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The Structure of the Holy Roman Empire The Empire was made up of sub-units, either territories or people. They can be classified according to several related but distinct dichotomies:
These distinctions will be explained below and their relationships explored. A. Geographical Structure: External Boundaries of the Empire The external boundaries of the Empire varied over time. In particular, the western boundary shifted many times eastward, as French kings encroached on the Empire as they enlarged their domains. Thus Provence (1246), Dauphiné (1349), the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, Verdun (1558), Alsace (1648), Franche-Comté (1678), Lorraine (1736), the west bank of the Rhine (1801) were incorporated into France, losses that were eventually acknowledged by the Emperors. There were losses elsewhere: the Swiss cantons, practically independent of their Habsburg overlords since the Middle Ages, were formally set free at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Empire itself consisted of Imperial lands (Reichsländer) properly speaking, and neighbouring lands. The latter category included Lorraine, Burgundy, and Lombardy. Bohemia was part of the Imperial lands because its king was an elector, but its status as a kingdom was unique within the empire. When the elector of Brandenburg became king of Prussia, he was so only in his lands lying outside of the Empire. The exact status of Northern Italy within the Empire became rather confused over time. By the 18th century, what remained formally were a collection of imperial fiefs of various sizes: 13 in Lombardy (including the duchies of Milan, Mantua, Monferrat, the principality of Mirandola, the Gonzaga territories), 19 in Liguria, 20 in the region of Bologna (including the duchies of Modena and Ferrara), 10 in Tuscany (the grand-duchy of Tuscany, Piombino, Soramo, Comacchio) and 11 in Tirnisani. Internal Units of the Empire The territorial components of the Empire fell into one of the following categories:
Independently of the above classification, territories can also be classified into feudal and allodial. A feudal territory was held from the Emperor as a fief, that is, by virtue of a certain type of contract. In exchange for enjoyment of the territory, the vassal owed certain duties, and was subject to certain restrictions and oversight of the Emperor. An allodial territory was a territory for which no feudal contract existed. It was subject to the emperor as sovereign but not to the emperor as overlord. A territory was presumed to be allodial unless shown otherwise. The term "free", also applied to certain counties, indicated that the territory was allodial. Major ecclesiastical territories were typically allodial. Under Maximilian I the imperial states had been organized in Imperial Circles (Reichskreise). The original 6 Circles of 1500 (Swabia, Bavaria, Franconia, upper Saxony, lower Saxony, Westphalia) were increased in 1512 to 10 (Austria, Rhine, Saxony, Burgundy). The role of the circles was to serve as administrative units in the enforcement of imperial law and order. Each was headed by a prince as Kreisoberst, and regional assemblies called Kreistage were held (which could include territories that were not imperial states). The Imperial Circles in 1789 This list (based on Arenberg 1951) shows the territories arranged by Reichskreis, with some indication of the relative size of the Kreise. Österreichischer Kreis - Austrian Circle Figures: pop: 4.8m, area: 2565 sq mi
Burgundischer Kreis - Burgundian Circle
Figures: pop: 2.0m, area: 470 sq mi
Note: within Brabant was the Duchy of Aerschot (baronies of Aerschot, Bierbeek, Rotselaer and Héverlé) belonging to the duke of Arenberg. Kurrheinischer Kreis - Circle of the Rhenish Electorates Figures: pop: 1.185m, area: 460 sq mi
Hoch-rheinischer Kreis - Upper-Rhenish Circle Figures: pop: 1.17m, area: 500 sq mi
Schwäbischer Kreis - Swabian Circle Figures: pop: 2.0m, area: 730 sq mi
Bayrischer Kreis - Bavarian Circle Figures: pop: 1.198m, area: 1200 sq mi
Frankischer Kreis - Franconian Circle Figures: pop: 1.1m, area: 485 sq mi
Hohersächsicher Kreis - Circle of Upper Saxony Figures: pop: 4.0m, area: 2000 sq mi
Niedersächsicher Kreis - Circle of Lower Saxony Figures: pop: 2.25m, area: 1280 sq mi
Westphalischer Kreis - Westphalian Circle Figures: pop: 2.3m, area: 1250 sq mi
Other Territories of the Empire The Circles did not include all territories of the Empire: notably, Bohemia (pop: 2.9m, area 982 sq mi), Moravia (Mähren; pop: 1.2m, 468 sq mi), Lusatia (0.45m, 180 sq mi) and a number of others totalling 0.25m and 200 sq mi. B. Political Structure: Sovereignty of the Empire
The motley and variable collection of powers and rights held by rulers of territories within the Empire were collectively known as sovereignty (Landeshoheit, Landesherrlichkeit, Landesobrigkeit, Landesfürstlichkeit, jus territoriale). This covered a number of substantially different rights:
These rights were possessed to varying degrees, and there were disputes over who was sovereign and who wasn't. Definitive signs of sovereignty were the right to collect taxes, the receipt of homage from the inhabitants, the existence of local estates representing knights, prelates and cities; and above all jurisdiction in first instance and appeal in civil cases. Curiously, jurisdiction over criminal cases, and even the ability to impose death sentences (Blutbann) was not in of itself a sign of sovereignty. Jurisdiction included not just the ability to rule in particular cases, but also the ability to publish general rules, in other words legislate. The legislative ability was somewhat constrained by the overall framework of imperial legislation which it could not contradict, but the latter served mainly to complement the local legislation. Sovereignty was considered to be bestowed by the Emperor, and its possession to result from an investiture by the Emperor. This was true of imperial fiefs, which were themselves granted by investiture, but also of allodial lands. The right to receive the investiture was nevertheless attached to the land, and could not be denied by the Emperor. Sovereignty was exercised: by hereditary lords, by elected prelates, by municipal governments. It could pass by inheritance, testament, investiture, infeoffment, or even sale or lien. Its possession or enjoyment did not require noble status. It could be owned jointly in condominium. Immediate and Mediate Status Whether or not an individual, an institution or an area was directly subject to the emperor's authority defined the status of "immediate" and "mediate" subject of the Empire (reichsunmittelbar, reichsmittelbar). This distinction has nothing to do with being noble or commoner: for example, a number of high officials in the imperial courts and the chancery were immediate, whether noble or not. The status of immediate subject was also distinct from that of state of the Empire: there were many immediate territories that were not states of the Empire, and there could be states that were not immediate. Examples of tiny immediate territories include the villages of Goschheim and Seenfald near Schweinfurt, the four villages of Kahldorf, Petersbach, Biburg, and Wangen, some farms in Upper Swabia, etc. The status of immediate subject of the emperor could be held by an institution, such as the Schoppenstuhl in Aachen. Knights of the Holy Roman Empire The Knights of the Empire (Reichsrittern) were nobles whose direct overlord was the Emperor, remnants of the medieval Edelfrei and Ministerialen who never achieved status of upper nobility. To protect their rights, they organized themselves into three unions (Partheien) in the late 15th century and into a single Corpus in 1577, and fought hard to win recognition. Their immediate status was recognized at the Peace of Westphalia. They never gained access to the Reichstag, and were not considered Hochadel. In 1650 they organized themselves into three circles, subdivided into cantons:
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