The Holy Roman Empire

structure
1. emperor
  1. had supreme power over all territories
  2. power came from own state
  3. was elected
  4. if a powerful territorial ruler therefore likely to be strong emperor
  5. few power of his own
2. imperial state
  1. the members were the greatest wealthiest and most powerful princes
  2. the imperial estates were the group of rulers of states and imperial cities who voted for the emperor
3. over time the empire becomes a federation of states in what is now germany
  1. the name changed in 1512 to the holy roman empire of the german nation
different states ruled by a range rulers, different languages and ethnicities
the holy roman emperor
1. few elections were consented
2. was supreme head
  1. the hierarchy of the empire and of christedom
3. they have weak imperial authority
  1. this causes problems for the emperor
    1. because individual princes had strong authorities in their own land
4. the title brings no extra power
  1. this comes from existing family power
5. relation with catholic church
  1. emperor could approve or reject pronouncements of the pope
  2. emperor would appoint commissioners
  3. therefore could be conflict between pope and emperor
6. not hereditary ending with death
electors and their powers
1. 3 spiritual
  1. the archbishop of mainz
  2. the archbishop of trier
  3. the archbishop of cologne
2. 4 lay electors
  1. the king of bohemia
  2. the count palantine of the rhine
  3. the electors of saxony
  4. the margrave of brandenburg
3. these electors chose the new emperor
developed from the middle ages. it was complex of territories in central europe
the imperial diet
1. a form of parliment
2. theory
  1. the imperial diet could make laws that overruled those of the territories within the empire
3. reality
  1. didn't really happen because member states also had certain isomers to make their own laws
4. who attends
  1. representing of all the lords of the empire
  2. the 52 imperial cities also sent representatives
5. important decisions were made at the diets because they were all the main forum to take place that involved all the different states of the holy roman empire
conclusion
1. was not a powerful centralised state

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The Holy Roman Empire

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	Created by Lucia Contreras over 4 years ago