The Thirty Years War The Thirty Years War was a series of European conflicts that lasted from 1618 to 1648. The battles were mainly fought in Germany. The struggle was initially based on the religious conflicts among Germans by the Protestant Reformation, but it was later influenced by other is...

In 1815, Germany was nothing but a loose grouping of States known as 'the German Confederation'. This creation replaced the holy Roman empire which had previouly held the many German speaking states together and united central Europe under the Austrian emporer. The holy Roman empire had been destroy...

Frederick Barbarossa, like other men of his age, was influenced by a growing resurgence of neoclassical sensibilities. It should not therefore be considered surprising that he would have considered himself ruling as "Frederick, by the grace of God emperor of the Romans and august forever....

Who was greater: the Pope or the Emperor/Kings? Ever since the legalization of Christianity in 313, popes and emperors have been involved in numerous disputes about who was the head of Christian society. Emperors claimed authority, making reference to precedence such as Constantine and the Council...

During the Medieval period (600 A.D. to 830 AD) in Europe only a few leaders showed great glory and compassion. Mythical characters usually made up these leaders. Yet Charlemagne wasn't a figment of our imagination. He is one of the world's finest leaders. Charlemagne established the t...

Justinian's Reign Emperor Justinian ruled from 527-565. He was born in an Illyrian village to a peasant family and joined the army at an early age. He quickly rose in rank, as his uncle Justin was the emperor at that time. He married an actress named Theodora and shortly before his uncle die...

Worms Cathedral I researched the Worms Cathedral due to its extraordinary beauty and history. The building has a story that dates as far back as to the 4th-5th Century. The Cathedral was built approximately 100 meters above sea level; this was to keep the building safe from the Rhine floods. Th...

I have traveled to both Spain, and Austria. While both are unmistakably different in both culture, and government, they are not so unalike that we couldn't compare the two. Spain is very culturally rich in its diverse cities, the olive growing provinces, and the wine growing communities. A r...

Two major religious wars in the 16th and 17th centuries were the French Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years' War with the Catholics fighting against the Protestants. They were both thought on the grounds of politics and religion and they changed the course of European history. No longer would...

Emperor Charles V was one of the most important ruling personalities in European history. The lottery of birth placed Charles at the center of a genealogical network that covered half Europe. His father, Philip, was Duke of Burgundy. His grandfather was Emperor Maximilian of Austria. His m...

Emperor Charles V was one of the most important ruling personalities in European history. The lottery of birth placed Charles at the center of a genealogical network that covered half Europe. His father, Philip, was Duke of Burgundy. His grandfather was Emperor Maximilian of Austria. His m...

The Catholic Reformation I INTRODUCTION Counter-Reformation, movement within the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th and 17th centuries that sought to revitalize the Church and to oppose Protestantism. Some historians object to the term as implying only the negative elements in the movement, and t...

The Crusades were just a war waged over power, fear, and interest. The purpose of the Crusades was to recapture the Christian "Holy Land" from the Muslims, Arabs, and even the Turks. The Crusades were stirred up and sponsored by the papacy. "It is the will of G-d", claimed Pope Urban II. His s...

During the period of the 15th to 16th centuries, also know as The Beginning of Early Modern Times, strong central governments arose throughout Europe. The rulers of this period have since been coined "new monarchs," due to the fact that they encouraged trade, overseas expansion, and made ...

There have been many religious wars through out history but upon analysis seldom were the wars based solely upon religious issues. One example was the Thirty Year's War, which took place from 1618-1648 and involved most of the major European powers of the time. It has been considered a re...

What authority does the prince hold if ruled by a power other than god himself? In Martin Luther's writings "Against the Authority of the Catholic Church", he rejects the Popes claims that religious authority is superior to secular authority and provides the argument for Germany to s...

There was widespread support for Luther's ideas in Germany because they appealed to all the classes, highlighting current weaknesses of the church that had been abhorred for years and developing complaints already noted by other dissidents. But more than that they proposed a change, a reform, w...

The State and the Church, which helped establish the Holy Roman Empire (of which the central city is Rome), characteristically influence European society of the 11th century. The social structure of the society was mainly divided into two main categories, where people are both subjects of...

In order to unify his kingdom, Charlemagne did many things. He created a system, which allowed him to supervise his administrators, even in the distant lands. They were called "missi dominici", or king's envoys. They traveled through the land to check on the local administrations. ...

Martin Luther was a revolutionary thinker born during the latter part of the fifteenth century in Catholic Germany. During this time the papacy in Rome was growing in stature and in corruption. Pope Leo X was working on the St. Peter's Basilica and was being creative in its financing. In o...

The relationship between Henry, Geoffrey, and John with their parents, Henry II and Eleanor Henry II's family was a family that was considered anything but dysfunctional. During this era of the medieval period, there was no such thing as succession to the throne; thus, the current king h...

The relationship between Henry, Geoffrey, and John with their parents, Henry II and Eleanor Henry II's family was a family that was considered anything but dysfunctional. During this era of the medieval period, there was no such thing as succession to the throne; thus, the current kin...