The Holy Roman Empire

The double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire adorns a well-known restaurant in the Kaiserstuhl  area of Baden, Germany: up to 1806 part of the Holy Roman Empire (and Austria)

The Holy Roman Empire: A Short History

By Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger

Translated by Yair Mintzker

Princeton University Press

Princeton, 2018

Some years ago, I attended a conference of lawyers  in Salzburg. I was walking through the streets of that magical city with a professor from an American law school, who marveled at the great architecture surrounding us.   I informed him there was a reason for this: Salzburg in the past had been not a provincial Austrian city. but the capital of a substantial principality of the Holy Roman Empire. That fascinated him: “the Holy Roman Empire…. the Holy Roman Empire….” he kept saying to himself as we continued our walk.

Yes, it is a mysterious entity,  this Holy Roman Empire, which existed in one form or another between 800/962 and 1806. Throughout  most of this time it was closely linked with Germany- only for a period in the 13th century did the center of gravity shift to Italy.

Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger has written, as the title indicates, a “short history” of the Holy Roman Empire – actually only of its last three centuries. 1) It covers the period ca. 1490 to 1806 – when the Empire had been  “repurposed” as a German national kingdom. But this transformation was never complete. Central Europe never become another France or United Kingdom. This history it is more a constitutional or structural history – Prof. Stollberg-Rilinger emphasizes less what the Empire actually did.

But these last three centuries of the Empire, even if a period of weakness compared to the Empire‘s  medieval golden years, was still an era of real political accomplishments. The Holy Roman Empire was directly involved in all the major events of Europe; its diffuse structure enabled the Protestant Reformation to take root. But, paradoxically, this same lack of unity enabled Catholicism to survive in Germany – especially in the imperial or Austrian lands that had remained Catholic. From roughly 1480 to 1720 the Empire led the defense of the West against the Ottoman Turks, a struggle in which the German lands – not Poland  – did the overwhelming share of the fighting. These wars culminated in the recovery of  all of Hungary for Christendom.

The Empire’s political  complexity and religious antagonisms led to the catastrophe of the Thirty Years War. Yet from the low point of 1648 – the end of that struggle – the Empire recovered to lead the defense against France in the West, Sweden in the North and the Ottoman Turks in the East. By 1718 German princes occupied the thrones of Great Britain, Hungary and Poland. Denmark had become essentially a German state, and Sweden had its German possessions reduced to a fraction of their former size. It was a remarkable restoration! But soon thereafter came the conflict between Prussia and Austria, each of which disposed of resources dwarfing those of the Empire of which they were largely a part. Finally, the Empire collapsed under the blows of the French revolutionary armies and of Napoleon.

The Empire’s legacy in art, culture and architecture is overwhelming. “Take Germany’s best years(1660-1760)” as Ezra Pound put it.  Why is Prague today such an incomparable gem?- not because it is the capital of a third-rate Central European state, but because it served on several occasions as the de facto capital of the Holy Roman Empire. The same, of course, can be said of Vienna – only here the legacy of the Empire in obscured by 19th century construction. Beyond the imperial capitals, there are the architectural masterpieces of all the bewildering variety of the former estates of the Empire: the imperial abbeys ( e.g., Ottobeuren); the imperial cities (Rothenburg and Regensburg); and the prince-bishoprics (Bamberg and the above-mentioned Salzburg). And the achievements of these last imperial ages were not confined to architecture and the visual arts but embraced music, philosophy and, especially towards the end of this era, literature.

The study of the Holy Roman Empire takes on added significance in the light of the recent “Catholic Integralism” discussion. For the “Holy” Roman Empire is by definition characterized by a union of the temporal and the sacred.  It is a Catholic Empire. This did not necessarily earn it the approbation of 19th century and later ultramontanes. For the Empire was anything but a passive tool in the hands of the papacy.  For example, in the period covered by Prof. Stollberg-Rilinger,  Emperor Charles V, after sacking Rome in 1527, was instrumental in convening the Council of Trent against significant opposition in the Vatican. The Council assembled in Trent, a city, although not German-speaking, of the Empire. This religious dimension of the Empire, in my view,  does not receive a totally adequate  treatment in this book.

Although brief, this book may be relatively challenging for the American reader. It seems to presuppose a fairly good knowledge of German and Central European history, culture and geography – even if it does explain where Silesia is located or who Goethe is (presumably these are additions by  the translator).   With that reservation, The Holy Roman Empire: a Short History is a useful handbook enabling the reader to put in the proper political framework what are otherwise apparently unconnected religious, artistic and cultural developments. So, I notice it is offered for sale at the current exhibition Maximilian: the Last Knight at the Metropolitan Museum.

Regrettably the two forewords to this book are typical of present-day academia in Germany and the United States.  Prof.  Stollberg-Rilinger worries that  the methodology of her book could be interpreted as a “political move,” which is understandable given that her own foreword is largely devoted to the discussion of post–19^th century ideological issues.  Then there is the foreword of the translator. Yair Mintzker describes the book as targeting a “broad audience”  then devotes paragraphs to an exposition of the interrelationships among academics currently working in the field of the Holy Roman Empire.  Having translated a book often concerned with details of  terminology, he refers to the “Austrian Empress Maria Theresa.” And of course, like every American professor, he must utilize a discussion of the most remote topic to launch an attack on Trump. “Almost all Americans ” he informs us, “accept as legitimate  the election of Donald J. Trump.” How gracious of them to accept incontrovertible facts! You see, this was the product of  of a series of “fictions” that the outcome of elections represents the will of the people. Prof. Mintzker’s understanding of the purpose and workings of the United States constitution is decidedly limited.

But these things are of our time. I would hope the reader of The Holy Roman Empire: A Short History would be inspired by it to delve more deeply into a fascinating polity and its culture!

1. The original German title more accurately conveys the scope of the book: The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation: from the End of the Middle Ages to 1806.

The  imperial eagle in Colmar, Alsace (up to 1635 part of the Empire)