Holy Roman Empire. It keeps coming up in European history, but it wasn't like other empires. As Voltaire said, it was not an empire, not holy and not Roman, so I really didn't understand how it fit into European power politics. This book, which is barely 50 pages, gave the bare bones answer to that.

Voltaire was right. It wasn't an empire. It was basically a defense agreement among German princes. The Holy Roman Emperor only had substantial power when there was an external threat. He was technically elected by around seven electors, who were powerful nobility and members of the clergy, but it usually was transferred from father to son, with the Habsburgs being the longest lasting.

It was called the Holy Roman Empire because the emperor was supposed to be the defender of the Catholic faith, meaning he was emperor of all "Romans" who accepted the Pope's authority across Europe. In the early centuries of the empire, which can be dated either to Charlemagne or Otto the Great, there was conflict for power between the emperor and the Pope. The Papacy eventually consolidated control at the expense of the Empire, but the conflict continued until the Reformation.

The Reformation severely undermined the Empire at a time when it had perhaps its greatest emperor, Charles V. Northern princes supported Martin Luthor while southern princes, including the emperors, stayed with the Vatican. From that point, the empire declined. Internal divisions caused by religion, the devastation of the 30 Years War and external threats from France, Russia and the Ottomans eroded its power. It was eventually destroyed after the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 against Napoleon, but was replaced by the Austrian Empire in the south while the northern Germans eventually unified into the German empire in 1870.

The direct line from the Holy Roman Empire to the Austrian Empire is through the Habsburg family, which ruled the Empire for almost four centuries. The Habsburgs used marriange and conquest to extend their territory, which was a patchwork of lands all over the continent. After the death of Charles V, the Spanish side of the family and the German side drifted apart, with the Spanish side dying out at the end of 17th century. The German side continued and, after Austerlitz, the Holy Roman Emperor Frances II became the Austrian Emperor Frances I, making Austria a clear continuation of the Holy Roman Empire. The book finishes by showing how the Habsburgs lost the empire and Austria in WWI but the family continues to this day in Austrian politics.

This book is short and very broad, but is excellent at what it does. I wanted to get a basic grip on what the Holy Roman Empire was and how it worked and in less than 50 pages, this book did it. It won't make you an expert but it is a great starting point.… (meer)