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The Holy Roman Empire:
 The Holy Roman Empire was a multicultural monarchy in which the crown
passed back and forth among a group of German noble families.
 Founded in the 900s, the Empire was seen as the heir to the great state
founded by Charlemagne in the eighth and ninth centuries.
 On Christmas day in the year 800 – more than three centuries after the
abdication of the last Roman emperor – Charlemagne, the Carolingian king
of the Franks, was crowned Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III
 It was, however, the German emperor Otto I (r. 962–73) who, by military
conquest and astute political policy, placed the territorial empire of
Charlemagne under German rule and established in central Europe the
feudal state that would be called, by the thirteenth century, the Holy Roman
Empire.
 From the time of Otto’s coronation until the official dissolution of the empire
in 1806, the imperial title was held almost exclusively by German monarchs
and, for nearly four centuries, by members of a single family.
 Although the rulers were Germanic, the population consisted not just of
Germans, but also Italians, French, Hungarians, Slavs of different types, and
others.
 As its name suggests, the Holy Roman Empire was, at least at the start,
defined not so much by common nationality or language, but by a shared
(and largely imagined) memory of the bygone Roman era, as well as religion
– specifically, Roman Catholicism.
 In theory, the emperor was tow work in partnership with the Pope to achieve
the ideal of Christendom: a single Catholic community extending throughout
Europe.
 In reality, the emperor’s relationship with the Pope was more often
competitive than cooperative.
 The Holy Roman Empire was one of the largest states in medieval Europe.
 However, the emperor’s position was elective, not hereditary: he was chosen
from among one of a number of powerful noble clans.
 Also, because the empire’s population was so ethnically diverse, and because
it consisted of literally dozens of separate duchies, principalities, kingdoms,
and counties (approximately two hundred before the mid-1300s) – the empire
was not a highly centralized state.
 This changed somewhat after the mid-1300s.
 Although the Golden Bull of 1356 affirmed the rights and powers of the
various dukes, princes, and counts who ruled under the emperor, the
number of states that could take part in electing the emperor was radically
reduced (from almost two hundred to seven).
 Another trend that contributed to a greater degree of centralization was the
emergence of the Habsburg family as a force in imperial politics.
 From Austria, the Habsburgs became one of the powerful families competing
for the position of emperor as early as 1273.

In 1438, the Habsburgs succeeded in gaining permanent control over the
imperial throne.
 They would rule the Holy Roman Empire (later the Austrian Empire) until
1918.
 The greater centralization brought about by the Habsburgs’ assumption of
power came just as the empire began to perform an important function for
the rest of Europe: serving as the military bulwark against the
encroachments of the Turks.
 Starting in the late 1300s, the Turks proved remarkably successful in
threatening, then breaking into, the borderlands of Europe.
Christendom:
 One of the few institutions binding European nations and communities
together in the first four or five centuries following the fall of Rome was the
Christian faith.
 Large numbers of people in Europe and the Mediterranean world had
converted to the new religion before Rome’s collapse.
 After the Roman Empire faded away, Christianity survived, spread to even
more parts of Europe, and during the Middle Ages, became an important
unifying force throughout the continent, both culturally and politically.
 Rome itself continued to be one of the two major headquarters of the
network that organized and formalized Christian worship.
 The other was Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.
 By 1054, doctrinal differences and geographical distance led to the Great
Schism, which separated the Christian community into two large churches:
the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
 The former became dominant in central and Western Europe, whereas the
latter was prominent not only in the Middle East, but in the Greek and Slavic
parts of Eastern Europe.
 The Catholic Church played a key role in the development of most of
medieval Europe.
 From 500 to 1000, its monasteries preserved many of the Latin and Greek
manuscripts left over from the Roman era: These included scientific ideas,
philosophical essays, literary works, and a tremendous wealth of learning
that otherwise would have been lost.
 The church also provided the people of Europe with a sense that, despite
national and linguistic differences, they were linked by a single faith.
 This gave a much-needed feeling of cultural cohesion to Europe at a time of
extreme decentralization.
The Catholic Hierarchy:
 The leader of the Catholic Church was the pope, technically the bishop of
Rome.
 At the lowest level of Church organization was the priest, who served the
needs of an individual community.
 Only men could become priests.
 Above the priest was the bishop – then archbishop then cardinal.
The Poet’s Tale; Charlemagne
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Olger the Dane and Desiderio,
King of the Lombards, on a lofty tower
Stood gazing northward o'er the rolling plains,
League after league of harvests, to the foot
Of the snow-crested Alps, and saw approach
A mighty army, thronging all the roads
That led into the city. And the King
Said unto Olger, who had passed his youth
As hostage at the court of France, and knew
The Emperor's form and face "Is Charlemagne
Among that host?" And Olger answered: "No."
And still the innumerable multitude
Flowed onward and increased, until the King
Cried in amazement: "Surely Charlemagne
Is coming in the midst of all these knights!"
And Olger answered slowly: "No; not yet;
He will not come so soon." Then much disturbed
King Desiderio asked: "What shall we do,
if he approach with a still greater army!"
And Olger answered: "When he shall appear,
You will behold what manner of man he is;
But what will then befall us I know not."
Then came the guard that never knew repose,
The Paladins of France; and at the sight
The Lombard King o'ercome with terror cried:
"This must be Charlemagne!" and as before
Did Olger answer: "No; not yet, not yet."
And then appeared in panoply complete
The Bishops and the Abbots and the Priests
Of the imperial chapel, and the Counts
And Desiderio could no more endure
The light of day, nor yet encounter death,
But sobbed aloud and said: "Let us go down
And hide us in the bosom of the earth,
Far from the sight and anger of a foe
So terrible as this!" And Olger said:
"When you behold the harvests in the fields
Shaking with fear, the Po and the Ticino
Lashing the city walls with iron waves,
Then may you know that Charlemagne is come.
And even as he spake, in the northwest,
Lo! there uprose a black and threatening cloud,
Out of whose bosom flashed the light of arms
Upon the people pent up in the city;
A light more terrible than any darkness;
And Charlemagne appeared;--a Man of Iron!
His helmet was of iron, and his gloves
Of iron, and his breastplate and his greaves
And tassets were of iron, and his shield.
In his left hand he held an iron spear,
In his right hand his sword invincible.
The horse he rode on had the strength of iron,
And color of iron. All who went before him
Beside him and behind him, his whole host,
Were armed with iron, and their hearts within them
Were stronger than the armor that they wore.
The fields and all the roads were filled with iron,
And points of iron glistened in the sun
And shed a terror through the city streets.
This at a single glance Olger the Dane
Saw from the tower, and turning to the King
Exclaimed in haste: "Behold! this is the man
You looked for with such eagerness!" and then
Fell as one dead at Desiderio's feet.