Hi Guys,
Somehow related to the other
thread about HRE (and somehow related to my own timeline), can you please help me with some clarification about the processes of disintegration of the Empire?
It seems that nearly in all Germany, sometime in the middle of 13 century, both the big domains and the smaller ones start to be split among brothers (Brandenburg, Bavaria, Nassau, etc.). Why this ? I know that it coincide with the crumbling of Imperial power... but still, the process started during the reign of Frederick II which was quite very powerful emperor. Yah, there was the German inheritance tradition, but still, previously this period of time was far less substantial. What was changed in the collective mental?
By the reign of Rudolf I, there were still huge regions in the Empire winch were Imperial lands (imperial cities, imperial provinces, etc) which were out of the control of great families. They were very crumbled and in the hands of small local nobles. Which was more beneficial for the Emperor? Strong and large duchies/margraviate/counties with powerful leaders, or a puzzle of small entities which theoretically responded directly to Emperor but practically they do not care too much?
Now, could it be sometime after a long period of continuous civil wars (something similar to Interregnum but repeated some two or three times) that an Emperor to resurrect old duchies titles (steam duchies) and award them to some more prominent nobles (not forcibly to his allies, but even some to his enemies which force this upon him) ? Like Duchy of Saxony, Franconia, Turingia, Bavaria (Bavaria was still a duchy but covered way less land than the steam one), eventually Swabia ? Or even granting some royal crowns (creating a Kingdom of Saxony centered in Brunswick-Luneburg or a Kingdom of Bavaria) ?
Thanks!