CHAPTER XVII
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE PAPACY
Outline: I.—Decline of the Empire under the later Carolingians. II.—Preparations to restore the Empire on a German basis. III.—Otto the Great creates the Holy Roman Empire. IV.—Holy Roman Empire attains its height under Henry III. V.—Results of the creation of the Holy Roman Empire. VI.—Sources.
The Empire created by Charles the Great rapidly declined under the later Carolingians. The causes for this dissolution were:
1. The principle of division of rule, which was practised before the time of Charles the Great, and endorsed by him, produced five divisions of the Empire within thirty years. This was fatal to stability and permanency.
2. The disintegration of the Empire into national states resulted from the growing differences of race, language, institutions, and laws.[384:1]
3. Powerful feudal dukedoms arose such as Bavaria on the Danube, the barrier against the East; Swabia on the upper Danube and Rhine; Franconia on the Rhine and Main north of Swabia; Saxony on the Ems, Weser, and Elbe north of Franconia; Burgundy, a kingdom south-west of Swabia; Aquitania in southern France;
Brittany in north-western France; Normandy in northern France; and others.
4. The rulers who succeeded Charles the Great were, as compared with him, men of very inferior ability.
5. The poor roads made it almost impossible to keep in touch with all parts of the wide Empire. The well-built roads of the Romans had generally fallen into decay, simply because there was no longer a corps of trained engineers to keep them up.