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Germany in the 14th-15th centuries


Germany XIV-XV centuries. was distinguished by rapid development of cities, crafts and trade. This was facilitated by the favorable location of the country – at the crossroads of international trade routes. At the beginning of the XIV century. in Germany there were about 3500 cities.

However, the development of the economy was significantly hampered by the political fragmentation of the country, which manifested itself in the absence of a single monetary system, a system of measure and weight, the existence of numerous customs duties, etc. The gangs of bankrupt knights rioted on the roads, anxiety, uncertainty about the future, fear for own life. There was no permanent capital as a center for administration and trade, culture and education, which indicated that the empire was lagging behind other states of Western Europe. Weakness of the central government, imperfection of administrative structures were explained, first of all, by the dependence of the German monarch from

the electors.

From the prince’s permissiveness, the cities suffered most. To rely on the support of the royal authorities was in vain. Therefore, to protect their own interests, the cities were united in alliances: you already know about the Hanseatic League, and in the second half of the 14th century. there were the Rhine and Swabian unions.

The princes also tried in every possible way to prevent the strengthening of the imperial power, choosing to the throne representatives of poor genera. In 1347 the German king, and subsequently – and the emperor, was proclaimed the Czech king Charles IV of Luxembourg. To legitimize the system and the order of electing the king by a collegiate of seven electors, in 1356 he issued the Golden Bull.

“Bullah” retained the imperial title, but gave the Electors greater morals: to coin their own coins, to collect duties, to rule the court, to conduct feudal wars, which equalized them with the emperor.

1356. From the “Golden Bull” by Charles IV of Luxembourg

… After the princes-voters or their ambassadors bring the

oath… let them begin the election and in no case the named city of Frankfurt will not leave before most of them do not elect… the Roman king, must become emperor. If they do not manage to do this within 30 days, starting from the day of the adoption of the above-mentioned oath, then after that, when 30 days pass, let them eat only bread and water and… do not leave the city. .. until by them or a greater part of them the ruler is elected…

In 1438, the Imperial Crown returned to the Habsburgs, who ruled the Holy Roman Empire until 1806. The Habsburgs tried in every way to expand their own hereditary lands. A great role in this was played by the so-called marriage diplomacy. She brought them the Netherlands and the right to inherit the Spanish crown.

In Germany itself, the Habsburgs owned Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Kraina, Tyrol and part of Swabia. The influence of the emperor on the rest of Germany was insignificant. According to one chronicler, during the long reign of Frederick III of Habsburg in Germany, they even began to forget that there is an emperor in the country. Instead, the princely internecine strata intensified. Frederick III was unable to stop them. He had neither a general imperial army, nor taxes, nor a central judicial and administrative apparatus.

The organ of the German representative office is the Reichstag. It was a meeting of representatives of all lands and territories of the empire. The Reichstag consisted of electors, spiritual and secular princes, as well as representatives of major cities. The chivalry did not have its representation, and the townspeople took part in solving only those questions that concerned them directly. The German Reichstag was a body with advisory rights. The decisions he made were not always fulfilled.

In some principalities, the Landtagi were formed – a meeting of representatives of the local nobility, clergy and townspeople. They were collected from time to time, but acted reasonably effectively. In particular, they tried to streamline the management system on their territory, improve the organization of the financial affairs, and improve the legislation.

Within the country, discontent with the existing order arose. Feudal fragmentation was especially worried by the burghers, which were interested in political unity and wanted reforms. Representatives of the burghers demanded to stop internal wars, establish cities’ control over the pride of the princes, abolish feudal privileges, introduce a unified judicial system, a monetary and customs system, abolish the dependence of the peasantry, and so on. In this program, the idea of ​​turning Germany into a centralized state was laid. However, the princes did not hurry to implement it.

Bulla is a letter, a message.


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Germany in the 14th-15th centuries
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