Even hundreds of years after The Fall it was impossible to ignore the Roman Empire. With Western Europe a patchwork quilt of kingships and tribal areas in a state of almost constant conflict it was hard to ignore anyone who aim at some kind of unification. Many tried and many failed until around 800AD with the triumph of Charlemagne. Holding together an area around present day Eastern France and into Germany he managed to impose peace and return a significant piece of Europe to some kind of settled and civilised status. But such things tended to last as long as their ruler and when Charlemagne died the empire he created divided into three each ruled by a son. Inevitably such a divided kingdom could not last and war broke out. Over the next 1000 years until the Holy Roman Empire dissolved itself in 1806 a significant portion of central Europe – mostly centred on Germany, Austria and northern Italy – remained under the control of the Holy Roman Emperors who were generally elected from a small number of German families and often crowned by the Pope of the time. On rare occasions – for example when multiple Popes (up to three for one short period) fought over who would crown which imperial wannabee or the powerful Electors couldn’t make up their minds or find anyone suitable – the Empire soldiered on without an Emperor at the helm but few seemed to mind or notice. But almost whatever the situation the Holy Roman Empire was a force to be reckoned with – especially when the disparate elements could agree on a common policy, a common leader or a common enemy (like the Turks). Any history of Europe in general or either Germany or Italy in particular cannot ignore the place and role of the Holy Roman Empire as a significant formative influence.
The Holy Roman Empire was something I had come across on multiple occasions whenever I dipped into European history so I know of it but not all that much about it. Although I’m sure that the author tried his best it’s still rather difficult to produce even an overview of 1000 years of history in less than 130 pages. Most of the time I was drowning in names and places (mostly German) that had little resonance with me. It was only after the half way mark that my interest perked up with the Thirty Years War and beyond. Before that I was having serious flashbacks to Game of Thrones except for the dragons and White Walkers. As a basic introduction this was fine if a bit dull in places. I think my future reading on the regions in question will generally be a bit more focused on the last 2-300 years rather on the last 1000. We’ll see where that leads in future. If you’re looking for somewhere to start researching the Holy Roman Empire this isn’t a bad place.
7 comments:
The HRE can be so confusing! Might consider this one.
The book sounds very interesting, but perhaps a bit too short. Though I would like to know more about it, The Holy Roman Empire always seemed like a weak and nebulous construction. It always seemed hard to wrap my head around.
@ Stephen: Considering its brevity the author makes a pretty good 'fist' of things. He probably leaves a LOT out but gives a good general overview of the HRE's 1000 year history.
@ Brian: It's really only a taster to see if the reader wants to dive any deeper into the subject. I think the issue with the HRE is that it was never really a cohesive whole. The Emperor was elected (and sometimes deposed) by powerful leaders in their own right so had no real ultimate power. The Empire was more a group of disparate States with a few common languages and a fairly common history and outlook. But it really only operated as a single entity when threatened from outside - by the Ottoman Turks for example. Most other times it was power games and jostling for position.
Sounds like a great introduction to a massive historical topic. Another way to approach the HRE is to focus on major events such as the Thirty Years War. The fine historian Ciceley Veronica Wedgwood has written a beautiful book about that aspect that not only provides the history but does so with elegant prose.
@ James: It's certainly a good introduction is Very Short [grin]. The whole VSI series is (except for the occasional lapse) truly excellent. The Thirty Years War is definitely on my radar. I have something on it in a book pile somewhere..... [muses]
Big subject for sure! But you are on your way.
@Judy: HUGE subject. You could probably spend a lifetime reading about it.
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