WEBVTT 1 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:25.640 Hello, and welcome to Western SIV Today Episode three hundred 2 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:31.079 and twenty eight The Empire. Today we begin what will 3 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:34.840 be the biggest story arc we have done on this program, 4 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:40.560 the Thirty Years War. Given the sheer length of the war, 5 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:46.079 I suppose that makes sense, it is also deliciously complicated. 6 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:49.560 In college, I had professor tell me once that a 7 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:53.560 thing of complexity is a joy for all time. If 8 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:56.280 he was right, and I think he was, then these 9 00:00:56.359 --> 00:00:59.439 next series of episode will be quite the joy. Indeed, 10 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:04.200 in order to understand the war and its far reaching 11 00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:08.040 consequences for Europe and the West, we have to dig 12 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:14.480 into the early modern Holy Roman Empire. I've talked about 13 00:01:14.519 --> 00:01:17.239 the Empire in this show before, but not really to 14 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:21.040 the same extent as England, France, or Spain. The Holy 15 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:27.400 Roman Empire was very different from those kingdoms. It wasn't 16 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:31.439 necessarily worse, though it is often portrayed as such, but 17 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:36.760 it was very different. In the seventeenth century, historian Samuel 18 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:41.760 Huffendorff declared the Empire a quote unquote monstrosity for the 19 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:45.879 writing that it was neither kingdom nor republic. I'm not 20 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:49.359 sure he was entirely right. The events that gripped the 21 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:53.640 empire after sixteen eighteen were certainly dramatic, but they weren't 22 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:57.480 the first major tests for the emperor or his government 23 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:02.560 since Charlemagne cobbled the whole thing together roughly six hundred 24 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:07.799 years earlier. Today, we begin our study in detail of 25 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:11.479 the Holy Roman Empire because it's necessary to explain the 26 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:14.560 Thirty Years War, but also because it tells us so 27 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:19.800 much about early modern Europe and early modern state craft. 28 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:25.120 So the first thing that you want to understand is 29 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:27.879 start to talk about the Holy Roman Empire is the 30 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:31.919 fact that it's large. There were literally millions of peasants 31 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:35.960 and common folk living it over two two hundred towns 32 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:39.520 and at least one hundred and fifty thousand villages, including 33 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:44.800 numerous monasteries, convents, and other communities across the empire. It 34 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:47.879 was the level of communities that things got done, People 35 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:52.080 got married, children were born, work was organized, crops harvested, 36 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:56.439 goods made in exchange. It was these communities that would 37 00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:01.080 dominate a monumental publishing venture by Matthias Marian that was 38 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:03.599 begun while the war was still at its height in 39 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:07.360 the sixteen thirties and not completed until about forty years 40 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:13.280 later called the Topographia Germani. The work contains scarcely any 41 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:17.199 description of the natural environment. Instead, it talks about the 42 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:21.800 empire by region, all the settlements that Marian and the 43 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:25.520 various collaborators he was working with, the things he had visited, 44 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:27.879 the places he had heard of, and then he described 45 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:31.159 them in alphabetical order. This is what gives us our 46 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:36.680 understanding of the empire today. The numerous engravings that he 47 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.639 put into the work perfectly illustrate the three elements of 48 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:43.120 these communities and how they relate to the structure of 49 00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:47.240 the empire overall. If you look at the engravings, you 50 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:51.560 will see that each settlement is shown clearly against the countryside, 51 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:55.479 delineating the community as its own distinct and social space. 52 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:59.479 Most were located on or by rivers, which, of course 53 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:02.960 were essentially over communications at this time, as walls for 54 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:06.919 carrying away garbage and providing some sort of a rudimentary 55 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:11.639 barrier against intruders. Unlike modern rivers, those of the seventeenth 56 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:15.240 century still followed their natural course. They swelled with heavy 57 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:19.040 rain or melted snow, and they spread out wherever there 58 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:23.959 were low lying meadows. Larger streams changed course over time, 59 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:28.600 leaving islands or inlets that different bridge builders incorporated into 60 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:33.399 the structures to span over these water features. Medieval walls 61 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:37.600 surrounded towns and larger villages, often using rivers or streams 62 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:41.319 to provide a ditch around the settlement. These high, but 63 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:45.319 relatively thin walls, with their prominent towers and gatehouses all 64 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:49.600 visible in the engravings, were being supplemented by additional, more 65 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:53.319 modern outer defenses to protect now by the seventeenth century 66 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:59.040 against artillery bombardment. Some cities had acquired these defenses already 67 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:03.000 in the sixteenth century, but most built them or modernized 68 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:07.480 existing structures in the sixteen twenties, once the danger of 69 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:11.600 war had become apparent. The thick, low lying walls with 70 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:15.879 massive stone fronted bastions spread outwards around the medieval core, 71 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:20.639 sometimes encompassing newer suburbs, other times simply sweeping them away. 72 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:25.319 Only those that experienced eye could make out the elaborate 73 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:29.000 geometrical patterns that they cut into the ground, Since the 74 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:33.319 military system of wall outworks and ditches were largely hidden 75 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:36.079 from view on the ground by additional banks of earth 76 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:39.680 pushed further into the countryside. The few buildings that remained 77 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:43.639 outside the walls were either used for industrial purposes think 78 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:48.399 of things like sawmills, or they were ecclesiastical foundations, like 79 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:52.199 existing monetaries or convents. The ones that had survived the 80 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:57.759 Reformation and continued to exist. Even the smallest village or 81 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:02.560 hamlet was fenced, were shut and barred every single night. 82 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:07.560 The walled environment meant that cottages and homes were always 83 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:10.759 built very close together because space was at a premium. 84 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.560 But this also meant that fire was an ever present danger. 85 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:18.959 The most prominent feature of any town was its church, 86 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:22.959 or I should say church is. Even the smaller towns 87 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:27.680 have three or four. You could see their spires rising 88 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:32.680 above the town walls. Generally, these were the only buildings 89 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:35.439 in town made of stone, and they were also the 90 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:39.800 focal point of community life. The only other buildings that 91 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:42.839 a traveler might have noticed were the symbols of secular 92 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:46.360 power that could be a town hall, a palace, or 93 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:51.439 simply a bailiff's house. Every town had some such building 94 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:55.680 because towns and cities in the Empire, unlike in England 95 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:59.680 or in France, had considerable autonomy over their own affairs. 96 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:04.079 Towns could, for example, decide who got to live there 97 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:07.600 and who had to leave. Towns also set their own 98 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:13.240 societal norms and could take punitive actions against any transgressors. 99 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:17.879 It was the Imperial Constitution that linked these thousands of settlements, 100 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:22.079 binding them in a series of hierarchical, ordered and often 101 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:27.279 overlapping jurisdictions. The word Germany did appear in the title 102 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:30.519 of Marian's work, but it actually covered the Empire, an 103 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:35.519 area that still stretched over almost seven hundred thousand kilometers. 104 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:40.720 It included not only all of modern Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, 105 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:45.040 and the Czech Republic, but also much of western Poland 106 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:49.000 and Alsals and Lorraine, which are now in modern day France. 107 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:53.079 Missing in Marion, Most of the modern Netherlands in Belgium 108 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:56.120 were actually still associated with the Empire in the year 109 00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:00.360 sixteen hundred, as was a further around seventy thousand Kaloismeters 110 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:04.319 of northern Italy, even if these regions were not represented 111 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:08.639 in imperial institutions as a whole. The Empire symbolized the 112 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:13.399 late medieval universal idea of a single Christendom. Its ruler 113 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:17.160 was the only Christian monarch with an imperial title, elevating 114 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:20.879 him above all other crown heads. His pretensions to be 115 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:24.079 the secular head of Europe rested on the idea that 116 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:28.639 the Empire was a direct continuation of ancient Rome. The 117 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:32.639 universal ideal was of course, very distant from the area 118 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:36.600 of practical politics and the localities, ensuring that the emperor 119 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:40.759 did not rule the numerous communities directly. His authority was 120 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:45.399 always mediated through the empire's hierarchy of jurisdictions, and these 121 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:49.600 were in turn related to medieval and feudal origins. The 122 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:53.399 emperor was considered to be the superior lord over a 123 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:58.159 host of lesser authorities bound by all these various chains 124 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:03.200 of vassalage. As between these lords had grown sharper, particularly 125 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:05.919 as the Empire had to deal with a variety of 126 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:09.879 internal and external problems. Since roughly the year fourteen eighty, 127 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:15.200 a fundamental division had emerged between those lords who were 128 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:20.840 immediately under the emperor's jurisdiction and those mediate authorities who 129 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:28.200 were subordinate to intervening lords. Immediate lords possessed full imperial thiefs, 130 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:32.480 which were called reich Islam, held directly from the Empire 131 00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:38.000 in his capacity as their feudal overlord. These thiefs were 132 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:42.000 generally composed of other lesser thiefs that were held then 133 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:45.679 by mediate lords or lesser lords. Again, you have to 134 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:51.200 think of feudalism like a giant pyramid scheme. If a 135 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:54.200 lord had jurisdiction over a village, he could expect the 136 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:57.440 deference of everyone who lived there, a share of the produce, 137 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:00.519 and some of their time in the form of a 138 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:06.600 labor requirement. This is where loyalties started to overlap. However, 139 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:12.320 lords could hold authority over multiple towns and fiefs. The 140 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:15.399 problem is that this might make a lord a vassal 141 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:18.840 to multiple greater lords, each of whom might be in 142 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:23.279 conflict at any given time. I cannot stress the importance 143 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:28.159 of this conflicting loyalty situation. In the Thirty Years War enough, 144 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:32.159 nobles were often faced with a question of who they 145 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:36.639 wanted to support. That made the situation a lot more 146 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:40.120 fluid than it might have been in a more traditional 147 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:46.919 kingdom like England or France. Most rights were required by 148 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:50.360 inheritance and were held by the fifty to sixty thousand 149 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:54.440 noble families living throughout the Empire. The vast majority of 150 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:59.480 these were the so called territorial nobles, the landindell possessing 151 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:03.039 only less writes subject to the superior jurisdiction of an 152 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:06.600 exclusive group of lords, those who held what were called 153 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:11.399 imperial fiefs. There were around one hundred and eighty lay 154 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:16.120 and one hundred and thirty spiritual fiefs that collectively constituted 155 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:21.360 the territories of the Empire. They varied considerably in size, 156 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:26.559 and there was no direct correlation between geographical extent and 157 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:31.159 political power. The Empire had taken shape when its population 158 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:34.360 had been concentrated in the south and in the west. 159 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:38.840 The density of settlements in these parts enabled them to 160 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:43.480 sustain a higher concentration of lordships than the more sparsely 161 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:49.000 populated north and east. Those territories were not even fully 162 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:53.480 incorporated into the Imperial constitution until the beginning of the 163 00:11:53.559 --> 00:12:00.039 sixteenth century. Consolidation of this constitution forged to get the 164 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:04.000 other the lay and spiritual lords, into three separate groups. 165 00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:08.519 By the critical year of fifteen twenty one. The smallest 166 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:13.120 but most senior group were the seven electors who held 167 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:17.440 feafths associated with the Golden Bull of thirteen fifty six. 168 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:23.480 These had the exclusive right to choose each emperor. The 169 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:27.600 prevailing social distinction gave precedence to the clergy as the 170 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:32.240 quote unquote first state over the nobility, an account of 171 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:35.919 the societal function of praying for the entire community's salvation. 172 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:42.759 The premier electorate was therefore the Archbishop of Manse, followed 173 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:47.279 by his colleagues in Colonne and Trier, none of whom 174 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:53.159 held more than one hundred thousand subjects. The secular electors 175 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:56.960 were headed by the Kingdom of Bohemia, the only land 176 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:01.200 with a distinct royal title in the Empire. Bohemia was 177 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:07.360 also the largest electorate, covering over fifty thousand square kilometers, 178 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:11.919 with a population of one point five million living in 179 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:15.679 one hundred and two towns, three hundred and eight market centers, 180 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:20.200 two hundred and fifty eight castles, over thirty thousand villages 181 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:26.799 and hamlets, and about two thousand parish churches. Brandenburg was 182 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:30.480 the next electorate in size, but it was the most 183 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:34.799 junior in status, covering thirty six thousand kilometers but with 184 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:39.080 only three hundred and fifty thousand people. Saxony was smaller 185 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:43.080 but more densely populated, with around one point two million subjects. 186 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:49.120 The Palatinate ranked second after Bohemia, covered around eleven thousand 187 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:51.639 kilometers in two parts there was a lower part on 188 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:55.519 the Rhine and an upper part in northern Bavaria. The 189 00:13:55.559 --> 00:14:00.519 Palatinate had a combined population of around six hundred thousand. Together, 190 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:04.840 the electors held around a fifth of the territory of 191 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:08.360 the Empire and about a sixth of its total population. 192 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:13.639 The other imperial fiefs fell broadly into one of two types. 193 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:18.360 Fifty spiritual and thirty three lay fiefs were held by 194 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:21.840 the lords of princely rank, though their actual titles ranged 195 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:26.759 from things like archbishop and bishop through duke and marquis. 196 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:30.639 All lay fiefs were formally acquired by inheritance or purchase. 197 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:34.759 In both cases the transfer was subject to the emperor's approval. 198 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:39.720 Spiritual leaders, including the three electors, were chosen by the 199 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.120 cathedral or the local abbey of the principal church in 200 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:48.039 the land, again subject formally to the emperors and in 201 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:52.440 this case also the pope's agreement. The number of princes 202 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:55.720 was always less than the total number of fiefs, since 203 00:14:55.759 --> 00:15:00.120 it was possible for the electors to acquire additional princely fiefs, 204 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:04.840 while existing princes could held more than one, and prince 205 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:10.639 bishops might seek election in another area. In this case, 206 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:14.799 the Habsburgs were the most successful of all the princely 207 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:19.320 families in accumulating influence in this traditional way. They had 208 00:15:19.320 --> 00:15:24.240 acquired not only the eleven Austrian provinces, but also Bohemia 209 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:29.720 and its associated lands, together with seventeen Netherlands provinces, which 210 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:34.399 gave the Habsburgs over three hundred thousand kilometers of territory 211 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:38.480 about two fifths of the entire Empire held by one family. 212 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:43.840 Parts of Hungary also fell to that dynasty in fifteen 213 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:48.440 twenty six. As a result, the Habsburgs governed over seven 214 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:53.159 million subjects by sixteen hundred, compared with around seventeen million 215 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:57.799 people in the rest of the Empire. This territorial base 216 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:02.799 ensured the dynasty's basic monopoly of imperial title. Between fourteen 217 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:06.000 thirty eight and the end of the empire in eighteen 218 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:11.440 oh six, they stood heads and shoulders over every other 219 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:14.840 noble family in the land, few of whom had more 220 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:20.120 than one hundred thousand subjects. The second group of around 221 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:23.679 two hundred and twenty fiefs were smaller and lacked full 222 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:27.279 princely status, ruled by a local count, just a lord 223 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:30.759 or prelate, most of whom never had more than a 224 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:35.679 thousand subjects, a further four hundred baroneal and knightly families 225 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:39.519 held a further fifteen hundred fiefs directly from the Emperor, 226 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:45.519 who had been declared his imperial knights or reich Strader. Individually, 227 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:49.120 these holdings were no larger than those of the far 228 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:54.159 more numerous territorial nobility, who lacked the status of imperial immediacy. 229 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.960 They had ceased to play a significant role in imperial 230 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:02.759 politics even by the mid sixteen s entry. The majority 231 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:07.640 of communities fell under one or more of the jurisdictions 232 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:11.279 that had just mentioned, But the Empire was unique in 233 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:16.440 one respect. There were eighty or so quote free and 234 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:21.440 imperial cities end quote that were subject only to the emperor. 235 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:26.440 These were mostly in the old heartland of the Empire, 236 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:30.799 to the south and the west. They were also the 237 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:35.799 largest settlements in the Empire. Augsburg was the biggest, with 238 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:39.839 around forty eight thousand inhabitants. At the time, it was 239 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:45.359 around four times the size of Berlin. Several other cities, 240 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:51.599 including Nuremberg and Hamburg, had around forty thousand people each. 241 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:57.200 After these major cities were the smaller but still critical 242 00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:02.279 population centers like Frankfurt and Achan, which had about half 243 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:07.079 as many people. The majority of the smaller cities only 244 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:12.400 held around four thousand people each. However, these cities were 245 00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:18.039 incredibly independent because their only lord was the emperor. Their 246 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:23.319 direct relationship with imperial authority gave these free cities a 247 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:28.759 tremendous amount of power and made them economic powerhouses because 248 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:35.759 no nearby petty lord was siphoning off their profits. Now, 249 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:40.759 the Holy Roman Empire did have an imperial constitution. The 250 00:18:40.839 --> 00:18:45.559 constitution in part explained how power was supposed to be 251 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:51.200 shared between the emperor and his vassals. However, the constitution 252 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:55.920 was extremely hierarchical, and as a result, the rights and 253 00:18:55.960 --> 00:19:02.119 responsibilities under said constitution were shared unequally. The emperor was 254 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:08.680 the ultimate overlord, but his powers were left quite intentionally vague. 255 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:11.559 By the time we get to the Thirty Years War, 256 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:17.599 the emperorship was effectively dominated by the Habsburg family, but 257 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:21.920 it was not a hereditary position. The Holy Roman Emperor 258 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:26.920 had to be elected. It was possible for the emperor 259 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.839 to designate a successor, who, if he was acceptable to 260 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:34.519 the electors, gained the title of King of the Romans. 261 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:38.160 This was kind of like the Prince of Wales in England. 262 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:40.200 But I don't want you to think that this was 263 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:44.200 some kind of democracy. The emperor was considered to have 264 00:19:44.599 --> 00:19:49.799 quote unquote princely qualities, so the position was not opened 265 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:56.720 to anyone. The growth of Habsburg resources made that dynasty 266 00:19:56.759 --> 00:20:01.440 the obvious choice, since imperial prerogatives confer executive authority but 267 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:03.920 supplied very few means by which you might put that 268 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:08.480 authority into effect. The electors expected the emperor to use 269 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:11.480 his own lands to fund not only his personal court 270 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:15.319 and imperial institutions, but also much of the defense of 271 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:18.839 the empire against the Ottomans and of course other later 272 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:24.240 Christian enemies. However, they recognized that changes in warfare made 273 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:28.319 this impossible without at least saw assistance from the rest 274 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:32.559 of the Empire. The princes and cities accepted this. The 275 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:37.200 willingness to contribute imperial taxes became sort of the criteria 276 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:41.680 for imperial power, marking them out from all the other 277 00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:48.039 lords and towns that merely paid into territorial treasuries. Imperial 278 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:53.640 contributions later became known as quote unquote Roman months. It 279 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:56.640 was named so after the cost of the escort that 280 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:59.720 was intended to take Charles the Fifth to his coronation 281 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:05.480 in Rome. Each territory was assessed a tax according to 282 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:08.200 a scale fixing its share of a single month's pay 283 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:13.240 for twenty four thousand soldiers. Taxes could be raised as 284 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:17.319 fractions or multiples of this basic quota. They might be 285 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:21.400 levied either as a one off payment or spread across 286 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:25.920 several months, even years. The Empire did have a sort 287 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:29.920 of representative body in addition to the executive authority held 288 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:35.200 by the Emperor. This was called the Reichstog, but the 289 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:40.640 Reichstog was not a parliament in the traditional sense. Essentially, 290 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:46.680 whether a territory got representation in the Reichstog was determined 291 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:49.599 by whether or not it was on the official tax 292 00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:55.000 registry in fifteen twenty one. The Reichstag could not constrain 293 00:21:55.079 --> 00:21:58.319 the Emperor in the way the English Parliament might constrain 294 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:02.039 the actions of James the First, but the Emperor was 295 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:07.559 supposed to consult his leading subjects on important matters. True 296 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:11.160 to the hierarchical nature of the Empire, there were three 297 00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:18.039 separate colleges in the Reichstag, Electors, princes, and city. Each 298 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:23.640 college or part took its decision by a simple majority vote. 299 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:27.759 Once a mutually acceptable decision had been worked out between 300 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:31.720 the three colleges, a collective decision was presented to the 301 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:36.519 Emperor as a quote unquote recommendation. He was free to 302 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:40.960 accept it or reject it. If he accepted it, it 303 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:45.319 was called an imperial recess. By the time of the 304 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:49.200 war in sixteen eighteen, working with the reichs Dog had 305 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:52.519 become the only effective way the Emperor could secure a 306 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:57.440 binding agreement on all of his territories. As a result, 307 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:03.359 the Reichstag met fairly regularly, voting consistently, for example, to 308 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:07.759 support the war against the Ottomans. In fourteen ninety five, 309 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:12.720 the reichs Dog declared a perpetual public peace, requiring the 310 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:17.160 Emperor and all his vassals submit their disagreements to a 311 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:24.000 new imperial court called the Reichschmergate. Note I did not 312 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:30.680 take German in high school. This new well court was 313 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:34.480 set up in the imperial city of Spire. This was 314 00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:37.440 not a court, though in the traditional sense. Its job 315 00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:41.200 wasn't to determine guilt or innocence, but rather to search 316 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:47.640 and find a mutually agreeable solution to problems. It has however, 317 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:52.480 been largely blamed for failing to secure agreements to issues 318 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:55.960 that led to the Thirty Years War. If the court 319 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:59.319 came to a decision, it was enforced by lesser courts 320 00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:03.079 throughout the md Empire, backed up by the Emperor himself. 321 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:07.960 Except in his dynastic lands, the Emperor had little direct 322 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:11.640 say over the lives of his imperial subjects, or were 323 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:15.079 always under the control of one or more territorial lords. 324 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:19.680 As imperial estate members, the territorial lords enjoyed their own 325 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:23.160 special set of liberties, marking them out from their subjects 326 00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:26.640 and their vassals. These liberties gave them the privilege of 327 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:30.720 being consulted by the Emperor and a sharing collective governance, 328 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:35.400 but they also brought the responsibility of defending the rights 329 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:39.480 and autonomies of their territories and peoples. Here's where the 330 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:42.960 checks and balances of the imperial system of government are 331 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:48.119 most evident. Each lord or prince sought to maintain his 332 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:52.880 or her particular place within the imperial hierarchy. No one ever, 333 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:57.079 and I do mean ever, thought of independence. Even the 334 00:24:57.200 --> 00:25:01.960 largest electors lacked the resources for an independent political existence. 335 00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:06.799 All the rulers derived their authority and status from membership 336 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:11.680 of the Empire, setting themselves apart from aristocrats in other 337 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:16.599 countries who were the subjects of mere kings. As Imperial 338 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:21.559 Estate members, they were distinguished between the emperor and the Empire. 339 00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:24.839 They were loyal to both, but their ties to the 340 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:29.519 Emperor remained highly personal, whereas ties to the Empire were 341 00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:34.319 collective and more corporate in nature. In fifteen sixty two, 342 00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:39.279 when Maximilian the Second was crowned, marked the last time 343 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:44.240 that all the electors attended the vote in person. From 344 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:48.240 that point on, electors by and large sent trained lawyers 345 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:53.119 who acted as delegates. The election of an emperor was 346 00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:57.559 always portrayed, like that of a pope, as a unanimous decision. 347 00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:02.720 Now in the end, the Empire was a cumbersome legal 348 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:08.079 patchwork that made decisive action difficult, but it did make 349 00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:13.000 the entire structure stronger because it allowed local interests to 350 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:17.880 be overseen by local actors. Thus it was much more 351 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:23.799 federal in nature than England or Spain. Critically, while the 352 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:27.599 inhabitants of the Empire might fight over the interpretation of 353 00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:32.559 the imperial and constitution, no one ever disputed its right 354 00:26:32.599 --> 00:26:37.839 to exist. It was that overriding belief that the Empire 355 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:41.960 was in the end good for Central Europe. That gave 356 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:46.960 it the strength to endure the horrific war that was 357 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:52.160 about to unfold. Now. Next week I want to dive 358 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:55.759 into the religious divisions within the Empire that are very 359 00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:58.720 much going to play a massive role in the war 360 00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:02.400 to come between now and then. If you'd like more 361 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:05.039 Western Sieve, check out the link in the show notes. 362 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:08.279 You can get a free trial to Western SIV two 363 00:27:08.359 --> 00:27:11.319 point zero and get caught up to speed in really 364 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:15.079 great detail, all about the ongoings of the decline and 365 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:17.000 fall of the Roman Republic.