Documents - The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation – Its Constitution, Defenders and Critics

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1.	The "Youngest Recess" [jüngster Reichsabschied] of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire in 1654 (May 17, 1654) This recess, or resolution, of the Imperial Estates – that is, the ecclesiastical and secular princes and Imperial Cities assembled in the Imperial Diet [Reichstag] – was important for the....
2.	Electoral Agreement of King and Emperor Leopold I (July 18, 1658) The Electoral Agreement of King and Emperor Leopold I of July 18, 1658, further strengthened the....
3.	Samuel Pufendorf, The Constitution of the German Empire (1667) Taken from a famous and influential work, these brief excerpts highlight the political divisions within the Holy Roman Empire. In assessing the constitution, or makeup, of the empire, author Samuel....
4.	Count Johann Anton Pergen's Memorandum to Austrian Co-Regent Joseph II on "the Value of the Imperial Crown" to the House of Austria (1766) Johann Anton Pergen, a seasoned diplomat and high official in the Austrian service, responds to Joseph....
5.	Emperor Joseph II on the Structure and Political Condition of the Austrian Monarchy and the Holy Roman Empire (1767/68) The following memorandum was written in French and addressed to the emperor’s brother Leopold, Grand....
6.	Joseph Görres on the Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire (c. 1806) Joseph Görres mocks conservative regrets at the Empire’s passing and, in an expression of early liberal-democratic nationalism, invokes a revolutionary future for “our nation.”
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