The Holy Roman Empire II
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Very Brief History
The Holy Roman Empire began with the reign of Charlemagne in 800 C.E.. As King of the Germans and Emperor of the Romans, the Emperor was at once a secular ruler and a spiritual guardian of the Catholic faith, as well as of the Roman legal tradition. In the High Middle Ages, conflicts with powerful local lords had weakened the Emperors. By the 1450s, they were mere figureheads, presiding over a quarrelsome group of states who pursued their self-interests with little effective oversight by the Empire.
Yet, the moral authority that came with the Imperial crown continued to carry considerable weight. Some later Emperors – notable Charles V in the 16th century – attempted to reshape the power relations in the Empire, attempting to centralize influence in their hands by creating Empire-wide institutions, and by curbing the power of the Electors.
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