Holy Roman Empire
a Germanic empire located chiefly in central Europe that began with the coronation of Charlemagne as Roman emperor in a.d. 800 (or, according to some historians, with the coronation of Otto the Great, king of Germany, in a.d. 962) and ended with the renunciation of the Roman imperial title by Francis II in 1806, and was regarded theoretically as the continuation of the Western Empire and as the temporal form of a universal dominion whose spiritual head was the pope.
Compare Meanings
Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.
Words Nearby Holy Roman Empire
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Holy Roman Empire in a sentence
Still, subreddit moderators are free to block and unblock whatever they wish (remember, Holy Roman Empire).
The Holy Roman Empire possessed only the trappings and the shadow of power; the reality belonged to the burghers of the towns.
German Problems and Personalities | Charles SaroleaAnd these were feebly combined into the phantasm known as the Holy Roman Empire.
Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth Century | Charles MorrisThe town clerk was perfectly aware that the Holy Roman Empire had come to an end, pro tem.
Strange Stories | Grant AllenIn the Holy Roman Empire, the son of the emperor did not necessarily succeed his father as ruler.
The World War and What was Behind It | Louis P. Benezet
Its barrenness was formerly much exaggerated, when it was popularly described as the “sandbox of the Holy Roman Empire.”
British Dictionary definitions for Holy Roman Empire
the complex of European territories under the rule of the Frankish or German king who bore the title of Roman emperor, beginning with the coronation of Charlemagne in 800 ad . The last emperor, Francis II, relinquished his crown in 1806
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for Holy Roman Empire
A major political institution in Europe that lasted from the ninth to the nineteenth centuries. It was loosely organized and modeled somewhat on the ancient Roman Empire. It included great amounts of territory in the central and western parts of Europe. Charlemagne was its first emperor. In later years, the emperors were Germans and Austrians. The empire declined greatly in power after the sixteenth century.
Notes for Holy Roman Empire
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse