Editing Imperial Estate

{{Short description|Constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire with representation in the Imperial Diet}}
{{about|the constituents of the Holy Roman Empire|imperial estates in the Roman Empire|Imperial estate (Roman)|the use of "imperial state" as a synonym for "empire"|Empire|the Imperial State of Iran|Pahlavi dynasty}}
[[File:Immerwährender Reichstag.jpg|thumb|right|340px|Seating order of the [[Perpetual Diet of Regensburg]] (1663 engraving)]]
[[File:HRR 1400.png|thumb|300px|Map of the Holy Roman Empire in 1400]]
An '''Imperial Estate''' ({{langx|la|Status Imperii}}; {{langx|de|Reichsstand}}, plural: ''{{lang|de|Reichsstände}}'') was an entity or an individual of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] with representation and the right to vote in the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]] (''{{lang|de|Reichstag}}''). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise significant rights and privileges and were "[[Imperial immediacy|immediate]]", meaning the only authority above them was that of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. They were thus able to rule their territories with a considerable degree of [[autonomy]].

The system of imperial states replaced the more regular division of [[Germany]] into [[stem duchy|stem duchies]] in the early medieval period. 
The old [[Carolingian Empire|Carolingian]] stem duchies were retained as the major divisions of Germany under the [[Salian dynasty]], but they became increasingly obsolete during the early high medieval [[era|period]] under the [[Hohenstaufen]], and they were finally abolished in 1180 by [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]] in favour of more numerous [[territorial]] divisions. From 1489, the Imperial Estates represented in the Diet were divided into three chambers, the college of [[prince-electors]] ({{Lang|de|Kurfürstenkollegium/den Kurfürstenrat}}), the college of [[Princes of the Holy Roman Empire|imperial princes]] ({{Lang|de|Reichsfürstenrat}}) and the college of [[Free imperial city|imperial cities]]. Counts and nobles were not directly represented in the Diet in spite of their immediate status, but were grouped into "benches" ({{lang|de|Grafenbänke}}) with a single vote each.
[[Imperial Knight]]s had immediate status but were not represented in the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Diet]].

== Composition ==
{{see also|List of states in the Holy Roman Empire}}
[[File:Holy Roman Empire 1648.svg|thumb|340px|Map of the Holy Roman Empire in 1648]]
Imperial Estates could be either ecclesiastic or secular. The ecclesiastical Estates were led by:
* the three clerical [[Prince-elector]]s: the Archbishops of [[Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]], [[Archbishopric of Mainz|Mainz]] and [[Electorate of Trier|Trier]];
* [[Prince-Bishop|Prince-Archbishops]] and Prince-Bishops as well as [[Prince-Abbot]]s and [[Prince-Provost]]s of the Empire;
* [[List of Imperial abbeys|Imperial Prelates]], immediate [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|Prior]]s and [[Provost (religion)|Provosts]];
* [[Grand Master (order)|Grand Masters]] of [[military order (society)|military order]]s like the [[Teutonic Knights]] or [[Knights Hospitaller]].
The secular Estates, most notably:
* the four Prince-Electors of the [[Electoral Palatinate|County Palatine of the Rhine]], [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]], [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]] and [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]], later also [[Electorate of Bavaria|Bavaria]] (replacing the Palatinate) and [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanover]].
* [[Princes of the Holy Roman Empire|Imperial Princes]] including [[Grand Duke]]s, [[Duke]]s, [[Count palatine|Counts Palatine]], [[Margrave]]s and [[Landgrave]]s;
* [[Imperial Count]]s, [[Burgrave]]s, [[Freiherr|Baron]]s, and [[Imperial prelate|prelate]]s;
* the [[Free imperial city|Free and Imperial cities]].
Until 1582 the votes of the Free and Imperial Cities were only advisory. None of the rulers below the Holy Roman Emperor ranked as kings, with the exception of the [[List of rulers of Bohemia|Kings of Bohemia]].

The status of Estate was normally attached to a particular territory within the Empire, but there were some ''{{lang|de|reichsständische Personalisten}}'', or "persons with Imperial statehood". Originally, the Emperor alone could grant that status, but in 1653, several restrictions on the Emperor's power were introduced. 
The creation of a new Estate required the assent of the College of Electors and of the College of Princes (see {{lang|de|[[Imperial State#Reichstag|Reichstag]]}} below). The ruler was required to agree to accept Imperial taxation and military obligations. Furthermore, the Estate was required to obtain admittance into one of the [[Imperial Circle Estates|Imperial Circles]]. Theoretically, personalist Estates were forbidden after 1653, but exceptions were often made.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}
Once a territory attained the status of an Estate, it could only lose that status under very few circumstances. A territory ceded to a foreign power ceased to be an Estate.

From 1648 onwards, inheritance of the Estate was limited to one family; a territory inherited by a different family ceased to be an Estate unless the Emperor explicitly allowed otherwise. Finally, a territory could cease to be an Imperial Estate by being subjected to the [[Imperial ban]] (the most notable example involved [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine]], who was banned in 1621 for his participation in the [[Bohemian Revolt]]).

In the [[German mediatization]] between 1803 and 1806, the vast majority of the Estates of the Holy Roman Empire were mediatised. They lost their Imperial immediacy and became part of other Estates. The number of Estates was reduced from about three hundred to about thirty. Mediatisation went along with secularisation: the abolition of most of the ecclesiastical Estates. This dissolution of the constitution of the structure of the empire was soon followed by the dissolution of the empire itself, in 1806.

== Rights and privileges ==
Rulers of Imperial States enjoyed precedence over other subjects in the Empire. Electors were originally styled ''{{lang|de|[[Serene Highness|Durchlaucht]]}}'' (Serene Highness), princes ''{{lang|de|[[Hochwohlgeboren|Hochgeboren]]}}'' (high-born) and counts ''{{lang|de|Hoch- und Wohlgeboren}}'' (high and well-born). In the eighteenth century, the electors were upgraded to ''{{lang|de|Durchläuchtigste}}'' (Most Serene Highness), princes to ''{{lang|de|Durchlaucht}}'' (Serene Highness) and counts to ''{{lang|de|Erlaucht}}'' (Illustrious Highness).

Imperial States enjoyed several rights and privileges. Rulers had autonomy inasmuch as their families were concerned; in particular, they were permitted to make rules regarding the inheritance of their states without imperial interference. They were permitted to make treaties and enter into [[military alliance|alliances]] with other Imperial States as well as with foreign nations. The electors, but not the other rulers, were permitted to exercise certain regalian powers, including the power to [[mint (coin)|mint]] money, the power to collect [[tax|tolls]] and a monopoly over [[gold]] and [[silver]] mines.

== Imperial Diet ==
From 1489 onwards, the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]] was divided into three ''{{lang|la|collegia}}'': the Council of [[Prince-Elector|Electors]], the Council of Princes, and the Council of Cities. Electoral states belonged to the Council of Electors; other states, whether ecclesiastical or secular, belonged to the Council of Princes.

Votes were held in right of the states, rather than personally. Consequently, an individual ruling several states held multiple votes; similarly, multiple individuals ruling parts of the same state shared a single vote. These rules were not formalized until 1582; before then, when multiple individuals inherited parts of the same state, they sometimes received a vote each. Votes were either individual or collective. Princes and senior clerics generally held individual votes (but such votes, as noted above, were sometimes shared). [[Prelate]]s (abbots and priors) without individual votes were classified into two benches: the Bench of the [[Rhine]] and the Bench of [[Swabian Circle|Swabia]]. Each of these had a collective vote. Similarly, Counts were grouped into four comital benches with one collective vote each: the [[Upper Rhenish Circle|Upper Rhenish]] Bench of [[Wetterau]], the Swabian Bench, the [[Franconian Circle|Franconian]] Bench and the [[Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle|Westphalian]] Bench.

No elector ever held multiple electorates; nor were electorates ever divided between multiple heirs. Hence, in the Council of Electors, each individual held exactly one vote. An example of this was when [[Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria|Charles Theodore]], Elector Palatine, inherited the Electorate of Bavaria in 1777, the vote of the Palatinate was nullified. However, Electors who ruled states in addition to their electorates also voted in the Council of Princes; similarly, princes who also ruled comital territories voted both individually and in the comital benches. In the [[List of Reichstag participants (1792)|Reichstag in 1792]], for instance, the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Elector of Brandenburg]] held eight individual votes in the Council of Princes and one vote in the Bench of Westphalia. Similarly, among ecclesiastics, the Grand Master of the [[Teutonic Order]] held one individual vote in the Council of Princes and two in the Bench of the Rhine.

==Quaternions==
{{see|Quaternion Eagle}}
[[File:Quaternionen des Reiches.png|thumb|300px|Typical representation of the quaternions ([[Wierix family|Anton III Wierix]] 1606).
The ten quaternions are shown underneath the emperor flanked by the [[prince-elector]]s ([[Electorate of Trier|Archbishop of Trier]], [[Archbishop of Cologne]], [[Archbishop of Mainz]]; [[King of Bohemia]], [[Electoral Palatinate|Count Palatine]], [[Duke of Saxony]], [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Margrave of Brandenburg]]).
<!--Dukes (''Duces''): [[duchy of Swabia|Swabia]], [[duchy of Brunswick|Brunswick]], [[duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]], [[duchy of Lotharingia|Lotharingia]];
Margraves (''Marchiones''): [[Margraviate of Meissen|Meissen]], [[March of Moravia|Moravia]], [[Margraviate of Baden|Baden]], [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]];
Landgraves (''Comites Provinciales''): [[Thuringia]], [[Hessen]], [[Leuchtenberg]], [[Alsace]];
Burggraves (''Comites Castrenses''): [[Meidenburg]], [[Buruberg]], [[Reneck]], Stromburg;
Counts (''Comites''): Schwarzburg, Cleves, Celje, Savoy ??
Knights (''Milites''): Adelau, Meldingen, Strueck, Frauenberg ??
Nobles (''Liberi'': [[Limburg]], [[Tusis]], [[Westerburg]], [[Andlau]]; ?
Cities (''Metropoles''): Augusta, Metis, Aquisgranum, Lubeck ?
Villages (''Villae''): [[Bamberg]], [[Selestad]], [[Hagen]], [[Ulm]];
Peasants (''Rustici''): [[Cologne]], [[Ratisbon]], [[Constance]], [[Salzburg]]-->
]]
[[File:Quaternion Eagle by Jost de Negker.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A "[[Quaternion Eagle]]" (each quaternion being represented by four coats of arms on the [[Reichsadler|imperial eagle]]'s [[Flight feather|remiges]]) [[Hans Burgkmair]], {{Circa|1510}}.
Twelve quaternions are shown, as follows (eight dukes being divided into two quaternions called "pillars" and "vicars", respectively<ref>
cf. Christian Knorr von Rosenroth, ''Anführung zur Teutschen Staats-Kunst'' (1672), [https://books.google.com/books?id=S4RnAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA669 p. 669].</ref>): ''Seill'' ("pillars"), ''Vicari'' ("vicars"), ''Marggraven'' (margraves), ''Lantgraven'' (landgraves), ''Burggraven'' (burggraves), ''Graven'' (counts), ''Semper freie'' (nobles), ''Ritter'' (knights), ''Stett'' (cities), ''Dörfer'' (villages), ''Bauern'' (peasants), ''Birg'' (castles).]]
The so-called '''imperial quaternions''' (German: ''Quaternionen der Reichsverfassung'' "quaternions of the imperial constitution"; from Latin ''[[:wikt:quaternio|quaterniō]]'' "group of four soldiers")
were a conventional representation of the Imperial States of the Holy Roman Empire which first became current in the 15th century and was extremely popular during the 16th century.<ref>Hans Legband, "Zu den Quaternionen der Reichsverfassung", '' Archiv für Kulturgeschichte'' 3 (1905), 495–498.
Ernst Schubert, "Die Quaternionen", ''Zeitschrift für historische Forschung'' 20 (1993),  1–63.</ref>

Apart from the highest tiers of the [[Holy Roman Emperor|emperor]], [[king]]s, [[prince-bishop]]s and the [[prince elector]]s, the estates are represented in groups of [[four (number)|four]]. The number of quaternions was usually ten, in descending order of precedence [[Stem duchy|Dukes]] (''Duces''), [[Margrave]]s (''Marchiones''), [[Landgrave]]s (''Comites Provinciales''), [[Burggrave]]s (''Comites Castrenses''), [[Graf|Counts]] (''Comites''), [[imperial knight|Knights]] (''Milites''), Noblemen (''Liberi''), [[imperial city|Cities]] (''Metropoles''), Villages (''Villae'') and Peasants (''Rustici''). The list could be shortened or expanded, by the mid-16th century to as many as 45.<ref>
Jakob Carl Spener, '' teutsches ivs pvblicvm; oder, des Heil. Römisch-Teutschen Reichs vollständige Staats-Rechts-Lehre'', George Marcus Knoche (1723), [https://books.google.com/books?id=oF1eAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA124 124f.] (note ''a''); the extended list of quaternions is here traced to [[Onofrio Panvinio]], ''De Comitiis Imperatoriis'' (Basel 1558). <!--also repeated by Melchior von Haiminsfeld, genant Goldast  (1576/8&ndash;1635) --></ref>
 
It is likely that this system was first introduced under [[Emperor Sigismund]], who is assumed to have commissioned the frescoes in [[Römer|Frankfurt city hall]] in 1414.<ref>Konrad Bund, ''Findbuch der Epitaphienbücher (1238)–1928 und der Wappenbücher (1190)–1801'' (1987).
</ref>

As has been noted from an early time, this representation of the "imperial constitution" does not in fact represent the actual constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, as some imperial cities appear as "villages" or even "peasants". 
E.g. the four "peasants" are Cologne, Constance, Regensburg and Salzburg. The Burggrave of [[Štramberk|Stramberg]] (or Stromberg, Straburg, Strandeck, and variants) was an unknown entity even at the time. The representation of imperial subjects is also far from complete. The "imperial quaternions" are, rather, a more or less random selection intended to represent ''[[pars pro toto]]'' the structure of the imperial constitution.

== See also ==
* [[Princes of the Holy Roman Empire]]
* [[List of Imperial Diet participants (1792)]]
* [[List of states in the Holy Roman Empire]]
* [[Estates of the realm]]
* [[Stem duchy]]
*[[Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire]]
*''[[Heerschild]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/royalstyle.htm Velde, F. R. (2003), ''Royal Styles'']
* [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/hre.htm Velde, F. R. (2004), ''The Holy Roman Empire'']
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Law of the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Monarchy in Germany]]
[[Category:States of the Holy Roman Empire| ]]