Episode 179 – Meanwhile in the Empire
The German Lands are in dire straits, the emperor goes from defeat to defeat, it is high time to kick off Imperial reform
Episode 166/167 – The Great Western Schism – Parts 1 and 2
The Great Western Schism produced first two and then three competing popes. But how did it actually come about?
Episode 165 – Wenceslaus the Lazy and Ruprecht of the Empty Pocket
When Wenceslaus father, the emperor Karl IV died in 1378, everything looked incredibly promising. But 22 years later his reign lay in ashes. How did that happen?
Episode 164 – Council of Constance and Hussite Revolt (1378-1437)
A 10,000 feet view of where we are in 1378, on the cusp of a transition from the Middle Ages to the early Modern Period
Episode 163 – Succession and Legacy
Karl IV had hugele expanded his possessions, stabilised the empire and scored some major international successes. But now it is time to talk about his Achilles heel, his obsession with his son and heir, Wenceslaus.
Episode 162 – Schisms and Deals
With the home front calm, the emperor can again assume a role on the European stage, setting in train seminal events that will reverberate across the centuries…
Episode 161 – A Luxemburg Empire
Subduing the princes never worked, so time to try a new strategy. Buy what you can, what you can’t, marry and only what resists, conquer.
Episode 160 – The Golden Bull of 1356
The Basic Law of the Holy Roman Empire? What does it actually say, what s new and most importantly, what is not in it.
Episode 159 – The Rise to Imperial Power
In just six years the new ruler, Karl IV rebuilds the Holy Roman Empire into a serious European power, respected by the pope, the Italians and even the king of France
Episode 158 – Prague – A new Rome
A new Rome was to rise on the shores of the Vitava River, a place adorned with churches and monasteries evoking the holiest places of Christianity and squares on such a monumental scale that reminds one more of the 19th century than the 14th. .