Pope Augustus

The Holy Roman Empire, full name: Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation or Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation.

It was also defined by later Germans as the "First German Empire," and was linked to the later Second German Empire and Third German Empire.

The Holy Roman Empire was a product of the Middle Ages, yet it survived tenaciously until the 19th century.

In 962, Otto I, King of Germany, was crowned Roman Emperor by the Pope in Rome.

In 1157, Frederick I changed the country's name to the Holy Roman Empire.

For most of its history, the Empire was composed of hundreds of smaller subordinate units, including principalities, duchies, counties, and free cities.

Initially, it was a feudal empire where the Emperor held actual power, but by the 14th century, it evolved into a confederation that recognized the Emperor as the supreme authority.

The Electors were princes who had the right to elect the German Holy Roman Emperor.

The electoral system was implemented from the 13th century until 1806 when the Empire ceased to exist in all but name.

Initially, there were seven Electors: three ecclesiastical Electors—the Archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Trier—and four secular Electors—the Elector of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg, the Elector Palatine, and the King of Bohemia.

At its peak, the Empire's territory included modern-day Germany, Austria, northern and central Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.

Voltaire, the 18th-century French Enlightenment philosopher, famously described the Holy Roman Empire in "Essay on Customs" as "neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire," a phrase well-known to many history enthusiasts, but this brief remark could never encompass the entire Holy Roman Empire, which existed for nearly a millennium.

Taking words out of context is not advisable; when viewed in conjunction with the preceding text, Voltaire's assessment refers only to the Holy Roman Empire after Charles IV issued the Golden Bull in 1356.

Even so, this statement should not be taken as gospel.

Voltaire's views were always known for being fierce and sharp, including calling the Pope a "two-legged beast."

As an Enlightenment thinker, Voltaire adopted a completely negative attitude towards medieval history.

In Voltaire's writings, the Middle Ages were a time of intellectual chaos, ignorance, frequent warfare, and widespread suffering, and he believed this "Dark Age" had nothing commendable.

Considering Voltaire's negative attitude and preconceived notions about the Middle Ages, his evaluation of medieval history can hardly be considered objective or fair.

However, this statement is not entirely without merit; at least, it could accurately summarize the Holy Roman Empire during Voltaire's era.

The current Holy Roman Empire, perhaps, is just one step away from being "neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire," and that step is the Thirty Years' War.

The Thirty Years' War was a large-scale European conflict that evolved from an internal war within the Holy Roman Empire, and it was also the first pan-European war in history.

This war was a product of intensified conflicts among European nations vying for interests and hegemony, as well as religious disputes.

The war concluded with the defeat of the Habsburg Dynasty and the signing of the Peace of Westphalia.

Treaty contents:

1. Reaffirmed the validity of the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 and the Peace of Prague of 1635;

2. Recognized the legal status of Protestantism within the Holy Roman Empire, with Protestant and Catholic princes holding equal status within the Empire;

3. Each princely state within the Holy Roman Empire could determine its official religion, and subjects unwilling to convert were given a deadline to relocate; Calvinism was recognized as a legal religion by the Empire; the ownership of church property was based on the standard year of 1624, allowing property held before January 1, 1624, to be retained.

4. Each princely state within the Holy Roman Empire had diplomatic autonomy, provided it did not declare war on the Emperor or the imperial family; however, the Emperor still had no right to decide any major issues, such as declaring war, making peace, levying taxes, or conscripting troops.

5. Officially recognized the United Provinces of the Netherlands and Switzerland as independent states;

6. Parts of the Habsburg imperial territories were ceded to France, Sweden, and some Protestant princes within the Empire:

France gained the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun within Lorraine, and the entire Alsace except Strasbourg;

Sweden acquired Western Pomerania and the city of Wismar, along with the two bishoprics of Bremen-Verden; Brandenburg gained Eastern Pomerania and the bishoprics of Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Kammin, and Minden; Saxony acquired the Lusatia region; the Palatinate was divided into two, with the Catholic Upper Palatinate merging with Bavaria, and the Protestant Lower Palatinate maintaining its independence.

7. The election of the Holy Roman Emperor was not to take place during the lifetime of the incumbent Emperor, to prevent the Emperor from interfering with the results.

8. France and Sweden had representation in the Holy Roman Imperial Diet, and the Duke of Bavaria was elevated to Elector.

9. Sweden received 5 million Thalers in reparations from the Holy Roman Empire.

The Peace of Westphalia weakened the rule of the Habsburg Dynasty, deepened the political fragmentation of Germany, delineated the national borders of European countries, and altered the balance of political power in Europe.

At the same time, as the first multilateral treaty at the turn of Europe's medieval and modern history, the treaty is both the practical origin of modern international law and a milestone in the history of international relations.

The Westphalian system established by the Peace of Westphalia is the first international relations system in the modern sense.

The current Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (reigned 1576-1612) is traditionally considered an ineffective ruler, whose political blunders directly led to the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War.

He was also a loyal enthusiast of Renaissance art and was passionate about mystical arts and knowledge, which promoted the development of the scientific revolution.

He showed great interest in the art and science of his time, maintaining close contact with astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler, whom he successively appointed as royal astronomers to compile star tables.

Rudolf II was not a hateful tyrant, but he was not a good emperor either.

Perhaps he was born at the wrong time, or perhaps he was unfortunate enough to be born into a royal family.

Whether in other periods of the Holy Roman Empire or in most other countries at the time, an ineffective monarch (or, to put it nicely, one who governed by non-action) was always tolerated, and even welcomed by various factions.

However, at this particular time, the Holy Roman Empire desperately needed a strong monarch, and Rudolf II's mediocrity caused the Empire to miss its last chance for salvation, sealed his own tragic end, and inevitably left him with a huge scapegoat.

In fairness, whether the situation of the Holy Roman Empire at this time could have been reversed by the monarch's personal ability is debatable.

However, there is no dispute that Rudolf III's ability to govern the country was truly poor.

Because Rudolf was unwilling to compromise with the Ottoman Empire and stubbornly believed he could unite all Christian nations through a new crusade, he began a war with the Ottoman in 1593, which lasted until 1606.

During this period, a rebellion broke out in Hungary, which he ruled, in 1604.

In 1605, Rudolf was compelled by other members of his family to hand over the administration of Hungarian affairs to his brother, Matthias.

Matthias painstakingly reached peace agreements with both the Hungarian rebels and the Ottoman in 1606.

Rudolf was very angry about this, believing that Matthias's huge concessions were merely to maintain his own power, and thus prepared to resume war with the Ottoman.

However, Matthias gained the support of the Hungarian rebels, forcing Rudolf to cede the thrones of Hungary, Austria, and Moravia to him.

At the same time, Bohemian Protestants seized the opportunity to demand more religious freedom.

Rudolf signed documents in 1609 to satisfy their demands, granting religious freedom and privileges to the Protestant nobles of Bohemia and Silesia.

This action became the fuse for the Thirty Years' War, which began later in 1618.

Although the Bohemians' demands were met, they pressed for even more freedom.

Rudolf had no choice but to send troops to suppress them, and the Bohemians, in turn, sought help from Matthias.

Matthias imprisoned Rudolf in Prague Castle until Rudolf ceded the Bohemian throne to Matthias in 1611.

Nine months after being stripped of all real power by his brother, Rudolf died on January 20, 1612, leaving only the empty title of Holy Roman Emperor.

Matthias succeeded Rudolf to the imperial throne on June 13, 1612.

In any case, Rudolf III's current reign is a good thing; at least for a short time, the Holy Roman Empire will not undertake any major actions or dangerous attempts.