Editing Holy Roman Empire (section)

==== Formation of the Holy Roman Empire ====
[[File:Depiction of Leo VIII from the Nuremberg Chronicle. Published in 1493.png|thumb|[[Pope Leo VIII]] of the [[Holy Roman Church]]]]
[[File:Heiliges Römisches Reich 1000.jpg|thumb|The Holy Roman Empire during the [[Ottonian dynasty]]]]
[[File:Holy Roman Empire 11th century map-en.svg|thumb|The Holy Roman Empire between 972 and 1032]]

In 951, Otto came to the aid of Queen [[Adelaide of Italy]], defeating her enemies, marrying her, and taking control over Italy.{{Sfn|Cantor|1993|pp=214–215}} In 955, Otto won a decisive victory over the [[Magyars]] in the [[Battle of Lechfeld]].{{Sfn|Magill|1998|p=707}} In 962, Otto was crowned emperor by [[Pope John XII]],{{Sfn|Magill|1998|p=707}} 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 {{lang|la|[[translatio imperii]]}}, also made them consider themselves as successors to Ancient Rome. The flowering of arts beginning with Otto the Great's reign is known as the [[Ottonian Renaissance]], centered in Germany but also happening in Northern Italy and France.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tucker|first=Spencer C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC&pg=PA412|title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East|date=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-8510-9672-5|page=412|language=en|access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Geanakoplos|first=Deno John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtcYAAAAYAAJ|title=Medieval Western Civilization and the Byzantine and Islamic Worlds: Interaction of Three Cultures|date=1979|publisher=D. C. Heath|isbn=978-0-6690-0868-5|page=207|language=en|access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref>

Otto created the imperial church system, often called "Ottonian church system of the Reich", which tied the great imperial churches and their representatives to imperial service, thus providing "a stable and long-lasting framework for Germany".<ref name="Reindel">{{Cite web|title=Otto I – Legacy Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otto-I/Legacy|access-date=2 March 2022|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Biographie|first=Deutsche|title=Otto I. – Deutsche Biographie|url=https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/gnd118590758.html#ndbcontent|access-date=5 March 2022|website=www.deutsche-biographie.de|language=de}}</ref> During the Ottonian era, imperial women played a prominent role in political and ecclesiastic affairs, often combining their functions as religious leader and advisor, regent or co-ruler, notably [[Matilda of Ringelheim]], [[Eadgyth]], [[Adelaide of Italy]], [[Theophanu]], and [[Matilda of Quedlinburg]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Davids|first=Adelbert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Db9Z_BagLw8C&pg=PA188|title=The Empress Theophano: Byzantium and the West at the Turn of the First Millennium|date=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-5215-2467-4|page=188|language=en|access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Jansen|first=S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fF6IDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA153|title=The Monstrous Regiment of Women: Female Rulers in Early Modern Europe|date=2002|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-2306-0211-3|page=153|language=en|access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=MacLean|first=Simon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KAFLDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA169|title=Ottonian Queenship|date=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-1988-0010-1|page=169|language=en|access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Digby|first=Kenelm Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNBhAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA939|title=Mores Catholici: Books VII–IX|date=1891|publisher=P. O'Shea|page=939|language=en|access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref>

In 963, Otto deposed John XII and chose [[Leo VIII]] as the new pope (although John XII and Leo VIII both claimed the papacy until 964, when John XII died). This also renewed the conflict with the Byzantine emperor, especially after Otto's son [[Otto II]] ({{R.|967|983}}) adopted the designation {{lang|la|imperator Romanorum}}. Still, Otto II formed marital ties with the east when he married the Byzantine princess [[Theophanu]].{{Sfn|Magill|1998|p=708}} Their son, [[Otto III]], came to the throne only three years old, and was subjected to a power struggle and series of regencies until his age of majority in 994. Up to that time, he remained in Germany, while a deposed duke, [[Crescentius II]], ruled over Rome and part of Italy, ostensibly in his stead.

In 996 Otto III appointed his cousin [[Pope Gregory V|Gregory V]] the first German pope.{{Sfn|McBrien|2000|p=138}} A foreign pope and foreign papal officers were seen with suspicion by Roman nobles, who were led by [[Crescentius II]] to revolt. Otto III's former mentor [[Antipope John XVI]] briefly held Rome, until the Holy Roman emperor seized the city.{{Sfn|Sladen|1914}}

Otto died young in 1002, and was succeeded by his cousin [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]], who focused on Germany.{{Sfn|Cantor|1993|pp=215–217}}
Otto III's (and his mentor Pope Sylvester's) diplomatic activities coincided with and facilitated the Christianization and the spread of Latin culture in different parts of Europe.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Bideleux|first1=Robert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=59CEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA119|title=A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change|last2=Jeffries|first2=Ian|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-1347-1985-3|page=119|language=en|access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lewis|first=Archibald Ross|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4u9iIr-q1gC&pg=PA83|title=Nomads and Crusaders, A.D. 1000–1368|date=1988|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=978-0-2533-4787-9|page=83|language=en|access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref> They coopted a new group of nations (Slavic) into the framework of Europe, with their empire functioning, as some remark, as a "Byzantine-like presidency over a family of nations, centered on pope and emperor in Rome". This has proved a lasting achievement.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fried|first=Johannes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jG0GBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT138|title=The Middle Ages|date=2015|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-6747-4467-7|page=138|language=en|access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Rowland|first1=Christopher|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CrcoAAAAYAAJ|title=Apocalyptic in History and Tradition|last2=Barton|first2=John|date=2002|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=978-0-8264-6208-4|page=173|language=en|access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Arnason|first1=Johann P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9xJYEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA100|title=Eurasian Transformations, Tenth to Thirteenth Centuries: Crystallizations, Divergences, Renaissances|last2=Wittrock|first2=Björn|date= 2005|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9-0474-1467-4|page=100|language=en|access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JiABAAAAMAAJ|title=German Polish Dialogue: Letters of the Polish and German Bishops and International Statements|date=1966|publisher=Ed. Atlantic-Forum|page=9|language=en|access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref> Though, Otto's early death made his reign "the tale of largely unrealized potential".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Emmerson|first=Richard K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSCPAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA496|title=Key Figures in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-1367-7518-5|page=497|language=en|access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Muldoon|first=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oXqJDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|title=Empire and Order: The Concept of Empire, 800–1800|date=1999|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-2305-1223-8|page=35|language=en|access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref>

[[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]] died in 1024 and [[Conrad II]], first of the [[Salian dynasty]], was elected king only after some debate among dukes and nobles. This group eventually developed into the college of [[prince-elector|electors]].

The Holy Roman Empire eventually came to be composed of four kingdoms:
* [[Kingdom of Germany]] (part of the empire since 962),
* [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Kingdom of Italy]] (from 962 until 1801),
* [[Kingdom of Bohemia]] (from 1002 as the [[Duchy of Bohemia]] and raised to a kingdom in 1198),
* [[Kingdom of Burgundy (from 933)|Kingdom of Burgundy]] (from 1032 to 1378).