Germans I

Germanic tribes 100BC – 370AD

The ethno-genesis of the Germanic tribes is assumed to have occurred during the Nordic Bronze Age, or at the latest during the pre-Roman Iron Age.

From their homes in modern southern Scandinavia and northern Germany the tribes began expanding south, east and west in the 1st century BC, coming into contact with the Celtic tribes of Gaul, as well as with Iranian, Baltic, and Slavic cultures in Central/Eastern Europe.

The Goths and the Vandals drive the Balts east along the coast of the Baltic. Other Germanic tribes press south along the Rhine as far as the Danube, forcing the Helvetii - a Celtic tribe - to take refuge among the Swiss mountains. The Teutones even strike so far south as to threaten Roman armies in southern France and northern Italy.

Magna Germania 50BC - 370AD

The concept of Germany as a distinct region in central Europe can be traced to Roman commander Julius Caesar (100–44 BC), who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as Germania, thus distinguishing it from Gaul (France), which he had conquered by 50 BC. This usage of the word is the origin of the modern concept of Germanic languages.

The victory of the Germanic tribes in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD) prevented annexation by the Roman Empire and marking the beginning of recorded German history. By 100 AD, Germanic tribes had settled along the Roman frontier along the Rhine and the Danube (the Limes Germanicus).

Map of the Roman Empire and Magna Germania in the early 2nd century

The 3rd century saw the emergence of a number of larger confederations of the Germanic tribes of the Rhine and Danube. One of the new confederation, the Alamanni invaded Gaul and Italy in 271. Other were the Franks (includes Cherusci and Chatti) on the lower Rhine, Saxons and Frisians on the North Sea. Many of these groups took up sea-raiding.

The Goths were East Germanic confederation on the Danube River frontier known to the Romans from the 1st century AD. A reminder of remote origins remains in the name of the Gotland in the Baltic Sea, the Goths split into two groups as they migrated south across Central Europe. The Visigoths (West Goths) settled in modern Romania during the 2nd century. The Ostrogoths (East Goths) settled farther to the east on the northwest coast of the Black Sea.

Around 260, the Goths broke through the limes and the Danube frontier into Roman-controlled lands.

Migration and Conquest 370 – 800

The Huns, who were nomads from the Central Asian Steppes, headed westward and simulated the German migration. They show up north of the Black Sea around 370, crossed the Volga River and attacked the Alans, whom they subjugated. The Huns and Alans started plundering Gothic settlements near Balkans in 376.

After 376, the Goths, who had fled west from the Huns, were allowed to enter the Roman Empire. Goths crossed the Danube and settled in northern Thrace. On 378, the Battle of Adrianople fought between the Roman army and Gothic rebels resulted in the crushing defeat of the Romans.

Germanic tribes Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Suevi, Vandals, Burgundians, Lombards, Saxons and Franks were then pushed westwards by the Huns and Alans. They entered into the Roman Empire and took part in the decline of the empire and the fall of Western Roman Empire.

Suevi and Vandals

The Suevi along with the Vandals and Alans crossed the Rhine in 405. Their entrance into the Roman Empire was at a moment when the Roman West was experiencing a series of invasions and civil wars. The Kingdom of the Suebi (409-585) was one of the first kingdoms to separate from the Roman Empire and based in the former Roman provinces of Gallaecia. In 428, the Vandals and Alans crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into the North Africa, where they founded the Vandal kingdom (435-534).

Visigoths

In 409, the Visigoths sacked Rome under their king Alaric and then moved north into Gaul. The Romans gave them southwestern Gaul (today Aquitaine). They entered Hispania in 415. After conquering the disordered Suebic territories (485), the Visigothic Kingdom (418-720) eventually encompassed a great part of the Iberian Peninsula.

Burgundians

The Burgundians crossed the Rhine in 406, settled in the Roman province along the Middle Rhine until the crushing defeat by joined Roman and Hunnic troops in 436. The remaining Burgundians settled in the Sapaudia (today Savoy) region.

Hunnic Empire 434-455

The Huns then invaded the unoccupied part of present Germany by the 4th century. They formed a unified Hunnic Empire (434-455) under Attila the Hun (r. 445-453).

After the death of Attila the Hun in 453, however, former subjects soon united under the Gepids and Ostrogoths against the Huns and the Hunnic Empire collapsed in 455. The Pannonian basin then was occupied by the Gepids. Many of the remaining Huns were often hired as mercenaries by Constantinople.

Hunnic hegemony of Germany lasted until 469 after the collapse of the empire. The Ostrogoths and Lombards broke away from Hunnish rule and toward Italy late in the 5th and 6th century respectively.

Fall of Western Roman Empire 476

In 476, Western Roman Emperor Orestes refused the request of Germanic mercenaries in his service for lands in Italy. The dissatisfied mercenaries revolted. Germanic Roman general Odoacer captured and executed Orestes. Within weeks, Ravenna was captured which marked the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

In 480, Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno abolished the division of the Empire, making himself sole Emperor. It continued to exist for an additional thousand years centered at Byzantium (also known as Byzantine Empire).

Ostrogoths

The Ostrogoths were encouraged to invade Italy by the Eastern emperor. Under Theoderic, king of modern Switzerland and the Balkans already, the Ostrogoths entered Italy in 488, killed and replaced Odoacer in 493. The Ostrogothic Kingdom (493-553) reached its zenith under Theoderic the Great, stretching from modern France in the west into modern Serbia in the southeast, until its conquest by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian.

Under Theoderic the Great's rule, Italy for thirty years enjoyed peace. He governed two races at the same time, Romans and Goths, that although he himself was of the Arian sect, he nevertheless made no assault on the Catholic religion. The Goths were settled mostly in northern Italy, and kept themselves largely apart from the Roman population. Unlike the Visigoths or the Vandals, where there was considerable religious tolerance.

Lombards

In 568, the Lombards, led by King Alboin, moved from Pannonia and quickly overwhelmed the small Byzantine army left by Narses to guard Italy.

King Alboin ventured to recreate the barbarian Kingdom of the Lombards (568-774) in opposition to the Byzantine Empire and established his seat in Pavia (modern northern Italian region of Lombardy) in 572.

They broke the political unity of the Italian peninsula since the Roman conquest. They also conquered much of southern and central Italy by 570. The peninsula was now torn between the Lombards and Byzantines.

Over time, the Lombards gradually adopted Roman titles, names, and traditions. By the late 8th century, the Lombardic language, dress and hairstyles had all disappeared, their conversion to Catholicism was all but complete.

Saxons, Frisians, Anglo-Saxons

The new Frisians (later the Dutch people) and the remaining Saxons settled in present day northern Netherlands and Germany respectively, before they were conquered by the Carolingian Franks by 800.

The northern Netherlands received an influx of new migrants and settlers, mostly Saxons, but also Angles and Jutes (migrated from today Denmark). Many of these migrants did not stay in the northern Netherlands but moved on to England. The newcomers that stayed in the northern Netherlands would eventually be referred to as Frisians, although they were not descended from the ancient Frisii.

In England, the Angles merged with some Saxons and Jutes, as well as absorbing some natives, to form the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain from the 5th century resulted in later foundation of Kingdom of England.

Kingdoms of the Franks 486 - 870

The Franks emerged in the 3rd century as a confederation of smaller tribes in the area north and east of the Rhine. Ripuarian Franks were one of main groupings of early Frankish people. The Ripuarii originally lived on the right bank of the Rhine and their capital was Cologne, in later years also called Franconia, one of the five stem duchies formed the kingdom of Germany later. During the Roman Era, they managed to occupy the lower and middle Rhineland in present day Saarland, Luxemburg and Limburg.

The other main group of Franks was the Salii, Salian Franks, who originated in present day the western part of the Netherlands and Belgium. Following the collapse of Rome in the West in 476 AD, the Frankish tribes were united under the Salian Merovingians, who succeeded in conquering most of Gaul by 486 and the Frankish Kingdom was founded by the Merovingian Clovis I in 496.

The Franks then conquered other Western Germanic tribes: Alamanni (502), Thuringii (531), Burgundians (534) and King Chlothar I ( r. 558–561) ruled the greater part of what is now Germany and made expeditions into Saxony, while the Southeast of modern Germany was still under influence of the Ostrogoths. Saxons inhabited the area down to the Unstrut River..

When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the Duchy of Rome was completely cut off from the Byzantine Empire. The popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks.

The Carolingian Pepin the Short, who finally managed to overthrow the Merovingian dynasty, and becoming king of the Franks in 751, led a Frankish army into Italy in 756 to defeat the Lombards. 

He took control of northern Italy, and made a gift (Donation of Pepin) of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope (but not to the Byzantines), increasing the core area of the Papal States.

Carolingian Empire 768 - 843

The Carolingians later transformed the Ripuarian area of Austrasia into the heartland of the Carolingian Empire.

Charlemagne the Great (r. 768-814) continued his father Pepin's policy towards the papacy. In 771, Charlemagne reunited the Frankish domains after a further period of division, subsequently conquering the Lombards in northern Italy (774), incorporating Bavaria (788) into his realm, defeating the Avars of the Danubian plain (796), and subjugating Lower Saxony after a prolonged campaign (804). The people were forcibly converted to Christianity, and the lands were annexed by the Carolingian Empire.

Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned "Roman Emperor" by Pope Leo III, he was the first “Emperor of the Roman” after the fall of Western Roman Empire.

The imperial city Aachen is the residence of Charlemagne. Aachen Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was constructed by order of the Charlemagne, who was buried there after his death in 814. For 595 years (from 936 to 1531), the Aachen chapel was the church of coronation for thirty German kings and twelve queens.

Emperor Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, followed his father as the ruler of a united empire in 814. But sole inheritance remained a matter of chance, rather than intent. When Louis died in 840, the Carolingians adhered to the custom of partial inheritance, and after a brief civil war between the three sons (Emperor Lothair I, Charles the Bald and Louis the German), they made an agreement in 843 (Treaty of Verdun in the Oaths of Strasbourg). The empire was divided into three: Middle, East (later France) and West (later Germany) Frank Kingdoms.

The Middle Francia were partitioned into the Kingdoms of Burgundy (Lower Burgundy and Provence proper), Lotharingia (Austrasia, Frisia and Upper Burgundy) and Lombardy after the death of Emperor Lothair I in 855, and Kingdom of Lotharingia was further partitioned between Charles the Bald and Louis the German by the Treaty of Meerssen in 870.

Kingdom of the East Franks 843–962

When the Frankish Empire was divided among Charlemagne's heirs in 843, the East Francia consisted mostly of lands only annexed to the Carolingian Empire in the 8th century. These included stem duchies of Alemanni, Bavarii, Franconia, Saxon and Thuringii. The concept of such duchies survived especially in the areas which in the mid-9th century would become part of East Francia rather than further west in Middle Francia.

Stem duchies (tribal duchies) in Germany originated as the areas of the Germanic tribes of a given region. The Germanic migrations brought a number of "barbarian" tribes into the failing Western Roman Empire after 476.

The Bavarii emerged in a region north of the Alps, previously inhabited by Celts, which had been part of the Roman provinces of Raetia and Noricum. Unlike other Germanic groups, they probably did not migrate from elsewhere. Rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by the Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Quadi, Thuringians, Goths, Scirians, Rugians, Heruli.

The Alemanni (later was called Swabians) were a confederation on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned when they captured the Agri Decumates in 260, and later expanded into present-day Alsace, and northern Switzerland, leading to the establishment of the Old High German language in those regions.

The Thuringii were a Germanic tribe that appeared late during the Migration Period in the Harz Mountains of central Germania. It became a kingdom, which came into conflict with the Merovingian Franks, and it later came under their influence and Frankish control. The name is still used for one of modern Germany's federal states. Some have suggested that they were the remnants of the Suebic Hermanduri.

These kingdoms were ruled by the three sons of Louis the German in cooperation and were reunited by Charles the Fat in 882. The Kingdom of Germany started out as the East Francia. The rulers of the Eastern area thus called themselves rex Francorum, king of the Franks, and later just rex. The Frankfurt city became to all intents and purposes the capital of East Francia.

Name	House	King	Emperor	Ended	Notes
Louis the German	Carolingian	11 Aug 843	—	23 Aug 876	Son of Emperor Louis the Pious and grandson of Charlemagne
Louis the Younger	Carolingian	28 Aug 876	—	20 Jan 882	Son of Louis the German; ruled in East Francia, Saxony; from 880, also Bavaria
Carloman	Carolingian	28 Aug 876	—	22 Mar 880	Son of Louis the German; ruled in Bavaria; from 877, also King of Italy
Charles the Fat	Carolingian	28 Aug 876	12 Feb 881	11 Nov 887	Son of Louis the German; ruled in Alemannia, Raetia ; King of Italy from 879 ; King of East Franks from 882 ; King of Frankish Kingdom from 884
Arnulf of Carinthia	Carolingian	30 Nov 887	25 April 896	8 Dec 899	Son of Carloman
Louis the Child	Carolingian	21 Jan 900	—	20 Sept 911	Son of Arnulf of Carinthia
Conrad I	Conradine	10 Nov 911	—	23 Dec 918	Franconian

After the Carolingian king Louis the Child died without issue in 911, East Francia did not turn to the Carolingian rulers of West Francia to take over the realm but instead elected one of the dukes, Conrad of Franconia, as rex Francorum.

Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade.

Ottonian dynasty 919-962

From 919 to 936, the Germanic peoples were united under Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who took the title of king. For the first time, the term "Kingdom of the Germans" (Regnum Teutonicorum) was applied to a Frankish kingdom. (Latin scholars from the 10th century utilized the adjective teutonicus (a derivative of Teutones) when referencing East Francia for that area and all of its subsequent inhabitants.)

In the East, successive rulers of the German lands founded a series of border counties or marches. To the North, these included Lusatia, the North March (which would become Brandenburg). In the South, the marches included Carniola and Styria, which would become March of Austria.

Name	House	King	Emperor	Ended	Notes
Henry I the Fowler	Liudolfing (Saxony)	23 April 919	—	2 July 936
Arnulf the Bad	Luitpolding (Bavarian)	919	—	921	Rival king to Henry I
Otto I	Liudolfing (Saxony)	7 Aug 936	2 Feb 962	7 May 973	Son of Henry I

Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Ottonians, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowler's death,Otto of Saxony, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936.

Otto overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. The king managed to control the appointment of dukes: Arnulf I of Bavaria as marshal, Herman I, Duke of Swabia, Eberhard of Franconia as steward. The dukes signaled cooperation with the new king, and clearly showed their submission to his reign.

Otto the Great

In 936, Otto appointed Hermann Billungas Margrave, granting him authority over the North March (while Otto I, who was the enthroned Duke of Saxony, was in Italy from 961 until 972, Hermann served as Otto's personal representative in governing Saxony), in charged with maintaining the duchy's Eastern borders and expanding them further to the East, (the Billung March) alongside the North March. The duchy of Poland is formed around the same time as a reaction to this,.

In 937, Eberhard planned a rebellion against Otto. He promised to assist Otto's younger brother Henry in claiming the throne and recruited Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine, to join the rebellion. Otto exiled Henry from East Francia, and he fled to the court of King Louis IV of West Francia. The West Frankish king, in hopes of regaining dominion over Lorraine once again, joined forces with Henry and Gilbert.

In 939. Otto's forces claimed an overwhelming victory: Eberhard was killed and Gilbert drowned in the Rhine while attempting to escape. With Eberhard dead, Otto assumed direct rule over the Duchy of Franconia and dissolved it into smaller counties and bishoprics accountable to him. The same year Otto made peace with Louis IV, whereby Louis recognized his suzerainty over Lorraine. Otto withdrew his army and arranged for his sister Gerberga of Saxony (widow of Gilbert) to marry Louis IV.

Louis IV's second attempt to reign over Lorraine in 940 was based on his asserted claim to be the rightful Duke of Lorraine due to his marriage to Gerberga, the widow of Duke of Lorraine. Otto did not recognize Louis IV's claim and appointed his brother Henry as duke instead. In the following years, both sides tried to increase their influence in Lorraine until the death of Louis IV in 954.

In 953, King Otto I appointed his younger brother Bruno as Duke of Lotharingia. Bruno divided the duchy into Upper and Lower Lorraine; this division became permanent following his death in 965. Lower Lorraine disintegrated into smaller territories such as the County of Luxembourg, the Electorate of Trier, the County of Bar and the "Three Bishoprics" of Verdun, Metz and Toul. The border between the Empire and the Kingdom of France remained relatively stable throughout the Middle Ages.

With the accession of the King Otto I (the Great), the power of the Germanic Empire was confirmed. He defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, thus ending the Hungarian invasions of Western Europe. The territory captured from Hungary was given to the Babenberg family as March of Austria. Vienna lay at its border to Hungary, while Boleslaus I of Bohemia was granted the March of Moravia. Bohemia would remain a largely autonomous state under the empire for several decades. The Slavs between the Elbe and the Oder rivers were also subjugated.

Germany within the Holy Roman Empire 962–1806

Upon the death of Emperor Charles the Fat in 888, the empire of Charlemagne in Italy was divided, with each of the realms being ruled by its own king. Though the pope in Rome continued to invest the kings of Italy as "Emperors" to rule Charlemagne's empire, these "Italian Emperors" never exercised any authority north of the Alps. When Berengar I of Italy was assassinated in 924, the imperial title was left unclaimed.

King Rudolf II of Upper Burgundy and Hugh, Count of Provence, the effective ruler of Lower Burgundy, completed to gain dominion over Italy. In 926, Hugh defeated Rudolf, established de facto control over the Italian peninsula and was crowned as King of Italy. His son Lothair was elevated to co-ruler in 931. Hugh and Rudolf II eventually concluded a peace treaty in 933; four years later Lothair was betrothed to Rudolf's infant daughter Adelaide.

In 940, Berengar II, Margrave of Ivrea, a grandson of King Berengar I, led a revolt of Italian nobles against his uncle Hugh. In 945, Berengar II defeated Hugh with the support of the Italian nobility. Hugh abdicated in favor of his son and retired to Provence; Berengar II made terms with Lothair and established himself as the decisive power behind the throne. Lothair married the sixteen-year-old Adelaide in 947 and became nominal king when Hugh died in 948.

Lothair's brief reign came to an end with his death on November 950, and Berengar II was crowned king on December, with his son Adalbert of Italy as co-ruler. Failing to receive widespread support, Berengar II attempted to legitimize his reign and tried to force Adelaide, the respective daughter, daughter-in-law and widow of the last three Italian kings, into marriage with Adalbert. Adelaide fiercely refused and was imprisoned by Berengar II at Garda Lake.

She managed to escape from imprisonment and sent an emissary across the Alps seeking Otto's protection and marriage. A marriage to Adelaide would have strengthened the king's position to claim the Italian throne and ultimately the emperorship. Otto accepted Adelaide's marriage proposal and prepared for an expedition into Italy.

Otto arrived in northern Italy without opposition. As they descended into the Po River valley, the Italian nobles withdrew their support for Berengar and provided aid to his advancing army. When Otto arrived at Pavia in September 951, Berengar II fled from his capital, the city willingly opened its gate to the German king. Otto married Adelaide in Pavia, and in accordance with Lombard tradition, he was crowned with the Iron Crown of the Lombards on 10 October.

Ottonian dynasty 962-1024

When in 960 Berengar II attacked the Papal States again, King Otto the Great, summoned by Pope John XII, conquered the Italian kingdoms and had himself crowned Emperor of Roman at Rome in 962. The union of the crowns of Italy and Germany created the so-called Holy Roman Empire.

Emperor Otto the Great revived the old Carolingian program of appointing missionaries in the border lands. By granting land to the bishops he appointed, Otto actually made these bishops into "princes of the Empire" in this way.

In 963, Otto marched on Rome again and drove John XII from the papal throne and for years controlled the election of the pope, setting a firm precedent for imperial control of the papacy for years to come. Otto chose Pope Leo VIII as the new pope.

This renewed the conflict with the Eastern Emperor in Constantinople, especially after Otto's son Otto II adopted the designation imperator Romanorum. The German kings were consistently using the title rex Romanorum, King of the Romans. The title remained until the end of the Empire in 1806.

Name	House	King	Emperor	Ended	Notes
Otto I the Great	Ottonian	7 Aug 936	2 Feb 962	7 May 973	Son of Henry I; first king crowned Roman Emperor in Aachen Cathedral since Lothair I
Otto II the Red	Ottonian	26 May 961	25 Dec 967	7 Dec 983	Son of Otto I; Otto by the grace of God King under his father 961–973
Otto III	Ottonian	25 Dec 983	21 May 996	21 Jan 1002	Son of Otto II; Otto by the grace of God King
Henry II	Ottonian	7 June 1002	26 April 1014	13 July 1024	Great-grandson of Henry I

This also renewed the conflict with the Eastern Emperor in Constantinople, especially after Otto's son Otto II(r. 967–983) adopted the designation imperator Romanorum. The kings were consistently using the title King of the Romans. This title remained until the end of the Empire in 1806.

Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. When his father died after a 37-year reign, the 18-year-old Otto II continuing his father's policy of strengthening Imperial rule in Germany and extending the borders of the Empire deeper into southern Italy.

Otto III was crowned as King of Germany in 983 at the age of three, shortly after his father's death in southern Italy while campaigning against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily. Otto III's minor status ensured his various regents held power over the Empire. His cousin Henry, Duke of Bavaria, initially claimed regency and attempted to seize the throne for himself in 984. When his rebellion failed to gain the support of Germany's aristocracy, Henry was forced to abandon his claims and to allow Otto III's mother Theophanu to serve as regent until her death in 991. Otto III was still a child, and his grandmother, the Empress Adelaide of Italy, served as regent until 994.

After the death of Otto II in 983, the Slavs rebelled against imperial control, forcing the Empire to abandon its territories east of the Elbe River. Through Otto III was able to extend the influence of Christianity by supporting mission work in Poland and through the crowning of Stephen I as the first Christian king of Hungary. In 1002, he suffered a sudden fever and died at the age of 21.

With no clear heir to succeed him, Otto III's Cousin Henry II, son of Henry the Quarrelsome, and the new Duke of Bavaria, asked the bishops and nobles to elect him as the new king of Germany. Without an Emperor on the throne, Italy began to break away from German control. The Lombard Margrave of Ivrea, was elected King of Italy in Pavia in 1002.

Henry II was crowned as King of Germany in 1002 日fter defeating several claimants to the throne. He spent most of his reign concerned with imperial territory north of the Alps. Henry II aided Duke of Bohemia against the Poles, definitively incorporating the Duchy of Bohemia into the Holy Roman Empire.

Henry II died without children in 1024, and Conrad II, a great-great-grandson of Emperor Otto I and duke of Franconia, was elected king only after some debate among dukes and nobles. This group eventually developed into the college of Electors.

Prince-Elector

The German practice of electing monarchs began when ancient Germanic tribes formed ad hoc coalitions and elected the leaders thereof. The composition of electors at that time is unclear, but appears to have included representatives of the church (the Archbishop of Mainz, Trier and Cologne), and the dukes of the four nations of Germany: Franks, Swabians, Saxons and Bavarians.

Salian dynasty 1024-1125

The first Salian regent Conrad II was elected by the majority of the Prince-electors and was crowned German king in Mainz in 1024. Early in 1026 Conrad went to Milan, where archbishop of Milan crowned him king of Italy. When Rudolph III, King of Burgundy died 1032, Conrad II also claimed this kingship on the basis of an inheritance. This Kingdom of Burgundy would become known as the Kingdom of Arles under Conrad's successors.

Already in 1028 Conrad II had his son Henry III elected and anointed king of Germany. During his reign Speyer Cathedral was expanded to be the largest church in Western Christendom. Henry's conception of a legitimate power of royal disposition in the duchies was successful against the dukes, and thus secured royal control. In 1046 Henry III ended the papal schism, freed the Papacy from dependence on the Roman nobility, and laid the basis for its universal applicability.

Name	House	King	Emperor	Ended	Notes
Conrad II	Salian (Frankish)	8 Sept 1024	26 Mar 1027	4 June 1039	Great-great-grandson of Otto I
Henry III	Salian	14 April 1028	25 Dec 1046	5 Oct 1056	Son of Conrad II; King of the Germans under his father 1028–1039
Henry IV	Salian	17 July 1054	21 Mar 1084	31 Dec 1105	Son of Henry III; King of Germany under his father, 1054–1056
Rudolf of Rheinfelden	Rheinfeld	15 Mar 1077	—	15 Oct 1080	Rival king to Henry IV
Hermann of Salm	Salm	6 Aug 1081	—	28 Sept 1088	Rival king to Henry IV
Conrad	Salian	30 May 1087	—	27 July 1101	Son of Henry IV; King of Germany under his father, 1087–1098, King of Italy, 1093–1098, 1095–1101 in rebellion.
>Henry V	Salian	6 Jan 1099	13 April 1111	23 May 1125	Son of Henry IV; King of Germany under his father, 1099–1105, forced his father to abdicate

The early Salians owed much of their success to their alliance with the Church, which gave them the material support they needed to subdue rebellious dukes. In time, however, the Church came to regret this close relationship.

The alliance broke down in 1075 during the Investiture Controversy (or Investiture Dispute), a struggle in which the reformist Pope, Gregory VII, demanded that Emperor Henry IV renounce his rights over the Church in Germany.

Investiture Controversy

In 1075, Henry IV adhered to Papal decrees in religious matters to secure the Church's support for his expeditions in Saxony and Thuringia, Gregory saw the opportunity to press the Church's agenda and he composed the Dictatus Papae that asserted that the deposal of an emperor was under the sole power of the pope.

He reacted to this declaration by withdrawing his imperial support of Gregory as pope. In 1076 Gregory responded by excommunicating Henry, and deposed him as German king, releasing all Christians from their oath of allegiance.

A reference to the "Germans" indicating the emergence of a German nation of some sort, did not appear until the eleventh century, when Gregory VII referred to his enemy Henry IV as rex Teutonicorum, king of the Teutons, in order to brand him as a foreigner.

German princes and the aristocracy were happy to hear of the king's deposition. They used religious reasons to continue the rebellion started in 1075, and for seizure of royal holdings. Aristocrats claimed local lordships over peasants and property and built up localized fiefdoms to secure their autonomy from the empire.

Henry IV had no choice but to back down, needing time to marshal his forces to fight the rebellion. In 1077, Henry stood in the snow outside the gates of the castle of Canossa for three days, begging the pope to rescind the sentence, popularly portrayed as without shoes, taking no food or shelter, in what has become known as the Walk of Canossa.

Gregory lifted the excommunication, but the German aristocrats, whose rebellion became known as the Great Saxon Revolt, were not so willing to give up their opportunity. They elected a rival king, Rudolf von Rheinfeld. In June 1080. Henry had Pope Gregory deposed and replaced by the primate of Ravenna, (the Antipope Clement III). Henry entered Rome in March 1084, after Clement III was elected by the Romans and he was crowned emperor.

Concordat of Worms

Henry V, last ruler of the Salian dynasty, became emperor in 1106 in the midst of a civil war. Hoping to gain complete control over the church inside the Empire, Henry V surrendered to the demands of the second generation of Gregorian reformers by the settlement of the Concordat of Worms in 1111

This agreement stipulated that the pope would appoint high church officials but gave the German king the right to veto the papal choices. Imperial control of Italy was lost for a time, and the imperial crown became dependent on the political support of competing aristocratic factions.

Feudalism also became more widespread as freemen sought protection by swearing allegiance to a lord. These powerful local rulers, having thereby acquired extensive territories and large military retinues, took over administration within their territories and organized it around an increasing number of castles.

Hohenstaufen dynasty 1138-1254

When the Salian dynasty ended with Henry V's death in 1125, the princes chose not to elect the next of kin, but rather Lothair, the moderately powerful but already old Duke of Saxony. When he died in 1137, the princes again aimed to check royal power; accordingly they did not elect Lothair's favoured heir, his son-in-law Henry the Proud of the Welf family, but Conrad III of the Hohenstaufen family, the grandson of Emperor Henry IV. This led to over a century of strife between the two houses.

>Conrad ousted the Welfs from their possessions, but after his death in 1152, his nephew Frederick I "Barbarossa" succeeded him and made peace with the Welfs, since he was a Welf on his mother's side. The Welf duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion, would not be appeased, however, remaining an implacable enemy of the Hohenstaufen monarchy.

Name	House	King	Emperor	Ended	Notes
Conrad III	Hohenstaufen	7 Mar 1138	—	15 Feb 1152	Grandson of Henry IV (through his mother); Previously Rival King to Lothair III 1127–1135
Henry Berengar	Hohenstaufen	30 Mar 1147	—	Aug 1150	Son of Conrad III; King of Germany under his father 1147–1150
Frederick I Barbarossa	Hohenstaufen	4 Mar 1152	18 June 1155	10 June 1190	Nephew of Conrad III
Henry VI	Hohenstaufen	15 Aug 1169	14 April 1191	28 Sept 1197	Son of Frederick I; King of Germany under his father 1169–1190
Philip of Swabia	Hohenstaufen	6 Mar 1198	—	21 Aug 1208	Son of Frederick I; rival king to Otto IV
Otto IV	Welf	29 Mar 1198	4 Oct 1209	5 July 1215	Rival king to Philip of Swabia; later opposed by Frederick II; deposed 1215; died 1218
Frederick II	Hohenstaufen	5 Dec 1212	22 Nov 1220	26 Dec 1250	Son of Henry VI; Rival king to Otto IV until 5 July 1215
Henry VII	Hohenstaufen	23 April 1220	—	15 Aug 1235	Son of Frederick II; King of Germany under his father, 1220–1235
Conrad IV	Hohenstaufen	May 1237	—	1 May 1254	Son of Frederick II; King of Germany under his father, 1237–1250

During the Hohenstaufen period, German princes facilitated a successful, peaceful eastward settlement of lands that were uninhabited or inhabited sparsely by West Slavs. German speaking farmers, traders, and craftsmen from the western part of the Empire, both Christians and Jews, moved into these areas. The eastward settlement expanded the influence of the Empire to include Pomerania and Silesia, as did the intermarriage of the local, still mostly Slavic, rulers with German spouses. The Teutonic Knights were invited to Prussia by Duke Konrad of Masovia to Christianize the Prussians in 1226.

The Kingdom of Bohemia was a significant regional power during the Middle Ages. In 1212, King Ottokar I (bearing the title "King" since 1198) extracted a Golden Bull of Sicily from the Emperor Frederick II, confirming the royal title for Ottokar and Duchy of Bohemia was raised to a Kingdom.

Frederick I Barbarossa

Eager to restore the Empire to the position it had occupied under Charlemagne and Otto I the Great, he attempted to restore imperial authority in Italy. In March 1153, Frederick concluded the treaty of Constance with the Pope Eugene III, whereby he promised, in return for his coronation, to defend the papacy, to make no peace with King Roger II of Sicily, and to help Eugene regain control of the Rome.

He became King of Italy and Roman Emperor in 1155. Two years later, the term sacrum ("holy") first appeared in a document in connection with his Empire. Among his contributions to Central European society and culture include the reestablishment of the Corpus Juris Civilis, or the Roman rule of law, which counterbalanced the papal power that dominated the German states since the conclusion of the Investiture Controversy.

Under Frederick Barbarossa, and his son and successor of Henry VI, the Hohenstaufen dynasty reached its apex. Henry VI added the Norman kingdom of Sicily to his domains, held English king Richard the Lionheart captive, and aimed to establish a hereditary monarchy when he died in 1197. As his son, Frederick II, though already elected king, was still a small child and living in Sicily.

Frederick II

At the age of three, Frederick II was crowned King of Sicily as a co-ruler with his mother, Constance of Hauteville, the daughter of Roger II of Sicily. When Henry VI died in 1197, German princes chose to elect an adult king, resulting in the dual election of Frederick Barbarossa's youngest son Philip of Swabia and Henry the Lion's son Otto of Brunswick, who competed for the crown. Upon Constance's death in 1198, Pope Innocent III succeeded as Frederick's guardian.

Otto of Brunswick had been crowned Emperor by Pope Innocent III in 1209. However, Innocent later sided against Otto, and in September 1211 at the Diet of Nuremberg, Frederick was elected in absentia as German King by a rebellious faction backed by the pope. Frederick was crowned as King of Germany in 1212 and finally he was crowned Emperor in Rome in 1220.

Viewing himself as a direct successor to the Roman emperors of antiquity, He was frequently at war with the papacy, hemmed in between Frederick's lands in northern Italy and his Kingdom of Sicily to the south.

Frederick II's efforts to bring all of Italy under his control failed as signally as those of his grandfather, and his death in 1250 marked the effective end of the Kingdom of Italy within the Holy Roman Empire as a genuine political unit.

Interregnum 1256-1273

After the death of Frederick II in 1250, the German kingdom was divided between his son Conrad IV (died 1254) and the anti-king, William of Holland. Conrad's death was followed by the Interregnum, during which no king could achieve universal recognition, allowing the princes to consolidate their holdings and become even more independent rulers.

After 1257, the crown was contested between Richard of Cornwall, who was supported by the Guelph party, and Alfonso X of Castile, who was recognized by the Hohenstaufen party but never set foot on German soil. After Richard's death in 1273, the Interregnum ended with the unanimous election of Rudolf I of Habsburg, a minor pro-Staufen count.

Name	House	King	Emperor	Ended	Notes
Henry Raspe	Thuringia	22 May 1246	-	16 Feb 1247	Rival King to Frederick II and great-great-great grandson of Henry IV
William of Holland	Holland	3 Oct 1247	-	28 Jan 1256	Rival King to Frederick II and Conrad IV, 1247–1254
Richard of Cornwall	Plantagenet	13 Jan 1257	-	2 April 1272	Brother-in-law of Frederik II; rival king to Alfonso of Castile; held no real authority.
Alfonso of Castile	Burgundy	1 April 1257	-	1275	Grandson of Philip; rival king to Richard of Cornwall; held no authority; later opposed by Rudolf I; relinquished claims 1275

Pope Urban IV's letter suggests that by "immemorial custom", seven princes ( Archbishop of Mainz, Trier and Cologne; the King of Bohemia, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Saxony and Margrave of Brandenburg) had the right to elect the King and future Emperor. The seven have been mentioned as the vote-casters in the election of 1257 that resulted in two kings becoming elected.

The three Archbishops oversaw the most venerable and powerful sees in Germany, while the other four were supposed to represent the dukes of the four nations. The Count Palatine of the Rhine held most of the former Duchy of Franconia after the last Duke died in 1039. The Margrave of Brandenburg became an Elector when the Duchy of Swabia was dissolved in 1268. Saxony, even with diminished territory, retained its eminent position.

Habsburg, Luxemburg and Wittelsbach 1273-1437

Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum in 1273. Originally a Swabian count, he was the first Habsburg to acquire the duchies of Austria and Styria against his mighty rival, the Přemyslid king Ottokar II of Bohemia, whom he defeated in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld. The territories would remain under Habsburg rule for more than 600 years, forming the core of the Habsburg Austria. In Vienna, it took a relatively long time for the Habsburgs to establish as their Capital City, because partisans of Ottokar remained strong for a long time.

This development probably best symbolizes the emerging duality between emperor and realm (Kaiser und Reich), which were no longer considered identical. The Emperor now was to be elected by a majority rather than by consent of all seven electors. For electors the title became hereditary, and they were given the right to mint coins and to exercise jurisdiction.

Name	House	King	Emperor	Ended	Notes
Rudolf I	Habsburg	29 Sept 1273	—	15 July 1291	First of the Habsburgs
Adolf of Nassau	Nassau	5 May 1292	—	23 June 1298	According to some historians, Adolf's election was preceded by the short-lived kingship of Conrad, Duke of Teck
Albert I	Habsburg	24 June 1298	—	1 May 1308	Son of Rudolf I; Rival king to Adolf of Nassau, 1298
Henry VII	Luxembourg	27 Nov 1308	13 June 1311	24 Aug 1313	First of the Luxembourg.
Louis IV	Wittelsbach	20 Oct 1314	17 Jan 1328	11 Oct 1347	Grandson of Rudolf I; rival king to Frederick the Fair, 1314–1322
Frederick the Fair	Habsburg	19 Oct 1314 5 Sept 1325	—	28 Sept 1322 13 Jan 1330	Son of Albert I; rival king to Louis IV, 1314–1322; associate king with Louis IV, 1325–1330
Charles IV	Luxembourg	11 July 1346	5 April 1355	29 Nov 1378	Grandson of Henry VII; rival king to Louis IV, 1346–1347; also King of Bohemia, King of Italy
Günther von Schwarzburg	Schwarzburg	30 Jan 1349	—	24 May 1349	Rival king to Charles IV
Wenceslaus	Luxembourg	10 June 1376	—	20 Aug 1400	Son of Charles IV; king of Germany under his father 1376–1378; deposed 1400; also by inheritanceKing of Bohemia;  died 1419
Rupert of Palatinate	Wittelsbach	21 Aug 1400	—	18 May 1410	Great-grandnephew of Louis IV
Sigismund	Luxembourg	20 Sept 1410 /21 July 1411	3 May 1433	9 Dec 1437	Son of Charles IV
Jobst of Moravia	Luxembourg	1 Oct 1410	—	8 Jan 1411	Nephew of Charles IV; rival king to Sigismund

The Kings beginning with Rudolf I increasingly relied on the lands of their respective dynasties to support their power. In 1282, Rudolf I lent Austria and Styria to his own sons.

After Henry VII of Luxembourg (r. 1308-1313), all kings and emperors relied on the lands of their own family : 

- Louis IV of Wittelsbach relied on his lands in Bavaria;

- Charles IV of Luxembourg, the grandson of Henry VII, drew strength from his own lands in Bohemia.

Interestingly, it was thus increasingly in the king's own interest to strengthen the power of the territories, since the king profited from such a benefit in his own lands as well.

With the Luxembourg emperors, Prague became the imperial residence and Vienna stood in its shadow. The early Habsburgs attempted to extend it in order to keep up. Duke Albert II, for example, had the gothic choir of the Stephansdom built in 1327.

Counts and Dukes of the Netherlands 1064-1482

The Treaty of Ribemont in 880 added the Kingdom of Lotharingia — of which the Low Countries were part — to East Francia, which attempted to integrate it. However, there were no connections like there were between the four German Stem Duchies of East Francia. Lotharingia took a separate position with a large amount of self-determination. 

In 1064, Emperor Henry IV donated lands belonging to the county of Holland, 'west of the Vlie and around the banks of the Rhine' to William, Bishop of Utrecht, on whose support the Emperor could count.  In 1101, the name "Holland" first appears in a deed. 

The Hook and Cod Wars were a series of wars and battles in Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count, but some have argued that the underlying reason was because of the power struggle of the bourgeois in the cities against the ruling nobility. By the end of the Hook and Cod Wars, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, had taken control of Holland in 1432. Leading noblemen in Holland had invited the duke to conquer Holland, even though he had no historical claim to it.

Large parts of what now comprise the Netherlands were governed by the Count of Holland, the Duke of Gelre, the Duke of Brabant and the Bishop of Utrecht. Friesland and Groningen in the north maintained their independence and were governed by the lower nobility. 

Local rulers in other fiefs that consolidated into the Burgundian Netherlands by 1456:

- Counts of Flanders (862–1384)
- Counts of Namur (981–1429)
- Dukes of Limburg (1065–1430)
- Counts of Hainaut (1071–1432)
- Landgraves and Dukes of Brabant (1085-1430)
- Bishops of Utrecht (1024–1456)
- Counts and Dukes of Luxembourg (1059-1443)

Burgundian Netherlands

Under the Burgundian, Holland's trade developed rapidly, especially in the areas of shipping and transport. The new rulers defended Dutch trading interests. The fleets of Holland defeated the fleets of the Hanseatic League several times. Amsterdam grew and in the 15th century became the primary trading port in Europe for grain from the Baltic region. 

The Burgundian Netherlands (present day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) fell to the Habsburg dynasty in 1482 after the death of the Burgundy duke Charles the Bold at the Burgundy Wars in 1477.

Name	Reign start	Reign end	Notes
Philip I ·         Philip the Good	1433	1467	Philip III of Burgundy
Charles I ·         Charles the Bold	1467	1477	Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Limburg, Guelder and Luxembourg, Count of Flanders, Hainaut, Holland,Zeeland, Zutphen
Mary ·         Mary the Rich	1477	1482	Daughter of Charles I

Swiss Confederacy 1300-1513

Swiss Confederacy was a precursor of the modern state of Switzerland, a loose confederation of independent small states (cantons) which formed during the 14th century. The nucleus of the Old Swiss Confederacy was an alliance among the valley communities of the central Alps to facilitate management of common interests (such as trade) and ensure peace along trade routes through the mountains.

The initial pact was augmented by pacts with the cities of Lucerne, Zürich, and Berne. This union of rural and urban communes, which enjoyed the status of imperial immediacy within the Holy Roman Empire, was engendered by pressure from Habsburg dukes and kings who had ruled much of the land. In several battles with Habsburg armies, the Swiss were victorious; they conquered the rural areas of Glarus and Zug, which became members of the confederacy.

The Burgundy Wars (1474–1477) prompted a further enlargement of the confederacy; Fribourg and Solothurn were accepted in 1481. In the Swabian War (1499) against Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, the Swiss were victorious and exempted from imperial legislation. The associated cities of Basel and Schaffhausen joined the confederacy as a result of that conflict, and Appenzell followed suit in 1513 as the thirteenth member.