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Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire

Type Object Region Central Europe Time c. 900–1806

The Imperial Diet (Reichstag / Reichsversammlung) was the assembly mechanism where the emperor consulted imperial princes, ecclesiastical princes, an…

Timeline

  1. c. 900–1024Aachen and imperial palaces · RhinelandThe Ottonian emperors regularly convened dukes, bishops, and counts for court assemblies (Hoftag) to discuss military campaigns, fiefs, and imperial policy, forming a proto-type of joint rule by emperor and princes.
  2. c. 1024–1125Worms and Speyer · RhinelandEmperors such as Henry III and Henry IV held imperial assemblies at Worms, Speyer, and elsewhere to handle the Investiture Controversy and princely demands, with assembly resolutions beginning to be fixed in the form of charters and oaths.
  3. c. 1171–1180Nuremberg and Regensburg · BavariaAfter the wars of the Lombard League, Frederick I repeatedly assembled and consulted with princes, trading military aid, privilege confirmations, and fief adjustments for their support of his Italian policy and imperial succession, making the Imperial Diet's role as a princely consultation mechanism more prominent than ever.
  4. 1356–1806Nuremberg · FranconiaCharles IV's Golden Bull established the electoral college system and rules for convening the Diet, transforming the Imperial Diet from a customary assembly into a permanent consultative body with constitutional significance, until the empire's dissolution in 1806.

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