List of states in the Holy Roman Empire explained

This list of states in the Holy Roman Empire includes any territory ruled by an authority that had been granted imperial immediacy, as well as many other feudal entities such as lordships, sous-fiefs, and allodial fiefs.

The Holy Roman Empire was a complex political entity that existed in central Europe for most of the medieval and early modern periods and was generally ruled by a German-speaking Emperor. The states that composed the Empire, while enjoying a form of territorial authority called Landeshoheit that granted them many attributes of sovereignty, were never fully sovereign states in the sense that term is understood presently.[1]

In the 18th century, the Holy Roman Empire consisted of approximately 1,800 such territories, the majority being tiny estates owned by the families of Imperial Knights.[2] This page does not directly contain the list but discusses the format of the various lists and offers some background to understand the complex organisation of the Holy Roman Empire. The lists themselves can be accessed via the alphabetical navigation box below; each letter will lead the reader to a page on which states of the Empire that began with that letter are listed.

Table of states

While any such list could never be definitive, the list attempts to be as comprehensive as possible. It is sorted alphabetically and split into separate articles linked below. There is also a separate list of Free Imperial Cities and a list of participants in the Imperial Diet as of 1792.

Key

CirclesBenches
AustAustrianELCouncil of Electors, the exclusive elite formally electing the Holy Roman Emperor
BavBavarianECSpiritual Bench of the Council of Princes (individual voice)
BurgBurgundianPRSecular Bench of the Council of Princes (individual voice)
El RhinElectoral Rhenish CircleRPRhenish prelates (Council of Princes)
FrancFranconianSPSwabian prelates (Council of Princes)
Low RhenLower Rhenish-WestphalianFCFranconian counts (Council of Princes)
Low SaxLower SaxonSCSwabian counts (Council of Princes)
Upp RhinUpper RhenishWEWestphalian counts (Council of Princes)
Upp SaxUpper SaxonWTWetterau counts (Council of Princes)
SwabSwabianRHRhenish Bench of the Council of Imperial Cities
None"Circle-free"SWSwabian Bench of the Council of Imperial Cities
Note that in the "Circle" column, "n/a" denotes a state that had ceased to exist before the Reichsreform. Other abbreviations used in the list are:

Definition of terms

See also: Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire and Lehnsmann.

the territory ruled by a bishop as a prince.

In 1495, an attempt was made at a Diet in the city of Worms to give the disintegrating Holy Roman Empire a new structure, commonly referred to as Imperial Reform (in German: Reichsreform).

any ruling Prince whose territory is a member of the Holy Roman Empire (not only German-speaking countries, but also many bordering and extensive neighbouring regions) and entitled to a voting seat (or in a collective voting unit, such as a Grafenbank) in the Imperial Diet.

the transfer of property from ecclesiastical to civil possession or use.[3]

Notes column

The "Notes" column shows, in capsule form,

Estate of the Empire (Reichsstand)

The following excerpt from François Velde's Unequal and Morganatic Marriages in German Law provides an excellent overview on what an Estate (or State) of the Empire is.[4] For his purpose, the author deals only with the hereditary territorial rulers but it should be remembered that the Estates also included a substantial number of non-hereditary territorial rulers such as the ecclesiastical states (prince-bishoprics and imperial abbeys) and free imperial cities.

Grouped lists

The following lists are going to be included into the table above.

Ecclesiastical orders

Livonian territories

Territories of old princely families

Italian territories

Territories of new princely families

Religious leagues

Political leagues

See also

Further reading

In English

In other languages

Maps and illustrations

External links

Notes and References

  1. Gagliardo, G., Reich and Nation, The Holy Roman Empire as Idea and Reality, 1763–1806, Indiana University Press, 1980, p. 4-5.
  2. Gagliardo, p. 12-13.
  3. Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1989
  4. François Velde: Unequal and Morganatic Marriages in German Law. 2004–2007. Retrieved 2012 October 09.

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