Holy Roman Empire
Medieval Central European realm
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic political entity in central Europe that lasted roughly from 800 to 1806.
Despite its name, it was neither holy nor Roman nor much of an empire—a loose confederation of German-speaking territories, Italian city-states, and other regions nominally under an elected emperor.
The famous quip captures its contradictions: the emperor's power was limited, Rome was peripheral, and religious unity fractured after the Reformation.
The Holy Roman Empire dissolved after Napoleon's victories.
Pope's office and authority
- Investiture ControversyMedieval papal-royal appointment conflict
- excommunicationFormal barring from sacraments
- bishopDiocesan clergy head
- archbishopSenior prelate over province
monasticism · scholasticism · Crusades · simony · indulgence · prince-bishop · cathedral · abbey
Early medieval Western unifier
- FranksMedieval Germanic tribe
- SaxonsGermanic British settlers
- BavariansSoutheastern German inhabitants
- CarolingianFrankish royal dynasty
Teutonic · Westphalia · Brandenburg · Bohemia · Austria
- FerdinandTraditional male given name
- ViennaAustrian capital
- AustriaCentral European alpine republic
- SpainIberian Peninsula country
Burgundy · Netherlands · Thirty Years' War · Peace of Westphalia · Counter-Reformation · double-headed eagle
Supreme independent authority
- imperialRelating to supreme rule
- electorateEligible voting body
- successionFollowing in order
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
throne · coronation · reign · statecraft · diplomacy · hegemony · governance · centralization
Feudal territory under lord
- vassalageSubordination to a lord
- liegeFeudal superior or subject
- fealtyPledged devotion to authority
- overlordSupreme feudal superior
suzerainty · homage · nobility · duchy · demesne · seneschal · bailiff · castellan
Honorary title of nobility
- joustingMounted knightly combat sport
- tournamentMulti-round competitive event
- burghersUrban merchant-class inhabitants
- guildsCraftsmen's mutual aid societies
troubadours · castles · Black Death · free cities · court · Romanesque
papacy
Pope's office and authority
- Investiture ControversyMedieval papal-royal appointment conflict
- excommunicationFormal barring from sacraments
- bishopDiocesan clergy head
archbishop · monasticism · scholasticism · Crusades · simony · indulgence · prince-bishop · cathedral · abbey · Reformation
Charlemagne
Early medieval Western unifier
- FranksMedieval Germanic tribe
- SaxonsGermanic British settlers
- BavariansSoutheastern German inhabitants
Carolingian · Teutonic · Westphalia · Brandenburg · Bohemia · Austria
Frederick Barbarossa
Spain · Burgundy · Netherlands · Thirty Years' War · Peace of Westphalia · Counter-Reformation · double-headed eagle
sovereignty
Supreme independent authority
- imperialRelating to supreme rule
- electorateEligible voting body
- successionFollowing in order
dynasty · throne · coronation · reign · statecraft · diplomacy · hegemony · governance · centralization · confederation
fiefdom
Feudal territory under lord
overlord · suzerainty · homage · nobility · duchy · demesne · seneschal · bailiff · castellan · manorialism
knighthood
Honorary title of nobility
- joustingMounted knightly combat sport
- tournamentMulti-round competitive event
- burghersUrban merchant-class inhabitants
guilds · troubadours · castles · Black Death · free cities · court · Romanesque
- Medieval RealmsKingdom of France, Kingdom of Denmark, Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria
- Habsburg WarsSiege of Vienna, War of Austrian Succession, Battle of Lepanto, Seven Years War, Thirty Years War
- European HistoryFrench Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, Middle Ages, London Blitz
- GermanyBerlin, Munich, Hamburg, Germany, German
- medievalknights, castles, cathedral, kings, queens
- Medieval Eraknights, Middle Ages, castles, feudal lords, medieval period
Holy Roman EmpireEastern Roman Empire
Constantinople-centered medieval state
absolute monarchy · Ottoman Empire · Kingdom of France · Byzantine Empire · Russian Empire
Holy Roman EmpireOttoman Empire
Turkish sultanate, 1299-1922
Byzantine Empire · Eastern Roman Empire · Umayyad Caliphate · Russian Empire · theocracy
Holy Roman EmpireOttoman Empire
Turkish sultanate, 1299-1922
Mongol Empire · Umayyad Caliphate · secular state · Soviet Union · People's Republic of China
holy, empire, emperor, holiness, roman, Roman, emperors, Roman Empire, Empire