German Heiliges Römisches Reich
Realm of varying extent in medieval and modern western and central Europe.
Traditionally believed to have been established by Charlemagne , who was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in 800, the empire lasted until the renunciation of the imperial title by Francis II in 1806. The reign of the German Otto I (the Great), who greatly enlarged the empire and revived the imperial title after Carolingian decline, is sometimes regarded as the beginning of the empire. The name Holy Roman Empire (not adopted until the reign of Frederick I Barbarossa) reflected Charlemagne's claim that his empire was the successor of the Roman Empire and that this temporal power was augmented by his status as God's principal vicar in the temporal realm (parallel to the pope's in the spiritual realm). The empire's core consisted of Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Moravia. Switzerland, the Netherlands, and northern Italy sometimes formed part of it; France, Poland, Hungary, and Denmark were initially included, and Britain and Spain were nominal components. From the mid-11th century the emperors engaged in a great struggle with the papacy for dominance, and, particularly under the powerful Hohenstaufen dynasty (11381254), they fought with the popes over control of Italy. Rudolf I became the first Habsburg emperor in 1273, and from 1438 the Habsburg dynasty held the throne permanently. Until 1356 the emperor was chosen by the German princes; thereafter he was formally elected by the elector s. Outside their personal hereditary domains, emperors shared power with the imperial diet. During the Reformation the German princes largely defected to the Protestant camp, opposing the Catholic emperor, and, after 1562, emperors were no longer crowned by the pope. At the end of the Thirty Years' War , the Peace of Westphalia recognized the individual sovereignty of the empire's states; the empire thereafter became a loose federation of states and the title of emperor principally honorific. In the 18th century, issues of imperial succession resulted in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War . The greatly weakened empire was brought to an end by the victories of Napoleon . See also Guelphs and Ghibellines ; Investiture Controversy ; Concordat of Worms .