James Bryce

“ EMPIRE, a term used to denote either the territories governed by a person bearing the title of emperor (see Emperor) , or, more generally, any extensive dominion. The historians of a former age were accustomed to enumerate a succession of great empires, and especially the Babylonian and Assyrian, Medo-Persian, and the Macedonian, which had embraced the greater part of the civilized world before the rise of Roman power, but that system has now been abandoned. ”

“ The government of the Holy Roman Empire was never an absolute monarchy in the sense in which that of the old pagan empire had been, or that of the Eastern empire at Constantinople was while it lasted. Down till the end of the Hohenstaufen time (1254) it was a strong feudal monarchy, in which, as in the other feudal kingdoms of Europe, the sovereign enjoyed powers which were considerable but by no means unlimited, as he was obliged to respect the rights of his vassals, and could obtain supplies and pass laws only with the consent of the Diet, or supreme national assembly. ”

“ This state of things lasted till 800, when Charles king of the Franks (Charlemagne) was crowned Roman emperor in Rome by Pope Leo All the Western provinces, except a part of Italy, had long since ceased to obey the emperor, and that part of Italy had rebelled about seventy years before. The object of the elevation of the Frankish king was to make Rome again the capital of an undivided Roman empire, rather than to effect a severance by creating a separate Western empire ”