Question

The area once ruled by charlemange in the 9th century CE became later known as the Holy Roman Empire because of its relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. What may have prevented this from being a considered a true empire by some?

Answer 1

Some view the Holy Roman Empire as not a true empire due to its political fragmentation, lack of centralized authority, and the elective nature of its monarchy, leading to a patchwork of semi-autonomous principalities and limiting the emperor's power.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Holy Roman Empire, founded in the 9th century CE by Charlemagne, has often been challenged in its status as a true empire. Several factors may have prevented the Holy Roman Empire from being considered a true empire by some. Despite being united under the emperor in name, the empire was marked by political fragmentation and lacked the centralized authority characteristic of a traditional empire.

At the core of this fragmentation was the empire's electoral system for choosing emperors, which was vastly different from the hereditary succession in other European kingdoms, such as France and England. This system gave rise to a collection of semi-autonomous principalities, each with their rulers, which ultimately resulted in a decentralized political structure. The emperor's power was also constrained by his reliance on the approval of the electors and the pope, making it difficult to exercise uniform control across the diverse territories.

Moreover, the lack of a common currency, legal system, or representative assembly across the empire further epitomized its decentralized nature. By the end of the fourteenth century, the Holy Roman Empire comprised over one hundred principalities, each with varying levels of power and autonomy.