Bavaria
A south German duchy ruled by the Wittelsbach family (see Appendix 1) from 1180 to 1918. From 1253 to 1504 the duchy was repeatedly partitioned, initially into Upper Bavaria and ...
Brandenburg
(town and bishopric) (founded 948, renewed 1161). Initially a Slavic settlement, Brandenburg was conquered by Albrecht ‘the Bear’ in 1157. At that time Brandenburg consisted of several settlements ...
Elector
A prince of the Holy Roman Empire who had the right to elect the emperor. Although the monarchy was elective by the 12th century, it was not until the contested election of 1257 that the number of ...
estates general
Usually a gathering of representatives of the three estates of a realm: the Church; the nobility; and the commons (representatives of the corporations of towns). They met to advise a sovereign on ...
Gravamina
Is the plural of Late Latin gravamen, which means a burden, imposition, or aggravation, a wrong inflicted; also (in medieval usage) a complaint or remonstrance, a demand for relief; hence ...
Holy Roman Empire
Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI) is a designation of the German Empire. The concept of imperium was, from Charlemagne (800), connected with romanum, and from Frederick I ‘Barbarossa’ (1157) also with ...
Protestation of Speyer
In the recess of the first Diet of Speyer in 1526, it was left to each estate of the empire to proceed regarding the question of religion, that is, the ...
Saxony
Region of Germany, the dimensions of which have often shifted since the term first described the domain of the Saxon tribes who, by the early 8th century, inhabited the land ...
