Editing Holy Roman Empire (section)

=== Hohenstaufen dynasty ===
[[File:Crusaders besieging Damascus - Chronique d'Ernoul et de Bernard le Trésorier (late 15th C), f.280v - BL Royal MS 15 E I.jpg|thumb|[[Frederick Barbarossa]], [[Holy Roman Emperor]]]]
[[File:Mitteleuropa zur Zeit der Staufer.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|The Hohenstaufen-ruled Holy Roman Empire and [[Kingdom of Sicily]] at its greatest extent under Frederick II. Imperial and directly held Hohenstaufen lands in the Empire are shown in bright yellow.]]

When the Salian dynasty ended with Henry V's death in 1125, the princes chose not to elect the next of kin, but rather [[Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor|Lothair III]], the moderately powerful but already old duke of Saxony. When he died in 1137, the princes again aimed to check royal power; accordingly they did not elect Lothair's favoured heir, his son-in-law, [[Henry the Proud]] of the [[House of Welf|Welf]] family, but [[Conrad III]] of the [[Hohenstaufen]] family, the grandson of Emperor Henry IV and nephew of Emperor Henry V. This led to over a century of strife between the two houses. Conrad ousted the Welfs from their possessions, but after his death in 1152, his nephew [[Frederick Barbarossa]] succeeded him and made peace with the Welfs, restoring his cousin [[Henry the Lion]] to his – albeit diminished – possessions.

The Hohenstaufen rulers increasingly lent land to "[[ministeriales]]", formerly non-free servicemen, who Frederick hoped would be more reliable than dukes. Initially used mainly for war services, this new class of people would form the basis for the later [[Imperial Knight|knights]], another basis of imperial power. A further important constitutional move at Roncaglia was the establishment of a new peace mechanism for the entire empire, the [[Landfrieden]], with the first imperial one being issued in 1103 under Henry IV at [[Mainz]].{{Sfn|Smail|Gibson|2009}}{{Sfn|Arnold|1995|p=398}} This was an attempt to abolish private feuds, between the many dukes and other people, and to tie the emperor's subordinates to a legal system of jurisdiction and public prosecution of criminal acts{{snd}}a predecessor of the modern concept of [[rule of law]]. Another new concept of the time was the systematic founding of new cities by the emperor and by the local dukes. These were partly a result of the explosion in population; they also concentrated economic power at strategic locations. Before this, cities had only existed in the form of old Roman foundations or older [[bishopric]]s. Cities that were founded in the 12th century include [[Freiburg]], possibly the economic model for many later cities, and [[Munich]].

Frederick Barbarossa was crowned emperor in 1155. He emphasized the "Romanness" of the empire, partly in an attempt to justify the power of the emperor independent of the (now strengthened) pope. An imperial assembly at the fields of Roncaglia in 1158 reclaimed imperial rights in reference to [[Justinian I]]'s [[Corpus Juris Civilis]]. Imperial rights had been referred to as ''regalia'' since the Investiture Controversy but were enumerated for the first time at Roncaglia. This comprehensive list included public roads, tariffs, [[Coining (mint)|coining]], collecting punitive fees, and the seating and unseating of office-holders. These rights were now explicitly rooted in [[Roman law]], a far-reaching constitutional act.

Frederick's policies were primarily directed at Italy, where he clashed with the free-minded cities of the north, especially [[Duchy of Milan|the Duchy of Milan]]. He also embroiled himself in another conflict with the Papacy by supporting a candidate elected by a minority against [[Pope Alexander III]] (1159–1181). Frederick supported a succession of [[antipope]]s before finally making peace with Alexander in 1177. In Germany, the emperor had repeatedly protected Henry the Lion against complaints by rival princes or cities (especially in the cases of [[Munich]] and [[Lübeck]]). Henry gave only lackluster support to Frederick's policies, and, in a critical situation during the Italian wars, Henry refused the emperor's plea for military support. After returning to Germany, an embittered Frederick opened proceedings against the duke, resulting in a public ban and the confiscation of all Henry's territories. In 1190, Frederick participated in the [[Third Crusade]], dying in the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]].{{Sfn|Hunyadi|Laszlovszky|2001|p=129}}

During the Hohenstaufen period, German princes facilitated a successful, peaceful [[Ostsiedlung|eastward settlement]] of lands that were uninhabited or inhabited sparsely by [[West Slavs]]. German-speaking farmers, traders, and craftsmen from the western part of the Empire, both Christians and Jews, moved into these areas. The gradual [[Germanization]] of these lands was a complex phenomenon that should not be interpreted in the biased terms of 19th-century [[nationalism]]. The eastward settlement expanded the influence of the empire to include [[Pomerania]] and [[Silesia]], as did the intermarriage of the local, still mostly Slavic, rulers with German spouses. The [[Teutonic Knights]] were invited to [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]] by Duke [[Konrad of Masovia]] to Christianize the [[Old Prussians|Prussians]] in 1226. The [[Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights|monastic state of the Teutonic Order]] ({{lang|de|Deutschordensstaat}}) and its later German successor state of the [[Duchy of Prussia]] was never part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Under the son and successor of Frederick Barbarossa, [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]], the Hohenstaufen dynasty reached its apex, with the addition of the Norman kingdom of Sicily through the marriage of Henry VI and [[Constance I of Sicily|Constance of Sicily]]. Bohemia and Poland were under feudal dependence, while Cyprus and Lesser Armenia also paid homage. The Iberian-Moroccan caliph accepted his claims over the suzerainty over Tunis and Tripolitania and paid tribute. Fearing the power of Henry, the most powerful monarch in Europe since Charlemagne, the other European kings formed an alliance. But Henry broke this coalition by blackmailing English king [[Richard the Lionheart]]. The Byzantine emperor worried that Henry would turn his Crusade plan against his empire, and began to collect the ''alamanikon'' to prepare against the expected invasion. Henry also had plans for turning the Empire into a hereditary monarchy, although this met with opposition from some of the princes and the pope. The emperor suddenly died in 1197, leading to the partial collapse of his empire.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boettcher|first=Carl-Heinz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rokvhUl9OHEC&pg=PA342|title=Europas Weg in die Neuzeit: vom Weltstaat zur Staatenwelt|year=2005|publisher=Röhrig Universitätsverlag|isbn=978-3-8611-0390-5|page=342|language=de|access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Die deutschen Herrscher des Mittelalters: historische Portraits von Heinrich I. bis Maximilian I. (919–1519)|publisher=C. H. Beck|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbytLiPcn4oC&pg=PA269|access-date=15 October 2022|year=2003|editor-last=Schneidmüller|editor-first=Bernd|pages=258–271|language=de|isbn=978-3-4065-0958-2|last1=Ehlers|first1=Joachim|editor-last2=Weinfurter|editor-first2=Stefan|chapter=Heinrich VI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Koenigsberger|first=H. G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QCasAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT105|title=Medieval Europe 400–1500|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-3178-7088-3|page=105|access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> As his son, [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], though already elected king, was still a small child and living in Sicily, German princes chose to elect an adult king, resulting in the dual election of Frederick Barbarossa's youngest son [[Philip of Swabia]] and Henry the Lion's son [[Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto of Brunswick]], who competed for the crown. After Philip was murdered in a private squabble in 1208, Otto prevailed for a while, until he began to also claim Sicily.{{Clarify|date=May 2021}}

[[File:Peter Janssen, Kaiser Friedrich II.jpg|thumb|[[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]]]]
[[Pope Innocent III]], who feared the threat posed by a union of the empire and Sicily, was now supported by Frederick II, who marched to Germany and defeated Otto. After his victory, Frederick did not act upon his promise to keep the two realms separate. Though he had made his son Henry king of Sicily before marching on Germany, he still reserved real political power for himself. This continued after Frederick was crowned emperor in 1220. Fearing Frederick's concentration of power, the pope finally excommunicated him. Another point of contention was the Crusade, which Frederick had promised but repeatedly postponed. Now, although excommunicated, Frederick led the [[Sixth Crusade]] in 1228, which ended in negotiations and a temporary restoration of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]].

For his many-sided activities, prestige, and dynamic personality Frederick II has been called the greatest of all the medieval German emperors.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Arnold |first1=Benjamin |title=Medieval Germany, 500–1300: A Political Interpretation |date=9 June 1997 |publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education |isbn=978-1-349-25677-8 |page=113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kxdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA113 |access-date=25 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In the Kingdom of Sicily and much of Italy, Frederick built upon the work of his Norman predecessors and forged an early absolutist state bound together by an efficient secular bureaucracy. Despite his imperial prestige and power, Frederick II's rule was a major turning point toward the partitioning of central rule in the Empire. Since his political focus was south of the Alps, he was mostly absent from Germany and issued far-reaching privileges to Germany's secular and ecclesiastical princes to ensure their cooperation. In the 1220 {{lang|la|[[Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis]]}}, Frederick gave up a number of ''regalia'' in favour of the bishops, among them tariffs, [[Coining (mint)|coining]], and the right to build fortification. The 1232 {{lang|la|[[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 once and for all, to allow the German princes to maintain order north of the Alps while Frederick concentrated on Italy. The 1232 document marked the first time that the German dukes were called {{lang|la|domini terrae}}, owners of their lands, a remarkable change in terminology as well. the {{lang|la|Statutum}} affirmed a division of labor between the emperor and the princes and laid much groundwork for the development of particularism in Germany. Even so, from 1232 the vassals of the emperor had a veto over imperial legislative decisions and any new law established by the emperor had to be approved by the princes.

These provisions not withstanding, royal power in Germany remained strong under Frederick and by the 1240s the crown was still rich in fiscal resources, land holdings, retinues, and all other rights, revenues, and jurisdictions. Frederick II used the political loyalty and practical jurisdictions granted to the higher German aristocracy to impose peace, order, and justice upon Germany. The jurisdictional autarky of the German princes was favoured by the crown itself in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the interests of order and local peace. The inevitable result was the territorial particularism of churchmen, lay princes, and interstitial cities. However, Frederick was a ruler of vast territories and "could not be everywhere at once". The transference of jurisdiction was a practical solution to secure the further support of the German princes and, moreover, was a process which had already been underway even under Henry VI and Frederick Barbarossa. It is unlikely that a particularly "strong ruler" such as Frederick II would have even pragmatically agreed to legislation that was truly concessionary rather than cooperative, neither would the princes have insisted on such.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Arnold|first1=Benjamin|title=Emperor Frederick II (1194–1250) and the political particularism of the German princes|year=2000|journal=Journal of Medieval History|volume=26|issue=3|pages=239–252|doi=10.1016/S0304-4181(00)00005-1 }}</ref> The Mainz Landfriede or {{lang|la|Constitutio Pacis}}, decreed at the Imperial Diet of 1235, became one of the [[basic law]]s of the empire and provided that the princes should share the burden of local government in Germany. The authority of the crown was not in question, rather its practical allocation in such a wide region which lacked a general administrative apparatus. Far from a broad diminution of royal power, the Mainz Landfriede was a constitutional recalibration based on the culmination of multi-decade political realities and a testament to Frederick II's considerable political strength, his increased prestige during the early 1230s, and sheer overpowering might that he succeeded in securing the princes' support and rebound them to Hohenstaufen power.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Weiler|first1=Björn| title=Reasserting Power: Frederick II in Germany (1235–1236)|date=2006|journal=International Medieval Research|volume=16|pages=241–273|doi=10.1484/M.IMR-EB.3.3442 |isbn=978-2-503-51815-2 }}</ref>

==== Kingdom of Bohemia ====
The [[Kingdom of Bohemia]] was a significant regional power during the [[Middle Ages]]. In 1212, King [[Ottokar I of Bohemia|Ottokar I]] (bearing the title "king" since 1198) extracted a [[Golden Bull of Sicily]] (a formal edict) from Emperor Frederick II, confirming the royal title for Ottokar and his descendants, and the Duchy of Bohemia was raised to a kingdom.{{Sfn|Pavlac|Lott|2019|p=17}} Bohemia's political and financial obligations to the Empire were gradually reduced.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grant|first=Jeanne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5AcBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA8|title=For the Common Good: The Bohemian Land Law and the Beginning of the Hussite Revolution|date= 2014|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9-0042-8326-8|page=8|language=en|access-date=2 November 2022}}</ref> [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]] set [[Prague]] to be the seat of the Holy Roman emperor.

==== Interregnum ====
{{Main|Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire)}}
[[File:Clemente V cappellone degli Spagnoli.JPG|thumb|[[Pope Clement V]] of the [[Holy Roman Church]]]]

After the death of Frederick II in 1250, [[Conrad IV of Germany|Conrad IV]], Frederick's son (died 1254), enjoyed a strong position having defeated his papal-backed rival [[Anti-king#Germany|anti-king]], [[Count William II of Holland|William of Holland]] (died 1256). However, Conrad's death was followed by the [[Interregnum]], during which no king could achieve universal recognition, allowing the princes to consolidate their holdings and become even more independent as rulers. After 1257, the crown was contested between [[Richard of Cornwall]], who was supported by the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Guelph party]], and [[Alfonso X of Castile]], who was recognized by the Hohenstaufen party but never set foot on German soil. After Richard's death in 1273, [[Rudolf I of Germany]], a minor pro-Hohenstaufen count, was elected. He was the first of the [[Habsburgs]] to hold a royal title, but he was never crowned emperor. After Rudolf's death in 1291, [[Adolf, King of the Romans|Adolf]] and [[Albert I of Germany|Albert]] were two further weak kings who were never crowned emperor.

Albert was assassinated in 1308. Almost immediately, King [[Philip IV of France]] began aggressively seeking support for his brother, [[Charles of Valois]], to be elected the next king of the Romans. Philip thought he had the backing of the French Pope, [[Clement V]] (established at Avignon in 1309), and that his prospects of bringing the empire into the orbit of the French royal house were good. He lavishly spread French money in the hope of bribing the German electors. Although Charles of Valois had the backing of pro-French [[Heinrich II of Virneburg|Henry, Archbishop of Cologne]], many were not keen to see an expansion of French power, least of all Clement V. The principal rival to Charles appeared to be Count Palatine [[Rudolf II, Count Palatine of the Rhine|Rudolf II]].

But the electors, the great territorial magnates who had lived without a crowned emperor for decades, were unhappy with both Charles and Rudolf. Instead Count [[Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry of Luxembourg]], with the aid of his brother, Archbishop [[Baldwin of Trier]], was elected as Henry VII with six votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308. Though a vassal of King Philip, Henry was bound by few national ties, and thus suitable as a compromise candidate. Henry VII was crowned king at Aachen on 6 January 1309, and emperor by Pope Clement V on 29 June 1312 in Rome, ending the interregnum.

==== Changes in political structure ====
{{Further|Medieval commune|League of cities|Hanseatic League|Swabian League of Cities|Imperial immediacy|Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire}}
[[File:Schedelsche Weltchronik Struktur des Reiches.jpg|thumb|An illustration from [[Nuremberg Chronicle|Schedelsche Weltchronik]] depicting the structure of the Reich: The Holy Roman Emperor is sitting; on his right are three ecclesiastics; on his left are four secular electors.]]

During the 13th century, a general structural change in how land was administered prepared the shift of political power toward the rising [[bourgeoisie]] at the expense of the aristocratic [[feudalism]] that would characterize the [[Late Middle Ages]]. The rise of the [[Free imperial city|cities]] and the emergence of the new [[Burgher (title)|burgher]] class eroded the societal, legal and economic order of feudalism.{{Sfn|Rothstein|1995|pp=9–}}

Peasants were increasingly required to pay tribute to their landlords. The concept of [[property]] began to replace more ancient forms of jurisdiction, although they were still very much tied together. In the territories (not at the level of the Empire), power became increasingly bundled: whoever owned the land had jurisdiction, from which other powers derived. Jurisdiction at the time did not include legislation, which was virtually nonexistent until well into the 15th century. Court practice heavily relied on traditional customs or rules described as customary.

During this time, territories began to transform into the predecessors of modern states. The process varied greatly among the various lands and was most advanced in those territories that were almost identical to the lands of the old Germanic tribes, ''e.g.'', Bavaria. It was slower in those scattered territories that were founded through imperial privileges.

In the 12th century the [[Hanseatic League]] established itself as a commercial and defensive alliance of the merchant [[guild]]s of towns and cities in the empire and all over northern and central Europe. It dominated marine trade in the [[Baltic Sea]], the [[North Sea]] and along the connected navigable rivers. Each of the affiliated cities retained the legal system of its sovereign and, with the exception of the [[Free imperial city|Free imperial cities]], had only a limited degree of political autonomy. By the late 14th century, the powerful league enforced its interests with military means, if necessary. This culminated in [[Second Danish-Hanseatic War|a war]] with the sovereign Kingdom of Denmark from 1361 to 1370. The league declined after 1450.{{Efn|name=Translation}}{{Sfn|Szepesi|2015}}{{Sfn|Rothbard|2009}}