The Holy Roman Empire was a collection of regions in Europe that were ruled by Charlemagne from 800 to 888, then by Otto I starting in 962. He was succeeded by a long unbroken chain of subsequent “Holy Roman Emperors” (I put that in quotations because this amalgamation nation was not holy, roman, or an empire, as I will explain soon), that wouldn't be broken until 1806, with the reign of Francis I imagine, who was dethroned when Napoleon invaded the “empire”.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 475 AD, the Lombard tribe in northern Italy frequently encroached on lands held by the pope. In 753 and 754, Pope Stephen II traveled to Germany to appeal for help from Pepin the Short, king of the Franks. Pepin dealt with the Lombards and got the pope back in charge.
The Lombards, however, continued to bug the popes. In 799, when Pope Leo III was attacked, and he desired help from a powerful German leader, namely Charlemagne, as he was Pepin's son, and he had visited him frequently in the past. They came to an agreement, and while they announced on Christmas Day in 1800 that Charles's son would become the new ruler, the pope surprised him with a Christmas present: crowning him the emperor of Rome. This was a short lived resurrection of the “Holy Roman Empire”, so called because the pope had appointed him leader of the now dead Western Roman Empire. It was Otto's reign that added “holy” onto there.
After Charlemagne died in 888, the idea of the HRE kind of died. However, another pope, specifically Pope John XII, needed another German ruler to make him stronger, so he got Otto I on board. Unfortunately, Otto (as well as his son and grandson) began this tradition of swapping between popes as they pleased, often deposing and reassigning various popes depending on their mood and liking. This made the papacy mad, thinking “Look, I made you rulers to make us popes stronger, not so you could change us out willy-nilly!” This caused Pope Nicholas II to decree in 1069 that the election of new popes is restricted to a conclave of cardinals, shutting off the emperor's influence completely. However, the emperor's own army of bishops decided to come out and decree Nick's decrees null and void. Nick also started giving land to the Normans of Italy control over lots of land in return for their loyalty. The next pope, Gregory VII, decreed in 1075 that the emperor's army of bishops would be reassigned to the papacy. This was a big political move, also known as the investiture controversy, as the control of these bishops was a wealthy one. A “Diet of Worms” (which had nothing to do with what we know as “diets” or “worms”) was held in 1122 that discussed the distinction between the religious and non-religious aspects of clerical appointments.
Gregory and Emperor Henry IV have a nine year struggle that results in the Pope excommunicating Henry and appointing a rival King, Rudolf, as emperor. Henry counters with his own appointed pope and attacks Rome, forcing Gregory to flee. The Normans try to save him, but their rescue proves so violent, what with them attacking Henry's Germans, that Gregory has to run away again, dying a year later, in 1085.
To be updated...
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 475 AD, the Lombard tribe in northern Italy frequently encroached on lands held by the pope. In 753 and 754, Pope Stephen II traveled to Germany to appeal for help from Pepin the Short, king of the Franks. Pepin dealt with the Lombards and got the pope back in charge.
The Lombards, however, continued to bug the popes. In 799, when Pope Leo III was attacked, and he desired help from a powerful German leader, namely Charlemagne, as he was Pepin's son, and he had visited him frequently in the past. They came to an agreement, and while they announced on Christmas Day in 1800 that Charles's son would become the new ruler, the pope surprised him with a Christmas present: crowning him the emperor of Rome. This was a short lived resurrection of the “Holy Roman Empire”, so called because the pope had appointed him leader of the now dead Western Roman Empire. It was Otto's reign that added “holy” onto there.
After Charlemagne died in 888, the idea of the HRE kind of died. However, another pope, specifically Pope John XII, needed another German ruler to make him stronger, so he got Otto I on board. Unfortunately, Otto (as well as his son and grandson) began this tradition of swapping between popes as they pleased, often deposing and reassigning various popes depending on their mood and liking. This made the papacy mad, thinking “Look, I made you rulers to make us popes stronger, not so you could change us out willy-nilly!” This caused Pope Nicholas II to decree in 1069 that the election of new popes is restricted to a conclave of cardinals, shutting off the emperor's influence completely. However, the emperor's own army of bishops decided to come out and decree Nick's decrees null and void. Nick also started giving land to the Normans of Italy control over lots of land in return for their loyalty. The next pope, Gregory VII, decreed in 1075 that the emperor's army of bishops would be reassigned to the papacy. This was a big political move, also known as the investiture controversy, as the control of these bishops was a wealthy one. A “Diet of Worms” (which had nothing to do with what we know as “diets” or “worms”) was held in 1122 that discussed the distinction between the religious and non-religious aspects of clerical appointments.
Gregory and Emperor Henry IV have a nine year struggle that results in the Pope excommunicating Henry and appointing a rival King, Rudolf, as emperor. Henry counters with his own appointed pope and attacks Rome, forcing Gregory to flee. The Normans try to save him, but their rescue proves so violent, what with them attacking Henry's Germans, that Gregory has to run away again, dying a year later, in 1085.
To be updated...