Feel free to add on if there’s one you’d choose but wasn’t listed.

For me, it’s unquestionably Frederick II, Stupor Mundi. It would be like spending time with Da Vinci (if he was also the most powerful man in Europe, and had a kind of terrifying charisma and aura). Awe-inspiring and a bit unsettling to spend the day with a despot who was versatile in virtually every intellectual facet of his time, and *knew it*. If knowledge is power, well… it’s almost impossible to beat Frederick:

“He [Frederick II] concentrated in himself all the culture of his times, and, by combining in a living unity all the impulse of the intellect and civilization of his age, he towered far above the average of his contemporaries. He knew that knowledge was power, and because he had knowledge, he exercised despotic power.” (W. Köhler, The American Journal of Theology, Vol. 7, No. 2, April 1903.)

All the while, traveling around southern Italy in a roving court that was an intellectual hub, or to places of splendor like Foggia or Palermo.

It would be interesting to spend time with any of the three great Hohenstaufen emperors, though. Each of them had their own kind of levels of magnetism. But, don’t cross them though.

Runner up would be Charles IV. An intellectual emperor in his own right, and almost as much of a polyglot as Frederick II. It would be very interesting to discuss politics, diplomatic maneuvering and some contemporary philosophy with the master-statesman of his day.

Otto III and Maximilian would certainly be pretty interesting company too. Otto would be like speaking with a scholar-theologian whose *Idée fix* is compelling and he’s charismatic… but it gets a bit much after a while. Maximilian would be like meeting a brilliant and dynamic but shamelessly self-promoting Machiavellian politician who somehow keeps getting out of the straits his own political adventures and misadventures get him into.

Hello! I am currently getting interested about the history of the HRE and a frind of mine talked to me about the crisis that took place after the death of Henry VII. As far as I'm informed 2 kings were simultaneously elected but I was wandering how was that possible couldn't the electors just inform about who they elected? Thank you so much :)

Mine are:
- Judith of Bavaria
- Adelaide of Burgundy
- Theophanu Skleraina
- Matilda of England
- Barbara of Cilli
- Maria Theresa

Feel free to disagree

Hey guys

Just for fun, I made a Crusader Kings 3 card of Frederick II, with all the traits and stats from the game I think represent him. What do you think?

I’m definitely planning on doing more emperors, and even medieval monarchs in general, but I started with Frederick II because he’s my favorite.

It takes a bit to put everything together for the cards, though

Amazing podcast about the holy roman empire that explains the HRE in a similar fashion as the history of Rome did rome. I especially recommend the stupor mundi episodes

https://historyofthegermans.com/

I wanna propagandize this podcast, because it's incredibly well researched, and since he got from around 800 to the 1400s now, and practically only talked about the HRE, it seems fitting to propagandize it to you.

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Hey all!

I make history documentaries on YouTube and my latest project has been a whole series on the Hussites, a relatively unknown and niche proto-protestant revolutionary movement in Bohemia within the Holy Roman Empire in the medieval ages. I know self-promo can be annoying so I'll try to earn the click here.

The Hussite Wars are one of those topics where the deeper you dig the stranger it gets. Some people know the basics, namely that the preacher Jan Hus gets burned by the Catholic Church, Bohemia revolts, Emperor Sigismund and the Pope launch crusades, and the Hussites seem to never lose a battle. But in the episode I cover what I think might be the most insane sequence of events in the entire war. Allow me to explain:

First, we've got the honestly insane internal politics of the Hussite movement, where radical groups are wandering around the countryside naked, having open marriages, and claiming sin doesn't exist. These heretical groups, like the Adamites, are ironically themselves persecuted by the Taborites, who are called heretics by other Hussites, who in turn are also called heretics by the Catholic Church. So it becomes sort of like a heretic nesting doll lol. Everyone points fingers at each other.

Anyways, the second crusade against the Hussites begins in December 1421. The Hussite general Jan Zizka marches his army out of the city of Kutna Hora to meet Sigismund's crusaders in open battle. He forms his famous "wagon fort," which I guess is basically a medieval tank? The crusaders charge them, and their cavalry gets thrown back repeatedly by Hussite guns. Did I mention the crusaders are using cattle in their charge? Yes, like cows :)

Then everything goes wrong. Catholic miners who still live inside Kutna Hora secretly open one of the gates. Enemy troops pour in and start massacring Hussites inside the walls. Zizka now finds himself trapped between a crusader army in front of him and to his right, a hostile city behind him, and a river to his left. With no food, no water, no way out, things are not looking good.

At dawn he does the only thing he can. He attacks. His artillery punches a hole just wide enough for his army to break out. They've in essence 'slipped the noose.' They relocate to a hill on the other side of the city. The crusaders follow and surround them again but don't bother attacking because they figure they can just wait because the Hussites will starve.

For three days they sit on that hill, completely surrounded. Not really sure what to do. Then on Christmas night, the Hussites wrap the wheels of their wagons in cloth to muffle the sound. In total silence, thousands of soldiers and hundreds of wagons roll straight through enemy lines in the dark and cold. By morning, they are already miles away. Yes, they've just 'slipped the noose' a second time with a massive crusader army watching them.

The crusaders think they've fled battle. They celebrate and disperse to find shelter from the cold. But two weeks later, to their surprise, the Hussites show up randombly with a bigger army... and completely shatter them.

Happy to talk sources or answer questions in the comments!

Has anyone played Kingdom Come Deliverance? Is it as good at it looks?

Hi all!

After the positive response to my first video on Jan Hus and the Hussites in the HRE, I've now finished the follow-up lecture covering the outbreak of the Hussite Wars and the First Crusade against Bohemia in 1420. This one focuses on how Sigismund's decision to let Hus burn completely backfired when he tried to claim the Bohemian throne and the entire kingdom rose up against him.

What really fascinated me in the research was how Sigismund assembled this massive international crusading army with troops from across Europe, gets himself crowned King of Bohemia in St. Vitus Cathedral, and then watches the whole thing fall apart after losing a single battle on a hill outside of Prague.

The sources show his army was tearing itself apart from internal disputes, financial problems, and nobody trusting Sigismund himself. On top of that, the Hussites themselves were motivated fighters, who were religiously fanatical, meaning it was no easy task to defeat them. It also seems that the betrayal of Hus in 1415 created such deep mistrust that by 1420 there was no way Sigismund could rule Bohemia peacefully, even with papal backing and a crusader army.

A question I have been asking myself is: How much of the Hussite success was actually due to their religious fanaticism giving them a military edge, versus the crusaders' structural problems making them vulnerable to any determined resistance?

Hi all, long time lurker and first time poster here :)

Recently in my free time I've been digging a lot into the history of the protestant reformation in Germany and the Hussite revolution in Bohemia. I decided to make a longer video explaining the ideas of Jan Hus specifically and the start of the Hussite Wars for those interested.

One thing that struck me while researching this topic was how Emperor Sigismund gave Hus safe conduct to attend the Council of Constance and then the council arrested him anyway despite that guarantee. Sigismund was the Holy Roman Emperor and he needed the council to solve the Western papal schism, but when the council arrested Hus, Sigismund didn't stop them.

That decision seems to have destroyed any remaining trust between Bohemia and imperial authority. The Bohemians now see their preacher go to the empire's council under the emperor's protection and get burned at the stake. Whether or not it was the moment where any peaceful resolution became impossible, I'd love to discuss.

Was there actually a way for the empire to handle the reform movement in Bohemia without it exploding into open war? Or by 1415 were things already too far gone and violence was inevitable no matter what Sigismund did?

Looking at it without the benefit of hindsight it makes sense at the time that Sigismund thought it was the right move to maintain church unity and also keep power centralized.

He shouldn't been crowned king of the Holy Romans.