How Did The German Part Of Charlemagne's Kingdom Change Under The Rule Of Otto The Great?

Rise of the Holy Roman Empire

The germination of the Holy Roman Empire was initiated by Charlemagne's coronation as "Emperor of the Romans" in 800, and consolidated by Otto I when he was crowned emperor in 962 by Pope John XII.

Learning Objectives

Describe the ascent of the Holy Roman Empire

Key Takeaways

Key Points

In 800, Pope Leo Three crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans, reviving the championship in Western Europe subsequently more than three centuries, thus creating the Carolingian Empire, whose territory came to exist known as the Holy Roman Empire.
After the dissolution of the Carolingian Dynasty and the breakdown of the empire into alien territories, Otto I became king of Francia and worked to unify all the German tribes into a single kingdom and profoundly expand his powers.
The championship of Emperor was again revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned past Pope John XII, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne and thus establishing the Holy Roman Empire.

Key Terms

Charlemagne: The first recognized emperor in Western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire 3 centuries earlier, known for unifying Francia and ushering in a period of cultural renaissance and reform.
Otto I: German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973; his reign began a continuous existence of the Holy Roman Empire for over 8 centuries.

Overview

The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early on Middle Ages and connected until its dissolution in 1806. The largest territory of the empire after 962 was Eastern Francia, though it besides came to include the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Burgundy, the Kingdom of Italia, and numerous other territories.

In 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans, reviving the title in Western Europe after more than than three centuries. The title continued in the Carolingian family until 888, and from 896 to 899, after which information technology was contested past the rulers of Italia in a series of civil wars until the expiry of the last Italian claimant, Berengar, in 924. The title was revived once more in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries. Some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne every bit the origin of the empire, while others adopt the coronation of Otto I every bit its commencement. Scholars generally hold, however, in relating an development of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, describing a gradual supposition of the imperial championship and role.

The Rising of the Empire

Later on Charlemagne died in 814, the imperial crown was disputed among the Carolingian rulers of Western Francia and Eastern Francia, with offset the western king (Charles the Bald) and and so the eastern (Charles the Fat) attaining the prize. Afterwards the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke autonomously, and was never restored. According to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm "spewed forth kinglets," and each role elected a kinglet "from its ain bowels." After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor past the pope controlled just territories in Italy. The last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924.

A few decade earlier, effectually 900, autonomous stalk duchies (Franconia, Bavaria, Swabia, Saxony, and Lotharingia) reemerged in Due east Francia. Afterward the Carolingian king Louis the Child died without event in 911, Due east Francia did not plough to the Carolingian ruler of Due west Francia to take over the realm, but instead elected one of the dukes, Conrad of Franconia, every bit Rex Francorum Orientalium. On his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Boxing of Riade.

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry the Fowler died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing (or Ottonian) dynasty, would continue to rule the eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry's death, Otto I, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936. Otto continued his begetter's work of unifying all German language tribes into a unmarried kingdom and profoundly expanded the rex's powers at the expense of the aristocracy. Through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdom's nigh important duchies. This reduced the diverse dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, to royal subjects nether his say-so. Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen the royal office and subjected its clergy to his personal command.

After putting down a cursory civil state of war amid the rebellious duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, thus ending the Hungarian invasions of Western Europe. The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation every bit a savior of Christendom and secured his hold over the kingdom. In 951, Otto came to the assistance of Adelaide, the widowed queen of Italian republic, defeating her enemies, marrying her, and taking control of Italy. By 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italia and extended his realm's borders to the northward, e, and south. Following the example of Charlemagne'due south coronation as "Emperor of the Romans" in 800, Otto was crowned emperor in 962 past Pope John XII in Rome, thus intertwining the affairs of the German kingdom with those of Italy and the papacy. Otto's coronation as emperor marked the German kings as successors to the empire of Charlemagne, which through the concept of translatio imperii also made them consider themselves successors to Ancient Rome.

Otto'south after years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize his rule over Italy. Reigning from Rome, Otto sought to improve relations with the Byzantine Empire, which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realm'south further expansion to the due south. To resolve this conflict, the Byzantine princess Theophanu married Otto'southward son, Otto II, in April 972. Otto finally returned to Germany in Baronial 972 and died at Memleben in 973. Otto II succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor.

Otto I: Replica of the Magdeburger Reiter, equestrian monument traditionally regarded as portrait of Otto I (Magdeburg, original c. 1240).

Administration of the Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was divided into dozens—eventually hundreds—of individual entities governed by kings, dukes, counts, bishops, abbots, and other rulers, collectively known as princes, who governed their state independently from the emperor, whose power was severely restricted by these various local leaders.

Learning Objectives

Explicate the relationship between the Holy Roman Emperor and the other High german nobles

Key Takeaways

Key Points

The Holy Roman Empire was made up of many small principalities that were governed by local rulers who had authority over their land that mostly superseded the power of the emperor.
The emperor could not simply issue decrees and govern autonomously over the empire; his power was severely restricted by the various local leaders.
The power of the emperor declined over time until the individual territories operated almost like de facto sovereign states.
The Imperial Nutrition was the legislative body of the Holy Roman Empire and theoretically superior to the emperor himself; it included positions called prince-electors who elected the prospective emperor.
Afterwards existence elected, the Male monarch of the Romans could claim the title of "Emperor" but afterwards beingness crowned by the Pope.

Key Terms

Reichsstand: An imperial estate in the Holy Roman Empire.
Peace of Westphalia: A series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648 that concluded the Xxx Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire.
Imperial Diet: The general associates of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire that emerged from the before informal assemblies, and the legislative torso of the empire.

Overview

The Holy Roman Empire was not a highly centralized state like most countries today. Instead, information technology was divided into dozens—eventually hundreds—of individual entities governed by kings, dukes, counts, bishops, abbots, and other rulers, collectively known as princes. At that place were also some areas ruled directly past the emperor. At no time could the emperor simply event decrees and govern autonomously over the empire. His power was severely restricted by the various local leaders.

From the High Middle Ages onwards, the Holy Roman Empire was marked by an uneasy coexistence with the princes of the local territories who were struggling to have power abroad from information technology. To a greater extent than in other medieval kingdoms such as France and England, the Roman emperors were unable to gain much control over the lands that they formally endemic. Instead, to secure their own position from the threat of being deposed, emperors were forced to grant more and more autonomy to local rulers, both nobles and bishops. This process began in the 11th century with the Investiture Controversy and was more or less ended with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Several emperors attempted to contrary this steady dissemination of their authority, but were thwarted both by the papacy and by the princes of the empire.

The Emperor'south Loss of Centralized Authority

Afterward the reign of Otto I, the centralized power of the emperor began to fade and local rulers, besides equally the Catholic Church, gained more and more ability in relation to the emperor. Somewhen, the emperor held little authority over the empire and the territories began to function more like mod nation-states. The Hohenstaufen dynasty, which started in 1125, and especially Emperor Frederick I, represented both a concluding attempt at unified power and the starting time of the dissolution of that power.

Despite his purple claims, Frederick's dominion was a major turning indicate towards the disintegration of cardinal rule in the Holy Roman Empire. While concentrated on establishing a modern, centralized state in Sicily, he was mostly absent from Germany and issued far-reaching privileges to Germany's secular and ecclesiastical princes. In the 1220 Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis, Frederick gave up a number of regalia in favor of the bishops, amongst them tariffs, coining, and fortification. The 1232 Statutum in favorem principum mostly extended these privileges to secular territories. Although many of these privileges had existed earlier, they were now granted globally, and in one case and for all, to permit the German princes to maintain order north of the Alps while Frederick full-bodied on Italy. The 1232 document marked the get-go time that the German dukes were chosen domini terræ, owners of their lands, a remarkable change in terminology also.

The Imperial and directly held Hohenstaufen land covered portions of modern-day central Germany.

The Holy Roman Empire, 12th century: The Hohenstaufen-ruled Holy Roman Empire and Kingdom of Sicily. Majestic and direct held Hohenstaufen land in the empire is shown in bright yellow. This map shows the patchwork of relatively democratic principalities that made up the Holy Roman Empire.

The shift in ability away from the emperor is revealed in the fashion the postal service-Hohenstaufen kings attempted to sustain their ability. Earlier, the empire's strength (and finances) profoundly relied on the empire'southward own lands, the then-chosen Reichsgut, which ever belonged to the king of the day and included many imperial cities. Later on the 13th century, the relevance of the Reichsgut faded, fifty-fifty though some parts of it did remain until the empire'south stop in 1806. The Reichsgut was increasingly pawned to local dukes, sometimes to enhance money for the empire, but more frequently to reward faithful duty or as an attempt to establish command over the dukes. The direct governance of the Reichsgut no longer matched the needs of either the king or the dukes.

The "constitution" of the empire still remained largely unsettled at the beginning of the 15th century. Although some procedures and institutions had been stock-still, for example past the Golden Bull of 1356, the rules of how the king, the electors, and the other dukes should cooperate in the empire much depended on the personality of the respective male monarch. It therefore proved somewhat damaging that Sigismund of Luxemburg (king 1410, emperor 1433–1437) and Frederick Iii of Habsburg (king 1440, emperor 1452–1493) neglected the quondam core lands of the empire and mostly resided in their own lands. Without the presence of the king, the quondam establishment of the Hoftag, the assembly of the realm's leading men, deteriorated. The Royal Diet as a legislative organ of the empire did not exist at that fourth dimension. The dukes often conducted feuds against each other—feuds that, generally, escalated into local wars. The medieval idea of unifying all Christendom into a single political entity, with the church and the empire every bit its leading institutions, began to decline.

Imperial Diet

The Imperial Nutrition (Reichstag) was the legislative trunk of the Holy Roman Empire and theoretically superior to the emperor himself. It was divided into three classes. The first class, the Quango of Electors, consisted of the electors, or the princes who could vote for King of the Romans. The second class, the Council of Princes, consisted of the other princes, and was divided into 2 "benches," one for secular rulers and i for ecclesiastical ones. Higher-ranking princes had individual votes, while lower-ranking princes were grouped into "colleges" past geography. Each college had 1 vote. The precise role and part of the Majestic Diet changed over the centuries, as did the empire itself, in that the estates and separate territories gained more and more than control of their own affairs at the expense of imperial ability.

King of the Romans

Another check on the emperor's power was the fact that he was elected. A prospective emperor starting time had to be elected King of the Romans past the prince-electors, the highest role of the Imperial Diet. German language kings had been elected since the 9th century; at that point they were chosen by the leaders of the five most important tribes (the Salian Franks of Lorraine, Ripuarian Franks of Franconia, Saxons, Bavarians, and Swabians). In the Holy Roman Empire, the main dukes and bishops of the kingdom elected the King of the Romans. In 1356, Emperor Charles Iv issued the Golden Bull, which limited the electors to seven: the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg, and the archbishops of Cologne, Mainz, and Trier. During the Thirty Years' War, the Duke of Bavaria and the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg were given the right to vote as the eighth and ninth electors, respectively. Additionally, the Napoleonic Wars resulted in several electorates being reallocated, but these new electors never voted before the empire'due south dissolution. A candidate for ballot would be expected to offer concessions of state or money to the electors in gild to secure their vote.

After existence elected, the King of the Romans could theoretically claim the title of "Emperor" but after existence crowned past the pope. In many cases, this took several years while the king was held upward past other tasks; frequently he first had to resolve conflicts in rebellious northern Italy, or was quarreling with the pope himself.

Pen-and-ink miniature of the vii prince-electors: The prince-electors, the highest-ranking noblemen of the empire, normally elected one of their peers as "King of the Romans," and he would after be crowned emperor by the pope.

Royal Estates

The number of territories in the empire was considerable, rising to about 300 at the time of the Peace of Westphalia. Many of these Kleinstaaten ("trivial states") covered no more a few square miles, and/or included several non-contiguous pieces, so the empire was oftentimes chosen a Flickenteppich ("patchwork carpeting").

An entity was considered a Reichsstand (regal estate) if, according to feudal police, information technology had no authority in a higher place information technology except the Holy Roman Emperor himself. The regal estates comprised:

Territories ruled past a hereditary nobleman, such as a prince, archduke, duke, or count.
Territories in which secular authority was held by a clerical dignitary, such as an archbishop, bishop, or abbot. Such a cleric was a prince of the church. In the mutual example of a prince-bishop, this temporal territory (called a prince-bishopric) frequently overlapped with his frequently-larger ecclesiastical diocese, giving the bishop both civil and clerical powers. Examples are the prince-archbishoprics of Cologne, Trier, and Mainz.
Free imperial cities, which were subject only to the jurisdiction of the emperor.

The Investiture Controversy

The Investiture Controversy, on the surface a conflict nearly the appointments of religious offices, was a powerful struggle for control over who held ultimate authority, the Holy Roman Emperor or the pope.

Learning Objectives

Clarify the events of the Investiture Controversy

Key Takeaways

Key Points

When the Holy Roman Empire developed equally a strength during the tenth century, it was the first real not-barbarian challenge to the dominance of the church.
A dispute between the secular and ecclesiastical powers known as the Investiture Controversy emerged offset in the mid-11th century.
The Investiture Controversy was resolved with the Concordat of Worms in 1122, which gave the church building power over investiture, along with other reforms.
By undercutting the imperial power established by previous emperors, the controversy led to almost 50 years of civil war in Frg, and the triumph of the smashing dukes and abbots.
The papacy grew stronger in its power and dominance from the controversy.

Key Terms

Concordat of Worms: An understanding betwixt Pope Calixtus Two and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V on September 23, 1122, that found a resolution to the Investiture Controversy.
simony: The auction of church building offices to a successor.
investiture: The potency to appoint local church officials such as bishops of cities and abbots of monasteries.

Overview

The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between church and land in medieval Europe, specifically the Holy Roman Empire.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, a serial of popes challenged the say-so of European monarchies. At issue was who, the pope or monarchs, had the authority to appoint (invest) local church officials such as bishops of cities and abbots of monasteries. The disharmonize ended in 1122, when Emperor Henry Five and Pope Calixtus II agreed on the Concordat of Worms. Information technology differentiated between the royal and spiritual powers and gave the emperors a limited part in selecting bishops. The outcome seemed mostly a victory for the pope and his merits that he was God's chief representative in the world. However, the emperor did retain considerable ability over the church.

The Investiture Controversy began every bit a power struggle betwixt Pope Gregory Vii (1072–1085) and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V (1056–1106). A brief just meaning struggle over investiture also occurred betwixt Henry I of England and Pope Paschal Two in the years 1103–1107, and the consequence also played a small part in the struggles between church and state in France.

By undercutting the regal power established by previous emperors, the controversy led to nearly l years of civil war in Germany, and the triumph of the great dukes and abbots. Imperial power was finally re-established nether the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Historian Norman Cantor writes of its significance:

The historic period of the investiture controversy may rightly be regarded as the turning-betoken in medieval civilization. Information technology was the fulfillment of the early Middle Ages because in it the acceptance of the Christian faith by the Germanic peoples reached its final and decisive stage…The greater part of the religious and political organisation of the high Middle Ages emerged out of the events and ideas of the investiture controversy.

Investiture: A woodcut by Philip Van Ness (1905), A medieval male monarch investing a bishop with the symbols of office.

Origins

Afterwards the turn down of the Roman Empire and prior to the Investiture Controversy, investiture, while theoretically a chore of the church, was in practice performed by members of the religious nobility. Many bishops and abbots were themselves function of the ruling dignity. Since an eldest son would inherit the championship of the father, siblings often found careers in the church building. This was particularly truthful where the family may have established a proprietary church or abbey on their manor. Since Otto I (936-972) the bishops had been princes of the empire, had secured many privileges, and had become to a great extent feudal lords over smashing districts of the regal territory. The command of these smashing units of economic and military power was for the rex a question of principal importance, equally it afflicted the imperial authority. It was essential for a ruler or nobleman to appoint (or sell the office to) someone who would remain loyal.

Since a substantial amount of wealth and state was usually associated with the office of a bishop or abbot, the sale of church building offices (a exercise known as simony ) was an important source of income for leaders among the nobility, who themselves owned the land and by charity allowed the edifice of churches.

The crunch began when a grouping within the church, members of the Gregorian Reform, decided to rebel against the dominion of simony by forcefully taking the ability of investiture from the ruling secular ability, i.east., the Holy Roman Emperor, and placing that power wholly within command of the church. The Gregorian reformers knew this would not be possible then long as the emperor maintained the ability to appoint the pope, and then their starting time step was to forcibly proceeds the papacy from the command of the emperor. An opportunity came in 1056 when vi-year-old Henry Iv became the German king; the reformers took reward of his immature age and inability to react past seizing the papacy by force. In 1059 a church council in Rome declared, with In Nomine Domini, that leaders of the nobility would have no role in the choice of popes, and created the College of Cardinals as a body of electors made up entirely of church officials. Once Rome regained control of the ballot of the pope, it was gear up to set on the exercise of investiture and simony on a broad front.

In 1075, Pope Gregory VII composed the Dictatus Papae. I clause asserted that the deposal of an emperor was under the sole power of the pope. It declared that the Roman church building was founded by God alone—that the papal power was the sole universal power. By this time, Henry IV was no longer a kid, and he continued to appoint his ain bishops. He reacted to this declaration by sending Gregory Seven a letter in which he withdrew his imperial support of Gregory equally pope in no uncertain terms.

The situation was made even more than dire when Henry IV installed his chaplain, Tedald, a Milanese priest, every bit Bishop of Milan when another priest of Milan, Atto, had already been called by the pope for candidacy. In 1076 the pope responded by excommunicating Henry and deposing him as German language king, releasing all Christians from their adjuration of allegiance to him.

Enforcing these declarations was a different matter, but the advantage gradually came to the side of the pope. German princes and the elite were happy to hear of the king's deposition. They used religious reasons to continue the rebellion started at the First Battle of Langensalza in 1075, and to seize regal holdings. Aristocrats claimed local lordships over peasants and property, built forts, which had previously been outlawed, and congenital up localized fiefdoms to secure their autonomy from the empire.

The Investiture Controversy continued for several decades equally each succeeding pope tried to diminish imperial power by stirring up revolt in Germany. These revolts were gradually successful. Henry 4 was succeeded upon his death in 1106 by his son Henry V, who had rebelled against his father in favor of the papacy, and who had made his male parent renounce the legality of his antipopes before he died. Nonetheless, Henry V chose one more antipope, Gregory 8. Later, he renounced some of the rights of investiture with the Concordat of Worms, abandoned Gregory, and was received back into communion and recognized as legitimate emperor as a result.

Henry Four: This illustration shows Henry IV requesting mediation from Matilda of Tuscany and abbot Hugh of Cluny.

The Concordat of Worms and Its Significance

Subsequently fifty years of fighting, the Concordat of Worms provided a lasting compromise when it was signed on September 23, 1122. Information technology eliminated lay investiture while leaving secular leaders some room for unofficial but significant influence in the date procedure. The emperor renounced the right to invest ecclesiastics with ring and crosier, the symbols of their spiritual power, and guaranteed election past the canons of cathedral or abbey and gratis consecration.

The Concordat of Worms brought an terminate to the first phase of the power struggle between the papacy and the Holy Roman emperors, and has been interpreted as containing within itself the germ of nation-based sovereignty that would one twenty-four hours be confirmed in the Treaty of Westphalia (1648). In role this was an unforeseen event of strategic maneuvering between the church building and the European sovereigns over political control within their domains.

While the monarchy was embroiled in the dispute with the church, it declined in power and broke apart. Localized rights of lordship over peasants grew. This resulted in multiple furnishings:

Increased serfdom that reduced human rights for the bulk;
Increased taxes and levies that regal coffers declined;
Localized rights of justice where courts did not have to answer to royal authority.

In the long term, the decline of imperial power would divide Germany until the 19th century. Similarly, in Italy, the Investiture Controversy weakened the emperor's authority and strengthened local separatist forces. However, the papacy grew stronger from the controversy. Assembling for public opinion engaged lay people in religious affairs that increased lay piety, setting the stage for the Crusades and the great religious vitality of the 12th century.

The conflict did not end with the Concordat of Worms. Hereafter disputes between popes and Holy Roman emperors continued until northern Italy was lost to the empire entirely. The church building would crusade confronting the Holy Roman Empire under Frederick II.