Imperial Diet Dieta Imperii (Latin) Reichstag (German) | |
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| Deliberative body of theHoly Roman Empire | |
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| History | |
| Founded | 803 |
| Disbanded | 1806 |
| Succeeded by | Diet of the Confederation (Confederation of the Rhine) |
TheImperial Diet (German:Reichstag;Latin:Dieta Imperiior Comitium Imperiale) was the deliberative body of theHoly Roman Empire. It was not alegislative body in the contemporary sense; its members envisioned it more like a central forum where it was more important to negotiate than to decide.[1]
Its members were theImperial Estates, divided into three colleges. Thediet as a permanent, regularized institution evolved from theHoftage (court assemblies) of theMiddle Ages. From 1663 until the end of the empire in 1806, it was inpermanent session atRegensburg.
All Imperial Estates enjoyedimmediacy and, therefore, they had no authority above them besides theHoly Roman Emperor himself. While all the estates were entitled to a seat and vote, only the higher temporal and spiritual princes of the College of Princes enjoyed an individual vote (Virilstimme), while lesser estates such as imperial counts and imperial abbots, were merely entitled to a collective vote (Kuriatstimme) within their particular bench (Curia), as did the free imperial cities belonging to the College of Towns.[2]
The right to vote rested essentially on a territorial entitlement, with the result that when a given prince acquired new territories through inheritance or otherwise, he also acquired their voting rights in the diet.[3] In general, members did not attend the permanent diet at Regensburg, but sent representatives instead. The late imperial diet was in effect a permanent meeting of ambassadors between the estates.
The role and function of the Imperial Diet evolved over the centuries, like the Empire itself, with the estates and separate territories increasing control of their own affairs at the expense of imperial power. Initially, there was neither a fixed time nor location for the Diet. It began as a convention of thedukes of the oldGermanic tribes that formed theFrankish kingdom when important decisions had to be made, probably based on the old Germanic law whereby each leader relied on the support of his leading men. In the early and high Middle Ages these assemblies were not yet institutionalized, but were held as needed at the decision of the king or emperor. They weren't called Diet yet, butHoftag (court day). They were usually held in the imperial palaces(Kaiserpfalz).
For example, already underCharlemagne during theSaxon Wars, a Hoftag, according to theRoyal Frankish Annals, met atPaderborn in 777 and determined laws over the subduedSaxons and other tribes. In 803 Charlemagne, by then crowned as emperor of the Franks, issued the final version of theLex Saxonum.
At the Diet of 919 inFritzlar the dukes elected the firstKing of the Germans, who was a Saxon,Henry the Fowler, thus overcoming the longstanding rivalry between Franks and Saxons and laying the foundation for the German realm. After the conquest ofItaly, the 1158Diet of Roncaglia finalized four laws that would significantly alter the (never formally written)constitution of the Empire, marking the beginning of the steady decline of the central power in favour of the local dukes. TheGolden Bull of 1356 cemented the concept of "territorial rule" (Landesherrschaft), the largely independent rule of the dukes over their respective territories, and also limited the number of electors to seven. The Pope, contrary to modern myth, was never involved in the electoral process but only in the process of ratification and coronation of whomever the Prince-Electors chose.
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Until the late 15th century the Diet was not formalized as an institution. Instead, the dukes and other princes would irregularly convene at the court of the Emperor. These assemblies were usually referred to asHoftage (from GermanHof "court"). Only beginning in 1489 was the Diet called theReichstag, and it was formally divided intocollegia ("colleges").
Initially, the two colleges were of theprince-electors and of the remaining dukes and princes. Later, theimperial cities withImperial immediacy became oligarchic republics independent of a local ruler, subject only to the Emperor himself, and managed to be accepted as third parties. Motions passed if two of the colleges approved. Generally, the princely and electoral colleges would agree with each other, rather than rely on the cities to make a decision, but the cities still had influence.[4]
Several attempts to reform the Empire and end its slow disintegration, starting with theDiet of 1495, did not have much effect. In contrast, this process was hastened with thePeace of Westphalia of 1648, which formally bound the Emperor to accept all decisions made by the Diet, in effect depriving him of his few remaining powers. Nonetheless, the Emperor still had substantial influence in the Diet. TheHabsburg Emperors possessed a large number of votes, and even held command over theReichsarmee (Imperial Army) if the Diet decided to raise it.[4]
Probably the most famous Diets were those held inWorms in 1495, where theImperial Reform was enacted, and1521, whereMartin Luther was banned (seeEdict of Worms), the Diets ofSpeyer1526 and1529 (seeProtestation at Speyer), and several inNuremberg (Diet of Nuremberg). Only with the introduction of thePerpetual Diet of Regensburg in 1663 did the Diet permanently convene at a fixed location.
The Imperial Diet of Constance opened on 27 April 1507;[5] it recognized the unity of the Holy Roman Empire and founded theImperial Chamber, the empire's supreme court.
From 1489, the Diet comprised three colleges:
TheElectoral College (Kurfürstenrat) was led by thePrince-Archbishop of Mainz in his capacity asArchchancellor ofGermany. The seven Prince-electors were designated by the Golden Bull of 1356:
The number increased to eight, when in 1623 theDuke of Bavaria took over the electoral dignity of the Count Palatine, who himself received a separate vote in the electoral college according to the 1648Peace of Westphalia (Causa Palatina), including the high office of anArchtreasurer. In 1692 theElector of Hanover (formally Brunswick-Lüneburg) became the ninth Prince-elector as Archbannerbearer during theNine Years' War.
In theWar of the Bavarian Succession, the electoral dignities of the Palatinate andBavaria were merged, approved by the 1779Treaty of Teschen. TheGerman Mediatisation of 1803 entailed the dissolution of the Cologne and Trier Prince-archbishoprics. At the same time, the Prince-Archbishop of Mainz and German Archchancellor received—as compensation for his lost territory occupied byRevolutionary France—the newly establishedPrincipality of Regensburg. In turn, four secular princes were elevated to prince-electors:
These changes however had little effect, as with the abdication ofFrancis II as Holy Roman Emperor the Empire was dissolved only three years later.
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The college ofImperial Princes (Reichsfürstenrat orFürstenbank) incorporated theImperial Counts as well asimmediate lords,Prince-Bishops andImperial abbots. Strong in members, though often discordant, the second college tried to preserve its interests against the dominance of the Prince-electors.
The House of Princes was again subdivided into an ecclesiastical and a secular bench. Remarkably, the ecclesiastical bench was headed by the—secular—Archduke of Austria and theBurgundian duke of theHabsburg Netherlands (held byHabsburg Spain from 1556). As the AustrianHouse of Habsburg had failed to assume the leadership of the secular bench, they received the guidance over the ecclesiastical princes. The first ecclesiastical prince was theArchbishop of Salzburg asPrimas Germaniae; thePrince-Archbishop of Besançon, though officially a member until the 1678Treaty of Nijmegen, did not attend the Diet's meetings.
The ecclesiastical bench also comprised theGrand Master andDeutschmeister of theTeutonic Knights, as well as theGrand Prior of the Monastic State of theKnights Hospitaller atHeitersheim. ThePrince-Bishopric of Lübeck remained an ecclesiastical member even after it had turnedProtestant, ruled bydiocesan administrators from theHouse of Holstein-Gottorp from 1586. ThePrince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, according to the 1648 Peace of Westphalia was under alternating rule of aCatholic bishop and a Lutheran bishop from theHouse of Hanover.
Each member of the Princes' College held either a single vote (Virilstimme) or a collective vote (Kuriatstimme). Due to the Princes, their single vote from 1582 strictly depended on their immediate fiefs; this principle led to an accumulation of votes, when one ruler held several territories inpersonal union. Counts and Lords only were entitled to collective votes, they therefore formed separate colleges like theWetterau Association of Imperial Counts and mergers within theSwabian, theFranconian and theLower Rhenish–Westphalian Circles. Likewise, on the ecclesiastical bench, the Imperial abbots joined a Swabian orRhenish college.
In theGerman Mediatisation of 1803, numerous ecclesiastical territories were annexed by secular estates. However, a reform of the Princes' college was not carried out until the Empire's dissolution in 1806.
The college ofImperial Cities (Reichsstädtekollegium) evolved from 1489 onwards. It contributed greatly to the development of the Imperial Diets as a political institution. Nevertheless, the collective vote of the cities was of inferior importance until a 1582Recess of theAugsburg Diet. The college was led by the city council of the actual venue until the Perpetual Diet in 1663, when the chair passed toRegensburg.
The Imperial cities also divided into a Swabian and Rhenish bench. The Swabian cities were led byNuremberg,Augsburg and Regensburg, the Rhenish cities byCologne,Aachen andFrankfurt.
For a complete list of members of the Imperial Diet from 1792, near the end of the Empire, seeList of Reichstag participants (1792).
After thePeace of Westphalia, religious matters could no longer be decided by a majority vote of the colleges. Instead, the Reichstag would separate into Catholic and Protestant bodies, which would discuss the matter separately and then negotiate an agreement with each other, a procedure called theitio in partes.[6] The Catholic body, orcorpus catholicorum, was headed by the Archbishop-Elector ofMainz.[7]
The Protestant body, orcorpus evangelicorum, was headed by the Elector ofSaxony. At meetings of the Protestant body, Saxony would introduce each topic of discussion, after whichBrandenburg-Prussia andHanover would speak, followed by the remaining states in order of size. When all the states had spoken, Saxony would weigh the votes and announce a consensus.
Frederick Augustus I, Elector of Saxony converted to Catholicism in 1697 in order to become King of Poland, but the Electorate itself remained officially Protestant and retained the directorship of the Protestant body. Whenthe Elector's son also converted to Catholicism, Prussia and Hanover attempted to take over the directorship in 1717–1720, but without success. The Electors of Saxony would head the Protestant body until the end of the Holy Roman Empire.[7]
After the formation of the newGerman Empire in 1871, the Historical Commission of theBavarian Academy of Sciences started to collect imperial records (Reichsakten) and imperial diet records (Reichstagsakten). In 1893 the commission published the first volume. At present the years 1524–1527 and years up to 1544 are being collected and researched. A volume dealing with the 1532 Diet of Regensburg, including the peace negotiations with theProtestants inSchweinfurt andNuremberg, byRosemarie Aulinger ofVienna was published in 1992.
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In religious and all other affairs in which the estates cannot be considered as one body, and when the Catholic estates and those of the Augsburg Confession are divided into two parties, the dispute is to be decided by amicable agreement alone, and neither side is to be bound by a majority vote.
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