Holy Roman Empire Association - Order of the Imperial Knights of the HRE

Holy Roman Empire Association - Order of the Imperial Knights of the HRE The Free Imperial knights (German: Reichsritter Latin: Eques imperii) were free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor.

Order of the Imperial Knights of the HRE - Orden der Reichsritterschaft - Holy Roman Empire Association - Associazioni dei Nobili del Sacro Romano Impero - Sacri Romani Imperii Societas - HREA - Founded In Rome on Christmas Day in 1963. They were the remnants of the medieval free nobility (edelfrei) and the ministeriales. What distinguished them from other knights, who were vassals of a higher lor

d, was the fact that they had been granted Imperial immediacy, and as such were the equals in most respects to the other individuals or entities, such as the secular and ecclesiastical territorial rulers of the Empire (margraves, dukes, princes, counts, archbishops, bishops, abbots, etc.) and the Free Imperial cities, that also enjoyed Imperial immediacy. However, unlike all of those, the Imperial knights did not possess the status of Estates (Stände) of the Empire, and therefore were not represented, individually or collectively, in the Imperial Diet. To protect their rights and avoid vassalage to more powerful nobles, they organized themselves into three unions (Partheien) in the late 15th century and into a single body in 1577, and fought to win recognition. This status, beholden only to the Emperor himself rather than through a more powerful noble, meant the Imperial Knights were "immediate subjects" (their fealty was unmediated by another lord). As such, the Imperial Knights exercised a limited form of sovereignty within their territories. Their immediate status was recognized at the Peace of Westphalia. They never gained access to the Imperial Diet, the parliament of lords, and were not considered Hochadel, the high nobility, belonging to the Lower Nobility.

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Nobility of the Holy Roman Empire - Holy Roman Empire Association - Associazioni dei Nobili del Sacro Romano Impero - The HREA is an Organization that was established in 1963 with the aim of uniting descendants in the male and female line of individuals who were granted Noble Titles by the Holy Roman Empire through Imperial Letters Patent. www.HolyRomanEmpireAssociation.org

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The Ceremonial Dagger of the Grand Master of the Order of the Defeated Dragon - Pugio Caerimonialis Magni Magistri Ordinis Draconis Victi. www.SocietasDraconistarum.com

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The Landsknechte (singular: Landsknecht, pronounced [ˈlantsknɛçt]), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were German mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line was formed by Doppelsöldner ("double-pay men") renowned for their use of Zweihänder and arquebus. They formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Army from the late 15th century to the early 17th century, fighting in the Habsburg-Valois wars, the Habsburg-Ottoman wars, and the European wars of religion.

The Germanic compound Landsknecht (earlier Lantknecht, without Fugen-"s") combines Land and Knecht to form "servant of the land". The compound Lantknecht was used during the 15th century for bailiffs or court ushers.

The word Landsknecht first appeared in the German language circa 1470 to describe certain troops in the army of Charles, Duke of Burgundy. As early as 1500, the term was morphed into Lanzknecht, referring to the unit's use of the pike as its main weapon. www.HolyRomanEmpireAssociation.com

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Kaiser Maximilian I. und Georg von Frundsberg, depicting the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Georg von Frundsberg, Knight of the Holy Roman Empire, founders of the Landsknechte, by Karl von Blaas, 1868. Kunsthistorisches Museum. www.HolyRomanEmpireAssociation.com

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The March of the Reiters and Landsknecht — André Martin-Gauthereau (1883-1918).

The Landsknechte, also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were German mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line was formed by Doppelsöldner ("double-pay men") renowned for their use of Zweihänder and arquebus. They formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Army from the late 15th century to the early 17th century, fighting in the Habsburg-Valois wars, the Habsburg-Ottoman wars, and the European wars of religion.

Although prone to mutiny if unpaid and divided within their ranks between Catholics and Lutherans, the Landsknechte were well-armed and experienced warriors, recruitable in large numbers throughout Germany and Austria by the Holy Roman Emperor. This guaranteed both quantity and quality to the Imperial military for a century and a half. At their peak during the reign of Charles V of Habsburg, and under the leadership of notable captains such as Georg von Frundsberg and Nicholas of Salm, the Imperial Landsknechts obtained important successes such as the capture of the French King Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 and the resistance against the Ottoman Turks led by Suleiman the Magnificent at the Siege of Vienna in 1529, while also being responsible for the Sack of Rome in 1527. www.HolyRomanEmpireAssociation.com

03/12/2024

5.0 ★ · Association / Organization

Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508...
03/12/2024

Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Elected Emperor in 1508 (Pope Julius II later recognized this) at Trent, thus breaking the long tradition of requiring a papal coronation for the adoption of the Imperial title. Maximilian was the only surviving son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal. Since his coronation as King of the Romans in 1486, he ran a double government, or Doppelregierung (with a separate court), with his father until Frederick's death in 1493. www.HolyRomanEmpireAssociation.com

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