Episode 228 – The Princes and the Emperor
In 1500 the imperial estates stripped the Maximilian I of power. Why did they create their own imperial government? And did it work?
Episode 225 – The Ewige Landfrieden (Public Peace) of 1495
Maximilian I declared an eternal public peace In 1495 and established two courts, that shaped the unique relationship Germans have with the law
Episode 80 – A different kind of Emperor
The constitutions of Melfi of 1231 were the most advanced, most modern law in the Middle Ages foreshadowing Machiavelli and Hobbes
Episode 79 – Return to Sicily
In 1220-28 Frederick II breaks the power of the barons, expels the Pisans and Genoese and creates the Muslim colony in Lucera
Episode 77 – A Nail in the Coffin
The reign of Frederick II in Germany from 1212 to1220 drives both a real and a metaphorical nail in the coffin of Charlemagne
Episode 55 – The Laws of Roncaglia
Milan defeated and the other Italian communes brought into submission, Barbarossa begins a process aimed at establishing Roman Law and the Authority of the (Roman) emperors
Episode 52 – The Honour of The Empire
Barbarossa will boost the honour of the empire by burning cities, hanging heretics, slaughtering rabble-rousing Romans and inventing the concept of the university.
Episode 160 – The Golden Bull of 1356
“Every realm that is divided internally will go to ruin, for its princes have become the comrades of thieves. The Lord has poured out the spirit of deceit among them, so that they grope about at midday as though in darkness, and He has withdrawn the light from their dwellings, so that they are blind and leaders of the blind. And those who wander in the dark run into things, and those who are blind of spirit bring about evil deeds, which occur in disunity. [..]
So begins one of the most important constitutional documents of the Holy Roman Empire, the Golden Bull of 1356. But what did it actually say, and even more important, what did it not say and how does it fit into the context of the history of the Holy Roman Empire. That is what we are going to discuss in this episode.
Episode 151 – Kurverein zu Rhens
This week we look at the central intellectual debate of the 14th century, did Jesus own property? If yes, then it was right and proper that the church owned land, privileges, entire counties and duchies, yes that the pope was not just the spiritual but also the secular ruler of all of Christianity. And if not, then the pope as a successor to the apostles should rescind all worldly possessions and all political power.