Editing Holy Roman Empire (section)

=== Late Middle Ages ===
{{Further|Late Middle Ages|Pomerania during the Late Middle Ages}}

==== Rise of the territories after the Hohenstaufens ====
[[File:Karl IV HRR.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]]]]
[[File:Holy Roman Empire at the Golden Bull of 1356.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The Holy Roman Empire when the Golden Bull of 1356 was signed]]

The difficulties in electing the king eventually led to the emergence of a fixed college of [[prince-elector]]s (''Kurfürsten''), whose composition and procedures were set forth in the [[Golden Bull of 1356]], issued by [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]] (reigned 1355–1378, King of the Romans since 1346), which remained valid until 1806. This development probably best symbolizes the emerging duality between emperor and realm (''Kaiser und Reich''), which were no longer considered identical. The Golden Bull also set forth the system for election of the Holy Roman Emperor. The emperor now was to be elected by a majority rather than by consent of all seven electors. For electors the title became hereditary, and they were given the right to mint coins and to exercise jurisdiction. Also it was recommended that their sons learn the imperial languages – [[German language|German]], [[Latin]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Czech language|Czech]].{{Efn|name=GoldenBull}}{{Sfn|Žůrek|2014}} The decision by Charles IV is the subject of debates: on one hand, it helped to restore peace in the lands of the Empire, that had been engulfed in civil conflicts after the end of the Hohenstaufen era; on the other hand, the "blow to central authority was unmistakable".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schwartzwald|first=Jack L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bqgHCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA116|title=The Collapse and Recovery of Europe, AD 476–1648|date= 2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-6230-5|page=116|language=en|access-date=5 February 2022}}</ref> Thomas Brady Jr. opines that Charles IV's intention was to end contested royal elections (from the Luxembourghs' perspective, they also had the advantage that the King of Bohemia had a permanent and preeminent status as one of the Electors himself).{{Sfn|Brady|2009|p=73}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mahoney|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5qgHE29pikMC&pg=PA51|title=The History of the Czech Republic and Slovakia|date= 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-3133-6306-1|page=51|language=en|access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref> At the same time, he built up Bohemia as the Luxembourghs' core land of the Empire and their dynastic base. His reign in Bohemia is often considered the land's Golden Age. According to Brady Jr. though, under all the glitter, one problem arose: the government showed an inability to deal with the German immigrant waves into Bohemia, thus leading to religious tensions and persecutions. The imperial project of the Luxembourgh halted under Charles's son [[Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia|Wenceslaus]] (reigned 1378–1419 as King of Bohemia, 1376–1400 as King of the Romans), who also faced opposition from 150 local baronial families.{{Sfn|Brady|2009|pp=73, 74}}

The shift in power away from the emperor is also revealed in the way the post-Hohenstaufen kings attempted to sustain their power. Earlier, the Empire's strength (and finances) greatly relied on the Empire's own lands, the so-called ''[[Reichsgut]]'', which always belonged to the king of the day and included many Imperial Cities. After the 13th century, the relevance of the ''Reichsgut'' faded, even though some parts of it did remain until the Empire's end in 1806. Instead, the ''Reichsgut'' was increasingly pawned to local dukes, sometimes to raise money for the Empire, but more frequently to reward faithful duty or as an attempt to establish control over the dukes. The direct governance of the ''Reichsgut'' no longer matched the needs of either the king or the dukes.

The kings beginning with [[Rudolf I of Germany]] increasingly relied on the lands of their respective dynasties to support their power. In contrast with the ''Reichsgut'', which was mostly scattered and difficult to administer, these territories were relatively compact and thus easier to control. In 1282, Rudolf I thus lent Austria and [[Styria (duchy)|Styria]] to his own sons. In 1312, [[Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VII]] of the [[House of Luxembourg]] was crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor since Frederick II. After him all kings and emperors relied on the lands of their own family (''Hausmacht''): [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]] of [[Wittelsbach]] (king 1314, emperor 1328–1347) relied on his lands in Bavaria; [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]] of Luxembourg, the grandson of Henry VII, drew strength from his own lands in Bohemia. It was thus increasingly in the king's own interest to strengthen the power of the territories, since the king profited from such a benefit in his own lands as well.

==== Imperial Reform ====
{{Main|Imperial Reform}}
[[File:Hans Burgkmair d. Ä. 005.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Fredrick III]]]]

The "constitution" of the Empire still remained largely unsettled at the beginning of the 15th century. Feuds often happened between local rulers. The "[[Robber baron (feudalism)|robber baron]]" (''Raubritter'') became a social factor.{{Sfn|Whaley|2011|p=278}}

Simultaneously, the Catholic Church experienced crises of its own, with wide-reaching effects in the Empire. The conflict between several papal claimants (two [[anti-popes]] and the "legitimate" [[Papacy|Pope]]) ended only with the [[Council of Constance]] (1414–1418); after 1419 the Papacy directed much of its energy to suppressing the [[Hussites]]. The medieval idea of unifying all [[Christendom]] into a single political entity, with the Church and the Empire as its leading institutions, began to decline.

With these drastic changes, much discussion emerged in the 15th century about the Empire itself. Rules from the past no longer adequately described the structure of the time, and a reinforcement of earlier ''Landfrieden'' was urgently needed.{{Sfn|Hardy|2018}}

The vision for a simultaneous reform of the Empire and the Church on a central level began with [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]] (reigned 1433–1437, King of the Romans since 1411), who, according to historian Thomas Brady Jr., "possessed a breadth of vision and a sense of grandeur unseen in a German monarch since the thirteenth century". But external difficulties, self-inflicted mistakes and the extinction of the Luxembourg male line made this vision unfulfilled.{{Sfn|Brady|2009|pp=75–81}}

[[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]] was the first Habsburg to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor, in 1452.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Drees|first=Clayton J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8TLLEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA167|title=The Late Medieval Age of Crisis and Renewal, 1300–1500: A Biographical Dictionary|date=2000|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn=978-1-56750-749-2|language=en}}</ref> He had been very careful regarding the reform movement in the empire. For most of his reign, he considered reform as a threat to his imperial prerogatives. He avoided direct confrontations, which might lead to humiliation if the princes refused to give way.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilson|first=Peter H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I5lFCgAAQBAJ&pg=PR79|title=The Holy Roman Empire: A Thousand Years of Europe's History|date=2016b|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-0-1419-5691-6|page=79|language=en|access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref> After 1440, the reform of the Empire and Church was sustained and led by local and regional powers, particularly the territorial princes.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=William Bradford|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IUcEmkYpdFQC&pg=PA45|title=Reformation and the German Territorial State: Upper Franconia, 1300–1630|date=2008|publisher=University Rochester Press|isbn=978-1-5804-6274-7|page=45|language=en|access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref> In his last years, he felt more pressure on taking action from a higher level. [[Berthold von Henneberg]], the Archbishop of Mainz, who spoke on behalf of reform-minded princes (who wanted to reform the Empire without strengthening the imperial hand), capitalized on Frederick's desire to secure the imperial election for his son [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian]]. Thus, in his last years, he presided over the initial phase of Imperial Reform, which would mainly unfold under Maximilian. Maximilian himself was more open to reform, although naturally he also wanted to preserve and enhance imperial prerogatives. After Frederick retired to Linz in 1488, as a compromise, Maximilian acted as mediator between the princes and his father. When he attained sole rule after Frederick's death, he would continue this policy of brokerage, acting as the impartial judge between options suggested by the princes.{{Sfn|Wilson|2016|p=79}}{{Sfn|Brady|2009|pp=104–106}}

===== Creation of institutions =====
[[File:Innsbruck - painting of Albrecht Dürer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Innsbruck, most important political centre under Maximilian,{{Sfn|Pavlac|Lott|2019|p=249}} seat of the ''Hofkammer'' (Court Treasury) and the Court Chancery, which functioned as "the most influential body in Maximilian's government".{{Sfn|Brady|2009|p=211}} Painting of Albrecht Dürer (1496)]]

Major measures for the Reform were launched at the [[1495 Reichstag]] at [[Worms, Germany|Worms]]. A new organ was introduced, the ''[[Reichskammergericht]]'', that was to be largely independent from the Emperor. A new tax was launched to finance it, the ''Gemeine Pfennig'', although this would only be collected under Charles V and Ferdinand I, and not fully.<ref name="Tracy 163">{{Cite book|last=Tracy|first=James D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHCPDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA163|title=Balkan Wars: Habsburg Croatia, Ottoman Bosnia, and Venetian Dalmatia, 1499–1617|date=2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-1360-9|page=163|language=en|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite book|last=Ágoston|first=Gábor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXALEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA312|title=The Last Muslim Conquest: The Ottoman Empire and Its Wars in Europe|date= 2021|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-6912-0538-0|page=312|language=en|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref>{{Sfn|Whaley|2012a|p=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160629134300/https://books.google.com/books?id=UiFWYsG-t7UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Germany+and+the+Holy+Roman+Empire+Volume+I&source=bl&ots=IvHjooiUip&sig=4g3acx620VKwkAhPhSuR8m0q0-U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=d_oCUIX7EoGQ8wSX95n7Bw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Gemeine%20Pfennig&f=false]}}

To create a rival for the ''[[Reichskammergericht]]'', Maximilian established the ''[[Aulic Council|Reichshofrat]]'' in 1497, which had its seat in Vienna. During Maximilian's reign, this council was not popular though. In the long run, the two Courts functioned in parallel, sometimes overlapping.{{Sfn|Pavlac|Lott|2019|p=143}}{{Sfn|Brady|2009|p=429}}

In 1500, Maximilian agreed to establish an organ called the ''[[Reichsregiment]]'' (central imperial government, consisting of twenty members including the Electors, with the Emperor or his representative as its chairman), first organized in 1501 in [[Nuremberg]]. But Maximilian resented the new organization, while the Estates failed to support it. The new organ proved politically weak, and its power returned to Maximilian in 1502.{{Sfn|Erbe|2000|pp=19–30}}{{Sfn|Brady|2009|p=429}}{{Sfn|Whaley|2011|p=61}}

The most important governmental changes targeted the heart of the regime: the chancery. Early in Maximilian's reign, the Court Chancery at Innsbruck competed with the Imperial Chancery (which was under the elector-archbishop of Mainz, the senior Imperial chancellor). By referring the political matters in Tyrol, Austria as well as Imperial problems to the Court Chancery, Maximilian gradually centralized its authority. The two chanceries became combined in 1502.{{Sfn|Brady|2009|p=211}} In 1496, the emperor created a general treasury (''Hofkammer'') in Innsbruck, which became responsible for all the hereditary lands. The chamber of accounts (''Raitkammer'') at Vienna was made subordinate to this body.{{Sfn|Berenger|Simpson|2014|p=132}} Under {{ill|Paul von Liechtenstein|de|Paul von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn}}, the ''Hofkammer'' was entrusted with not only hereditary lands' affairs, but Maximilian's affairs as the German king too.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Gosman|first1=Martin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6cqMgy6ZxlMC&pg=PA298|title=Princes and Princely Culture: 1450–1650|last2=Alasdair|first2=A.|last3=MacDonald|first3=A.|last4=Macdonald|first4=Alasdair James|last5=Vanderjagt|first5=Arie Johan|date=2003|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9-0041-3572-7|page=298|access-date=24 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024064350/https://books.google.com/books?id=6cqMgy6ZxlMC&pg=PA298|archive-date=24 October 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

===== Reception of Roman law =====
[[File:Maximilian I watching an execution during Philip and Joanna betrothal.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|left|Maximilian I paying attention to an execution instead of watching the betrothal of his son [[Philip I of Castile|Philip the Handsome]] and [[Joanna of Castile]]. The top right corner shows [[Cain and Abel]]. Satire against Maximilian's legal reform, associated with imperial tyranny. Created on behalf of the councilors of Augsburg. Plate 89 of ''Von der Arztney bayder Glück'' by the {{ill|Petrarcameister|de}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hodnet|first=Andrew Arthur|title=The Othering of the Landsknechte|date=2018|publisher=North Carolina State University|page=81}}</ref>]]

At the 1495 Diet of Worms, the Reception of Roman Law was accelerated and formalized. The Roman Law was made binding in German courts, except in the case it was contrary to local statutes.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Burdick|first=William Livesey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRkMm73NCEUC&pg=PA19|title=The Principles of Roman Law and Their Relation to Modern Law|date=2004|publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-5847-7253-8|pages=19, 20|language=en|access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> In practice, it became the basic law throughout Germany, displacing Germanic local law to a large extent, although Germanic law was still operative at the lower courts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lee|first=Daniel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3jfcCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA243|title=Popular Sovereignty in Early Modern Constitutional Thought|date=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-1910-6244-5|page=243|language=en|access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Thornhill|first=Chris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3JuU_MfVTbAC&pg=PA12|title=German Political Philosophy: The Metaphysics of Law|date=2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-1343-8280-4|page=12|language=en|access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Haivry|first=Ofir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KNvFDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA118|title=John Selden and the Western Political Tradition|date=2017|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-1070-1134-2|page=118|language=en|access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mousourakis|first=George|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n6tBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT435|title=The Historical and Institutional Context of Roman Law|date=2017|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-3518-8840-0|page=435|language=en|access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> Other than the desire to achieve legal unity and other factors, the adoption also highlighted the continuity between the Ancient Roman empire and the Holy Roman Empire.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zoller|first=Élisabeth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1zfs2VcJs0C&pg=PA64|title=Introduction to Public Law: A Comparative Study|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9-0041-6147-4|page=64|language=en|access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> To realize his resolve to reform and unify the legal system, the emperor frequently intervened personally in matters of local legal matters, overriding local charters and customs. This practice was often met with irony and scorn from local councils, who wanted to protect local codes.{{Sfn|Hodnet|2018|pp=79–81}}

The legal reform seriously weakened the ancient [[Vehmic court]] (''Vehmgericht'', or Secret Tribunal of [[Westphalia]], traditionally held to be instituted by [[Charlemagne]] but this theory is now considered unlikely),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Spence|first=Lewis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDXYAAAAMAAJ|title=An Encyclopedia of Occultism|date=1993|publisher=Kensington Publishing Corporation|isbn=978-0-8065-1401-7|page=133|language=en|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Palgrave|first=Francis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U98aAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA204|title=The Collected Historical Works of Sir Francis Palgrave, K.H.|date= 2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-1076-2636-2|pages=xiv, 203–204|language=en|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref> although it would not be abolished completely until 1811 (when it was abolished under the order of [[Jérôme Bonaparte]]).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Beccaria|first1=Cesare marchese di|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=surdzOtEZgQC&pg=PA133|title=On Crimes and Punishments and Other Writings|last2=Beccaria|first2=Cesare|last3=Stevenson|first3=Bryan|date= 2008|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8990-8|page=133|language=en|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Ripley|first1=George|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lwIoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA43|title=The New American Cyclopædia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge|last2=Dana|first2=Charles Anderson|date=1869|publisher=D. Appleton|page=43|language=en|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref>

===== National political culture =====
[[File:1512 Holy Roman Empire Germania.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Personification of the Reich as [[Germania (personification)|Germania]] by [[:de:Jörg Kölderer|Jörg Kölderer]], 1512. The "German woman", wearing her hair loose and a crown, sitting on the Imperial throne, corresponds both to the self-image of Maximilian I as King of Germany and the formula ''Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation'' (omitting other nations). While usually depicted during the Middle Age as subordinate to both imperial power and Italia or Gallia, she now takes central stage in Maximilian's [[Triumphal Procession]], being carried in front of [[c:File:Roma in Maximilian'sTriumphal Procession.jpg|Roma]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Strieder|first=Peter|date=8 May 2017|title=Zur Entstehungsgeschichte von Dürers Ehrenpforte für Kaiser Maximilian|url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/azgnm/article/view/38143/31806|journal=Anzeiger des Germanischen Nationalmuseums|pages=128–142 Seiten|doi=10.11588/azgnm.1954.0.38143|access-date=7 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hirschi|first=Caspar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_v4iySQgnsC&pg=PA45|title=The Origins of Nationalism: An Alternative History from Ancient Rome to Early Modern Germany|date= 2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-1395-0230-6|page=45|language=en|access-date=7 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Brandt|first=Bettina|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJLM607h6jsC&pg=PA37|title=Germania und ihre Söhne: Repräsentationen von Nation, Geschlecht und Politik in der Moderne|date=2010|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=978-3-5253-6710-0|page=37|language=de|access-date=8 February 2022}}</ref>]]

Maximilian and Charles V (despite the fact both emperors were internationalists personally)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Albert|first=Rabil Jr.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w1ErEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA137|title=Renaissance Humanism, Volume 2: Foundations, Forms, and Legacy|date= 2016|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-1-5128-0576-5|language=en|access-date=5 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Quevedo|first1=Francisco de|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ciwDEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6|title=Francisco de Quevedo: Dreams and Discourses|last2=Britton|first2=R. K.|date= 1989|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-1-8003-4588-1|language=en|access-date=5 February 2022}}</ref> were the first who mobilized the rhetoric of the Nation, firmly identified with the Reich by the contemporary humanists.{{Sfn|Whaley|2011|p=278}} With encouragement from Maximilian and his humanists, iconic spiritual figures were reintroduced or became notable. The humanists rediscovered the work ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'', written by Tacitus. According to Peter H. Wilson, the female figure of [[Germania (personification)|Germania]] was reinvented by the emperor as the virtuous pacific Mother of Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.{{Sfn|Wilson|2016|p=263}} Whaley further suggests that, despite the later religious divide, "patriotic motifs developed during Maximilian's reign, both by Maximilian himself and by the humanist writers who responded to him, formed the core of a national political culture."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Whaley|first=Joachim|date=2009|title=Whaley on Silver, 'Marketing Maximilian: the Visual Ideology of a Holy Roman Emperor' {{!}} H-German {{!}} H-Net|url=https://networks.h-net.org/node/35008/reviews/45722/whaley-silver-marketing-maximilian-visual-ideology-holy-roman-emperor|journal=Networks.h-net.org|access-date=5 February 2022}}</ref>

Maximilian's reign also witnessed the gradual emergence of the German common language, with the notable roles of the imperial chancery and the chancery of the Wettin Elector [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony|Frederick the Wise]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Tennant|first1=Elaine C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JdIDcGyUcN4C&pg=PA3|title=The Habsburg Chancery Language in Perspective, Volume 114|last2=Johnson|first2=Carroll B.|date=1985|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-5200-9694-3|pages=1, 3, 9|access-date=21 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927161255/https://books.google.com/books?id=JdIDcGyUcN4C&pg=PA3|archive-date=27 September 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wiesinger|first=Peter|title=Die Entwicklung der deutschen Schriftsprache vom 16. bis 18. Jahrhundert unter dem Einfluss der Konfessionen|url=http://www.e-scoala.ro/germana/peter_wiesinger.html|url-status=dead|journal=Zeitschrift der Germanisten Rumäniens |issue=17–18 / 2000 (9th year)|pages=155–162|doi=10.1515/jbgsg-2018-0014|s2cid=186566355|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123112609/http://www.e-scoala.ro/germana/peter_wiesinger.html|archive-date=23 January 2008|access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref> The development of the printing industry together with the emergence of the postal system ([[Kaiserliche Reichspost|the first modern one in the world]]),<ref name="Meinel 2014 31">{{Cite book|last1=Meinel|first1=Christoph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5O25BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31|title=Digital Communication: Communication, Multimedia, Security|last2=Sack|first2=Harald|date=2014|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-3-6425-4331-9|page=31|access-date=20 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926235052/https://books.google.com/books?id=5O25BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31|archive-date=26 September 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> initiated by Maximilian himself with contribution from Frederick III and [[Charles the Bold]], led to a revolution in communication and allowed ideas to spread. Unlike the situation in more centralized countries, the decentralized nature of the Empire made censorship difficult.<ref name="Metzig">{{Cite book|last=Metzig|first=Gregor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MiyXDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA98|title=Kommunikation und Konfrontation: Diplomatie und Gesandtschaftswesen Kaiser Maximilians I. (1486–1519)|date=2016|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|isbn=978-3-1104-5673-8|pages=98, 99|language=de|access-date=29 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Scott|first=Hamish M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vL8DCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA173|title=The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern European History, 1350–1750|date=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-1995-9725-3|page=173|language=en|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Headrick|first=Daniel R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRBPvOAiQmUC&pg=PA184|title=When Information Came of Age: Technologies of Knowledge in the Age of Reason and Revolution, 1700–1850|date= 2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-1980-3108-6|page=184|language=en|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref>{{Sfn|Whaley|2011|p=370}}

Terence McIntosh comments that the expansionist, aggressive policy pursued by Maximilian I and Charles V at the inception of the early modern German nation (although not to further the aims specific to the German nation per se), relying on German manpower as well as utilizing fearsome [[Landsknecht]]e and mercenaries, would affect the way neighbours viewed the German polity, although in the longue durée, Germany tended to be at peace.<ref>{{Cite web|title=H-German Roundtable on Smith, Germany: A Nation in Its Time Before, During, and After Nationalism, 1500–2000 {{!}} H-German {{!}} H-Net|url=https://networks.h-net.org/node/35008/discussions/9589141/h-german-roundtable-smith-germany-nation-its-time-during-and|access-date=5 February 2022|website=networks.h-net.org}}</ref>

===== Imperial power =====
[[File:Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|[[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]], [[Holy Roman Emperor]].]]
Maximilian was "the first Holy Roman Emperor in 250 years who ruled as well as reigned". In the early 1500s, he was true master of the Empire, although his power weakened during the last decade before his death.{{Sfn|Brady|2009|pp=110, 128}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Forster|first=Marc R.|title=Forster on Brady Jr., 'German Histories in the Age of Reformations, 1400–1650' {{!}} H-German {{!}} H-Net|url=https://networks.h-net.org/node/35008/reviews/46131/forster-brady-jr-german-histories-age-reformations-1400-1650|journal=Networks.h-net.org|access-date=5 February 2022}}</ref> Whaley notes that, despite struggles, what emerged at the end of Maximilian's rule was a strengthened monarchy and not an oligarchy of princes.{{Sfn|Whaley|2012a|p=[https://web.archive.org/web/20210921005756/https://books.google.com/books?id=UiFWYsG-t7UC&pg=PA75 75]}} Benjamin Curtis opines that while Maximilian was not able to fully create a common government for his lands (although the chancellery and court council were able to coordinate affairs across the realms), he strengthened key administrative functions in Austria and created central offices to deal with financial, political and judicial matters – these offices replaced the feudal system and became representative of a more modern system that was administered by professionalized officials. After two decades of reforms, the emperor retained his position as first among equals, while the empire gained common institutions through which the emperor shared power with the estates.{{Sfn|Curtis|2013|pp=46–52}}

By the early 16th century, the Habsburg rulers had become the most powerful in Europe, but their strength relied on their composite monarchy as a whole, and not only the Holy Roman Empire (see also: [[Empire of Charles V]]).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Asch|first=Ronald G.|date=28 October 2021|title=Monarchs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNFKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT39|journal=Early Modern Court Culture|pages=17–36|doi=10.4324/9780429277986-3|isbn=978-0-4292-7798-6|s2cid=240193601}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Thackeray|first1=Frank W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2MhulpUa_cC&pg=RA1-PA133|title=Events That Formed the Modern World: From the European Renaissance through the War on Terror [5 volumes]: From the European Renaissance through the War on Terror|last2=Findling|first2=John E.|date=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-5988-4902-8|page=133|language=en|access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref> Maximilian had seriously considered combining the Burgundian lands (inherited from his wife [[Mary of Burgundy]]) with his Austrian lands to form a powerful core (while also extending toward the east).{{Sfn|Holleger|2012|p=34}} After the unexpected addition of Spain to the Habsburg Empire, at one point he intended to leave Austria (raised to a kingdom) to his younger grandson [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Brady|first1=Thomas A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rQJkfTDUhsMC&pg=PA112|title=German Histories in the Age of Reformations, 1400–1650|last2=Brady|first2=Thomas A. Jr.|date=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-5218-8909-4|page=112|language=en|access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref> His elder grandson Charles V later gave Spain and most of the Burgundian lands to his son [[Philip II of Spain]], the founder of the Spanish branch, and the Habsburg hereditary lands to his brother Ferdinand, the founder of the Austrian branch.{{Sfn|Wilson|2004|p=27}}

In France and England, from the 13th century onward, stationary royal residences had begun to develop into [[Capital city|capital cities]] that grew rapidly and developed corresponding infrastructure: the ''[[Palais de la Cité]]'' and the ''[[History of the Palace of Westminster|Palace of Westminster]]'' became the respective main residences. This was not possible in the Holy Roman Empire because no real hereditary monarchy emerged, but rather the tradition of elective monarchy prevailed ''(see: [[Imperial election]])'' which, in the High Middle Ages, led to kings of very different regional origins being elected ''([[List of royal and imperial elections in the Holy Roman Empire]])''. If they wanted to control the empire and its rebellious regional rulers, they could not limit themselves to their home region and their private palaces. As a result, kings and emperors continued to travel around the empire well into modern times,<ref>Karl Otmar von Aretin: ''Das Reich ohne Hauptstadt?'' (The empire without a capital?), in: ''Hauptstädte in europäischen Nationalstaaten'' (Capitals in European nation states), ed T Schieder & G Brunn, Munich/Vienna, 1983, pp. 1–29</ref> using their temporary residences ''([[Kaiserpfalz]])'' as transit stations for their ''[[itinerant court]]s''. From the late Middle Ages onward, the weakly fortified ''pfalzen'' were replaced by [[imperial castle]]s. It was only King [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]], the younger brother of the then Emperor Charles V, who moved his main residence to the Vienna [[Hofburg]] in the middle of the 16th century, where most of the following Habsburg emperors subsequently resided. Vienna did not become the capital of the empire, just of a Habsburg hereditary state (the [[Archduchy of Austria]]). The emperors continued to travel to their elections and coronations at [[Frankfurt]] and [[Aachen]], to the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diets]] at different places and to other occasions. The [[Perpetual Diet of Regensburg]] was based in [[Regensburg]] from 1663 to 1806. [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolf II]] resided in [[Prague]], the [[Wittelsbach]] emperor [[Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles VII]] in Munich. A German capital in the true sense only existed in the Second [[German Empire]] from 1871, when the [[Kaiser]], [[Reichstag (German Empire)|Reichstag]] and [[Chancellor of Germany#Chancellor of the German Reich|Reichskanzler]] resided in [[Berlin]].

==== Early capitalism ====
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| caption1 = Map of Augsburg, corresponding with the [[:c:Category:Hans Rogel|wooden city model made in 1563]] by {{ill|Hans Rogel|de|lt=Hans Rogel}} and now kept in the ''Maximilianmusem'', Augsburg
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While particularism prevented the centralization of the Empire, it gave rise to early developments of capitalism. In Italian and Hanseatic cities like Genoa and Pisa, Hamburg and Lübeck, warrior-merchants appeared and pioneered raiding-and-trading maritime empires. These practices declined before 1500, but they managed to spread to the maritime periphery in Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and England, where they "provoked emulation in grander, oceanic scale".<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=The Political Economy of Merchant Empires: State Power and World Trade, 1350–1750|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1jHpt9hdreoC&pg=PA123|access-date=15 October 2022|last=Brady|first=Thomas A. Jr.|date=1997|editor-last=Tracy|editor-first=James D.|pages=117–160|language=en|isbn=978-0-5215-7464-8}}</ref> William Thompson agrees with M.N. Pearson that this distinctively European phenomenon happened because in the Italian and Hanseatic cities which lacked resources and were "small in size and population", the rulers (whose social status was not much higher than the merchants) had to pay attention to trade. Thus the warrior-merchants gained the state's coercive powers, which they could not gain in Mughal or other Asian realms – whose rulers had few incentives to help the merchant class, as they controlled considerable resources and their revenue was land-bound.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thompson|first=William R.|url=http://www.untag-smd.ac.id/files/Perpustakaan_Digital_2/POLITICAL%20ECONOMY%20The%20Emergence%20of%20the%20global%20political%20economy.pdf|title=The emergence of the global political economy|date=2000|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-4152-1452-1|location=London|page=67|access-date=15 October 2022|archive-date=19 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919140426/http://www.untag-smd.ac.id/files/Perpustakaan_Digital_2/POLITICAL%20ECONOMY%20The%20Emergence%20of%20the%20global%20political%20economy.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the 1450s, the economic development in Southern Germany gave rise to banking empires, cartels and monopolies in cities such as [[Ulm]], [[Regensburg]], and [[Augsburg]]. [[Augsburg]] in particular, associated with the reputation of the [[Fugger]], [[Welser]] and Baumgartner families, is considered the capital city of early capitalism.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ertl|first=Alan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MqQ1boyUSXEC&pg=PA189|title=The Political Economic Foundation of Democratic Capitalism: From Genesis to Maturation|date=2007|publisher=Universal-Publishers|isbn=978-1-5994-2424-8|pages=189–191|language=en|access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kypta|first1=Ulla|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-62DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA116|title=Methods in Premodern Economic History: Case studies from the Holy Roman Empire, c. 1300–c. 1600|last2=Bruch|first2=Julia|last3=Skambraks|first3=Tanja|date=2019|publisher=Springer Nature|isbn=978-3-0301-4660-3|page=116|language=en|access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> Augsburg benefitted majorly from the establishment and expansion of the [[Kaiserliche Reichspost]] in the late 15th and early 16th century.<ref name=Metzig/><ref name="Meinel 2014 31"/> Even when the Habsburg empire began to extend to other parts of Europe, Maximilian's loyalty to Augsburg, where he conducted a lot of his endeavours, meant that the imperial city became "the dominant centre of early capitalism" of the 16th century, and "the location of the most important post office within the Holy Roman Empire". From Maximilian's time, as the "terminuses of the first transcontinental post lines" began to shift from [[Innsbruck]] to [[Venice]] and from [[Brussels]] to [[Antwerp]], in these cities, the communication system and the news market started to converge. As the Fuggers as well as other trading companies based their most important branches in these cities, these traders gained access to these systems as well.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=The Holy Roman Empire, 1495–1806|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|url=https://perspectivia.net/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/pnet_derivate_00004689/behringer_core.pdf|access-date=7 August 2022|date=2011|pages=347–358|isbn=978-0-1996-0297-1|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://perspectivia.net/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/pnet_derivate_00004689/behringer_core.pdf|archive-date=2022-10-09|last1=Behringer|first1=Wolfgang|contribution=Core and Periphery: The Holy Roman Empire as a Communication(s) Universe|url-status=live}}</ref> The 1557, 1575 and 1607 bankruptcies of the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs though damaged the Fuggers substantially. Moreover, "Discovery of water routes to India and the New World shifted the focus of European economic development from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic – emphasis shifted from Venice and Genoa to Lisbon and Antwerp. Eventually American mineral developments reduced the importance of Hungarian and Tyrolean mineral wealth. The nexus of the European continent remained landlocked until the time of expedient land conveyances in the form of primarily rail and canal systems, which were limited in growth potential; in the new continent, on the other hand, there were ports in abundance to release the plentiful goods obtained from those new lands." The economic pinnacles achieved in Germany in the period between 1450 and 1550 would not be seen again until the end of the 19th century.{{Sfn|Ertl|2007|pp=189–191}}

In the Netherlands part of the empire, financial centres evolved together with markets of commodities. Topographical development in the 15th century made Antwerp a port city.{{Sfn|Ertl|2007|pp=188–189}} Boosted by the privileges it received as a loyal city after the [[Flemish revolts against Maximilian of Austria|Flemish revolts against Maximilian]], it became the leading seaport city in Northern Europe and served as "the conduit for a remarkable 40% of world trade".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Poitras|first=Geoffrey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoqZAAAAIAAJ|title=The Early History of Financial Economics, 1478–1776: From Commercial Arithmetic to Life Annuities and Joint Stocks|date=2000|publisher=Edward Elgar|isbn=978-1-8406-4455-5|page=48|language=en|access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Glaeser|first1=Edward|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7f3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA148|title=Urban Empires: Cities as Global Rulers in the New Urban World|last2=Kourtit|first2=Karima|last3=Nijkamp|first3=Peter|date= 2020|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-4298-9236-3|page=148|language=en|access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Haemers|first=Jelle|date=5 September 2022|title=A troubled marriage. Maximilian and the Low Countries|url=https://www.vr-elibrary.de/doi/pdf/10.7767/9783205216032.421|journal="Per Tot Discrimina Rerum" – Maximilian I. (1459–1519)|language=de|publisher=Böhlau Verlag|pages=421–432|doi=10.7767/9783205216032.421|isbn=978-3-2052-1602-5|access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> Conflicts with the Habsburg-Spanish government in 1576 and 1585 though made merchants relocate to Amsterdam, which eventually replaced it as the leading port city.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Alan K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3akDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT103|title=Creating A World Economy: Merchant Capital, Colonialism, And World Trade, 1400–1825|date=2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-4297-1042-1|page=103|language=en|access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref>{{Sfn|Ertl|2007|pp=188–189}}