The Empire and the Papacy at Peace

In the previous article of this rubric we witnessed the conclusion of the struggle for world dominion between the papacy and the Hohenstaufen family. We saw that the claims of the papacy survived also the blows struck again and again by this house; and my closing remark was that the struggle ended with the Holy Roman Empire prostrate in the dust before the papacy. The term "Holy Roman Empire" is one in the need of some explanation. Empire is a term used to signify the dominions governed by a...