You Gotta Know Holy Roman Emperors

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mcnixon96
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You Gotta Know Holy Roman Emperors

Post by mcnixon96 »

Hello,

I've been trying to get a basic knowledge of various European leaders, and was trying to figure out which Holy Roman Emperors come up the most. If you were going to write an NAQT You Gotta Know style article on the top 10 most important Holy Roman Emperors to know about, who would you include? At the moment I'm thinking something like this but I'm not sure if they are the best choices:

1. Charlemagne
2. Otto I
3. Henry IV
4. Frederick I
5. Frederick II
6. Charles V
7. Maximilian II
8. Ferdinand II
9. Charles VI
10. Joseph II

Thanks for your help!
Matt Nixon
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Re: You Gotta Know Holy Roman Emperors

Post by Harpie's Feather Duster »

This list seems decent on first glance except for the glaring omission of Maria Theresa. Generally anybody involved in any major wars or religious events like the Reformation are good to know about.
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Re: You Gotta Know Holy Roman Emperors

Post by Adventure Temple Trail »

Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy of Arts wrote:This list seems decent on first glance except for the glaring omission of Maria Theresa. Generally anybody involved in any major wars or religious events like the Reformation are good to know about.
As far as I know, the people elected to the title of Holy Roman Emperor while she was empress of Austria were her husband Francis I and son Joseph II; she never held that particular title herself. (by that point the HRE was mostly a formality anyway)
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Jem Casey
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Re: You Gotta Know Holy Roman Emperors

Post by Jem Casey »

7. Maximilian II
I am pretty ok at getting the occasional European history tossup, but can't say I know much about this guy. You'd be better off learning twice as much about Charles V or covering the military history of Leopold I's reign, instead.
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Re: You Gotta Know Holy Roman Emperors

Post by Skepticism and Animal Feed »

As Matt J. alluded to, at some point (relatively early in its history) the Holy Roman Empire becomes a formality, and the Holy Roman Emperors worth knowing about are only famous for their non-HRE accomplishments.

Learn a lot about Charlemagne - he did so much, I think I once wrote 4 Charlemagne tossups for the same tournament without repeating any clues between them. Learn about the early Ottos and Henrys. Learn about Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick Stupur Mundi. Learn about Sigismund of Luxembourg if you are going to be playing a really hard tournament like ACF Nationals or Chicago Open.

Charles V is probably the last person worth knowing about as a Holy Roman Emperor. After that, stop caring about who is Holy Roman Emperor, and start caring about who is the Habsburg Ruler of Austria, which will typically but not always also be HRE as a formality. The important clues to know about from the post-Charles V era is not the politics of the HRE, but things like the major causes, battles, treaties, and commanders of the 30 Years War, the major battles, treaties, and commanders of the Great Turkish War, the major battles, treaties, and commanders of the Wars of the Spanish and Austrian Successions, the history and major leaders of the Protestant Reformation, etc.

Frederick the Great, notably not a Holy Roman Emperor, is probably the most important individual German monarch to know about. Maria Theresa, his contemporary and rival, is probably a close second. Joseph II comes up a lot despite a relatively short reign. Frederick William the Soldier King should come up more. Gustavus Adolphus is hugely important, along with his advisor Axel Oxenstierna.

I guess my point is, you will likely learn more about the history of German-speaking Europe by reading about the major wars and events that took place there, than by reading the biographies of people who happened to hold the title Holy Roman Emperor.
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Re: You Gotta Know Holy Roman Emperors

Post by naan/steak-holding toll »

I'm going to echo the above posters in saying that you'll probably get more out of learning the crucial wars/events of Germanic Europe (and its Slavic and Baltic neighbors) than studying a bunch of Holy Roman Emperors. There's only a few guys worth learning in depth and Bruce pretty much mentioned them all, though I think Charles IV is worth learning about as well.
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