This book recounts the constitutional history of the Holy Roman Empire from the late 15th century up to the end of the Empire in 1806, using a dual approach. Following a chronological overview of the development of the imperial constitution, in-depth systematic chapters are devoted to the Empire=s institutions and protagonists and the ways in which it functioned. The negotiation of power between the emperor and the imperial Estates at the imperial diets is discussed, along with ceremonials and the importance of the ?local empire= for imperial subjects. Separate sections are devoted to the peripheries of the empire, imperial public relations, and historiography. Matthias Schnettger combines classical constitutional history with the findings of recent research in social and cultural history. In this way, he succeeds in vividly presenting both the institutions and standards and also the changing constitutional realities of the Empire in a concise and highly readable introduction.

Matthias Schnettger is Professor of Early Modern History at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz.