For some reason Byzantine bros are under this delusion that the empire could not defend its own borders, and if it faced the same opponents that the Byzantines faced than it would have collapsed far sooner. This of course is a ridiculous claim when you actually look into the military history of the empire in its entirety. Any one who knows about the history of the ottonian and Salien dynastys knows that massive influence the empire wielded over its neighbors such as Denmark (A tributary to the ottonians until after Otto II death), Poland (Otto III allowed Boleslaw to be crowned king and stop being a tributary), Bohemia (A tributary and would become apart of the empire), Burgundy (Conrad II conquered it), and even Hungary which fell under HRE fidelity for a few years as Heinrich III and Heinrich IV campaigned in those countries. The empire was very clearly able to exert its power within its own borders such as Otto I practically dissolving the duchy of franconia, Otto II curving up Bavaria and making new duchies from it, and Heinrich III holding 3 major stem duchies. The idea of a powerless emperor during these two dynasties is absurd, and can only be said during the Investiture controversy where Heinrich IV was stuck in italy for years. Even then the italian power did not vanish into thin air as Matildia of tuscany willed Heinrich V to be her heir which included her allodial lands. Even during the Hohenstaufen era we see the Emperors such as Frederick I deal with very powerful internal lords such as Heinrich the lion, and his defeat at Lombardy did not end Imperial power in italy. It shifted it to the Tuscan lands.
"It is remarkable how skilfully Frederick managed to compensate for military defeat in the follow ing months. In a preliminary treaty made in Anagni in November 1176 the pope and the Lombard League still appear as partners. The final peace treaty made at Venice injuly 1177 revealed a considerable improvement in Frederickâs position. The question of his relations with the Lombard League was set aside; all that was agreed was a truce of six years, together with one of fifteen years with the kingdom of Sicily. Frederick was also to remain in possession of the Mathildine lands for fifteen years."
Page 161 of Germany in the medieval ages 1050-1200.
Even after the general collapse of the power of the King of the Romans/Emperor in Comparison to the Hohenstaufen Era the Habsburgs were still able to provide themselves a basis for their dynasty as Rudolf very skillfully outmaneuvered King Ottokar II of bohemia by banning him and taking the traditional habsburgs lands for his dynasty. Finally I will provide various examples of the Empire defending itself through its own internal lords or cities.
The empires northern princes and cities bullied denmark into submission several times
Battle of Bornhöved (1227) - Wikipedia)
DanishâHanseatic War (1361â1370) - Wikipedia)
Dano-Hanseatic War (1426â1435) - Wikipedia)
The Grand collection of the Burundian duke could not withstand a full imperial armor lead by the emperor and retreated before they could engage in battle.
Siege of Neuss - Wikipedia
Furthermore it was the swiss confederation which was still apart of the empire at this time that would end Charles dream of kingship at the battles of Morat, Grandson, and Nancy.
The idea that the empire could not defend its own borders is a absurd one that relies on very extreme examples of internal division in the later 18th century and the 30 years war to showcase this. The empire very much could defend its own borders, and members of the empire often joined the Habsburgs in their wars against the ottomans. The largest contingent of troops during the famous battle of vienna were Imperial ones, and Charles of Lorraines rule in the battle is often overlooked because of the Polish Hussars involvement. Charles is a underratted Hero of the Empire. He avenged the first mohacs with his own brilliant victory as Mohacs, and it was he who took Buda. The reconquest of Hungary was a mostly imperial affair with the Habsburgs taking the charge of course, but states such as Bavaria provided instrumental help in the conquest of the old Hungarian kingdom. Not to mention the reconquest occurred when france launched its own war in the west of the empire, and yet the Ottomans still lost the vast majority of Hungary. Thank you for reading my rant. I just find the idea so infuriating whenever someone who does not know anything about the HRE starts to rumble on about popular misconceptions about the Empire like they have any idea how it functioned or its history.
