Is the "Holy Roman Empire" holy, Roman or an empire?

Question

In a discussion with a friend of mine we debated Gibbon's assessment that the Holy Roman Empire was "neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." What do you all think?

Answer 1

Well, it was and it wasn't. When Voltaire said that it wasn't holy, roman, or an empire, he had a point. It fought constantly with the pope, the city of Rome was NOT in it, and its leader, although called an emperor, didn't have much power at all.

What it WAS was an organization of more or less independent states (Germany, northern Italy, some parts of eastern Europe) that worked together under an elected emperor. The emperors considered themselves protectors of Christianity, just as the later Roman Emperors had been. This is where the "holy" part comes from.

When the Holy Roman Empire started up, the original Roman Empire (in the east) was still around, although diminished. For a lot of people in those days, the idea of a single empire that unites all of humanity under a single rule and single faith was VERY appealing. The closest thing to this that Europe had ever had was the Roman Empire - so they tried to revive it in the west.

It didn't work, of course, and ended up as no more than a loose political and commercial alliance between various German states. But that didn't stop them from giving it an impressive name!

Answer 2

First, is right attribution; the quote, "This agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire," is from Voltiare's 1756 work Essai sur l'histoire generale et sur les moeurs et l'espirit des nations, Chapter 70. Certainly when he made the observation the remnant of the "first-reich" was pretty pathetic; and mere 53 years later, Napoleon brought the "empire" to it's "official" end. ( see this site for both Volataire and the titles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire_of_the_German_Nation )
However, it's beginnings give some legitimacy to the terms. Charlemagne, renews the title and "rights" of emperor when he is crowned so by the pope on Christmas 800. The renewed western empire was recognized by treaty with Byzantium. When the empire was divided by the treaty of Verdun 870, the title of emperor went with the Italian portion. After Otto I, king of Germany, invaded Italy, he married the last heiress of the Frankish emperors he united those two realms and was crowned emperor by the pope. he established an "imperial system, (try this site for an over veiw of the Ottonian system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor ) and his grandson Otto III (who was the son of a Byzantine princess) took the titles "the servant of Jesus Christ," "the servant of the apostles," and "emperor of the world." This was beginning of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. It was "holy" in the sense of having a independent spiritual authority from the pope, as symbolized the "spear of destiny"
( http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8303/spear.htm interestingly, the nazis where very concerned over the ownership and placement of this - one of many - spear of longius ) It was Roman in the sense that the Ottonian dynasty had "inherited' the blood of Rome through Charlemagne and the Byzantine emperors; and it was an empire in the sense that the "authority" of the emperor was trans-national, it covered Italy, Germany, Bohemia and later, Burgundy. In 1157 Frederick I, Barbarossa, first used the designation Holy Empire, ostensibly to increase the sanctity of the Crown in the growing contest between the Hohenstaufen emperors (who had inherited the empire from the Ottonians) and the papacy. it was the defeat of the last Hohenstaufen ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenstaufen ) that led to the political structure becoming neither Holy, Roman or an Empire. But for about 300 years of medieval history 1000 - 1300 it was the main political power of Europe try this site for an over view of the imperial dynasties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperors
So I think that while the concept of a Holy Roman Empire once had political viability, by the time Voltaire wrote his essay and Gibbon his history it was defunct.

Answer 3

The Holy Roman Empire was an empire. Holy Roman was its title.

Answer 4

Well it's a Roman empire and it was considered holy!!!

Answer 5

Yes it was all three.