The Holy Roman Empire is neither holy nor Roman, nor is it an empire— Voltaire
The period of the Holy Roman Empire began in 962 AD after the succession and coronation of King Otto I of Germany, until the rise of Napoleon in 1806, the Holy Roman Empire disappeared from history, in this long history, the emergence of the Holy Roman Empire laid the foundation for the growth of the feudal system in European history, but it was also because of the feudal system that the entire empire has been in a state of disintegration from the beginning of its birth, the emperor's throne has been circulating among the dukes of the various grand duchies, and the imperial power is almost useless.
Otto I
It can be seen that Voltaire said such a thing, it is not incomprehensible, although there are also several generations of Holy Roman Emperors dedicated to the revitalization of imperial power, especially since the Habsburg family of Rudolf I ascended to the throne, always to revitalize the imperial power as their own responsibility, but there is no way to spend it, the imperial power is declining day by day, and even in the 17th century triggered the Thirty Years' War, the final result of the war is that the Holy Roman Empire is completely useless, and the Habsburg family, dominated by the Grand Duke of Austria, can only be regarded as the German king.
The champions of imperial power, the Habsburgs
How to revitalize the imperial power, this is what every generation of Habsburg kings want to do, although since the 14th century, the Habsburg family has lost the throne for a period of time, but the mission of revitalizing the family and the empire, has always been passed on within the family, until the 15th century to regain the imperial inheritance, in order to win more support, habsburgs and the major principalities began to marry, by deepening the connection between each other, to achieve the heavy responsibility of maintaining the imperial inheritance.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the marriage strategy of the Habsburgs</h1>
Charles V's father was Philip I, Crown Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and his mother was Juana, who had the royal blood of Spain (Castile), because of the marriage, Philip I became the king of the Castile dynasty, so that Charles V was born with the inheritance rights of the king of Spain (kingdom of Castile), but this marriage was not satisfactory, although Juana later gave birth to several children for Philip I, but the marriage between them was actually a failure of politics.
Queen Isabella I of Spain with her husband Ferdinand (Juana's parents)
The political struggle between the kingdom of Spain is very fierce, coupled with the misfortune of marriage, Juana's spirit has a great problem, and the strength of grandpa Ferdinand, it is difficult to talk about any family affection between the whole family, but although Ferdinand later committed to marriage with the King of France, he failed to give birth to an heir, and when his father and even his grandfather died one after another, Charles V was able to inherit the throne of the Kingdom of Castile as the eldest son of his father and mother.
Juana the Mad Woman and Her Husband Philip I (Parents of Charles V)
However, in terms of blood relations, Charles V is much more complicated, his father is of Austrian Grand Duke (Habsburg) blood, and his mother is of Spanish royal blood, and Philip I once inherited part of the Duchy of Burgundy from his grandfather, so although he was later king of Spain, he lived in his own territory for many years, Charles V also lived in that place since childhood, and after the death of his father, Charles V also took over this inheritance.
Charles V and his heir Philip I (son)
In fact, the Habsburg family's control of the various principalities through marriage has basically been realized, although Charles V encountered some troubles in the succession of the Kingdom of Spain, but eventually succeeded to the throne of Spain, and later with the death of his grandfather, Charles V also took over the title of Grand Duke of Austria from his grandfather, and a large area of territory including the original Austria was assigned to the rule of the Kingdom of Spain.
In the 13th century, Charles IV of Luxembourg issued the Golden Edict
However, in fact, Charles V's grandfather Maximilian I also had a double identity, which was the identity of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but it was really difficult to inherit this identity, because since Charles IV of the Luxembourg Dynasty issued a golden edict in the 14th century, giving the right to elect the emperor to the elector, the Austrian Archduke did not have the status of elector, and among the people who succeeded the emperor at that time, in addition to charles V, there was King François I of France.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the confrontation between Spain and France and the rise of the Ottoman Turkish Empire</h1>
King François I of France is a very accomplished monarch in French history, but also a beloved monarch, but living in the same era as Charles V, which can not be said to be a sadness, after the death of Maximilian I, he and Charles V jointly competed for the emperor's throne, but Charles V has the support of a consortium behind him, and after bribing the elector, Charles V successfully inherited the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor.
King François I of France
As we have said before, the throne of the Holy Roman Empire should actually be regarded as a chicken rib, the emperor does not have the actual authority to administer the principalities themselves, but it is tasteless and discarded, after all, it has nominal monarchical power, and there is a conflict of interest between Austria and France (in 1494, King Charles VIII of France launched the Italian War to challenge the hegemony of the Spanish Kingdom in Italy, and was defeated by the union of the Holy Roman Empire Maximilian I and the Spanish Kingdom Ferdinand). In 1521, the two sides were intensified, and a fierce war broke out between Charles V and François, with François I wanting to take back Milan and Charles V wanting to take back Burgundy.
The war between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of France
In the end, François I was defeated and captured and had to sign a humiliating treaty, and although François I secured the rule of the French kingdom through marriage and a series of strategies, he also lost the opportunity to compete with Charles V. In 1453, the Ottoman Turkish Empire expanded, after the destruction of the Byzantine Empire, and western European principalities, kingdoms began to border, the Ottoman Turkish Empire military strength is very strong, to the Western European countries posed a huge threat, at the time Charles V, the Ottoman Turkish Empire is their greatest threat to these Western European countries.
The rise of the Ottoman Turkish Empire
Although François I had used the power of the Ottoman Empire against Charles V, he had to admit this problem of relations between the enemy and us. In order to counter the rise of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, Charles V believed that unless the countries of Western Europe and the left were united, it was absolutely impossible to be a rival to the Ottoman Turkish Empire, but for this unification, Charles V always had a different idea from the previous monarchs, if you want to unite these countries in Western Europe, then it is bound to launch a war, just like François I, but this will definitely weaken the strength of the principalities and is not conducive to resistance to Turkey.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the ideal of "negotiated" unity rather than dominant unification</h1>
So what to do? Charles V put forward a new political point of view in 1521, the idea of the unification of countries to establish a non-ruling empire, to put it bluntly, through the continuous consultation of various countries, jointly form a united family, so that it is bound to be recognized by all the monarchs of Europe, how to get a recognition, Charles V threw out two basic views, the first is the common enemy of the Ottoman Empire, and the second is the common religious factor.
Charles V wanted to concentrate all his forces against the Ottoman Turkish Empire
From this point of view, Charles V, in various public occasions, has always unremittingly promoted his political ambitions, for which he has stood against the Reformation, insisted on opposing the peaceful coexistence of Protestantism and Catholicism, used the relationship between the religious beliefs of various countries, established a coordinated empire, advocated consulting with various countries to deal with imperial affairs, and unanimously fought with the Ottoman Empire, in fact, Charles V did achieve great success. He became the most influential monarch in Europe since the 16th century.
The ideal of a consultative kingdom
However, since the death of Charles V, with the gradual weakening of his influence, the desire to build a coordinated empire has finally failed, first from internal and external obstacles, France François I did not approve of this plan, he was a french nationalist advocate, did not allow his country to integrate into other empires; the strength of the Ottoman Empire (the two sides in the late war showed a weak state, had to sign a peace treaty), and the idea of recovering territory within the German kingdom did not allow such a idea to be realized.
The influence of the Western Reformation
At the same time, the Reformation also caused a division in the Catholic Church, which lasted for nearly 500 years, although the Reformation itself was committed to the emancipation of the people's minds, promoted the pluralism of social development, and laid the foundation for capitalism to enter the historical stage, but this reform also promoted the collapse of the old social system, especially the ruler of the feudal system represented by Charles V, who was also deeply exhausted in his later years, and finally ceded the throne to his brother. It is said that he may have suffered from mental illness.