In this episode, we discuss the eastward expansion and rapid decentralisation of the Holy Roman Empire between the 12th and 15th centuries.
In the aftermath of the annihilation of the House of Hohenstaufen in the 1250s and 60s, the Imperial throne (when it was occupied at all) was principally contested by three rival houses: the House of Habsburg, Luxemburg, and Wittelsbach, though none of these houses were able to establish a secure ruling dynasty until 1452. The centralised Imperial authority of the Ottonians and Salians gave way to the rule of hundreds of small states or Kleinstaaterei and the rise of city leagues in the north (Hansa) in Swabia and Switzerland. Meanwhile, German settlement facilitated by the Northern crusades, expanded beyond the traditional confines of East Francia at the Elbe River; to encompass Pomerania, Silesia, Prussia, and Livonia.
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