The Circle Colonel () was an office in the
Imperial Circles of the
Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
in the
Early Modern Period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
.
According to the Circle Edict of 1522, every Circle had to nominate a
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
(''Hauptmann'') and notify the
Emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
. He was not, however, primarily the military superior of the
circle troops, but was to carry out all the tasks laid down in the Circle Edict. In the
Augsburg reforms of 25 September 1555, his duties were set forth again, this time under the title of Circle Colonel.
[§§ 56 - 60 of the Augsburg ''Reichsabschied'']
Duties
The most important duties of the circle colonels were:
* the responsibility for law and order (the ''
Landfrieden
Under the law of the Holy Roman Empire, a ''Landfrieden'' or ''Landfriede'' (Latin: ''constitutio pacis'', ''pax instituta'' or ''pax jurata'', variously translated as "land peace", or "public peace") was a contractual waiver of the use of legiti ...
'') within the Circle,
* ensuring the Religious Peace,
* enforcing imperial legal rulings,
* administrative tasks concerning imperial currency and imperial policing,
* legal enforcement (execution) against defaulters within the Circle,
* taking charge of Circle business as tasked by the Circle between Circle councils,
* the mustering of circle troops and the supervision of their equipment and supplies.
Where a Circle Captain or Circle Colonel was actually nominated in the Imperial Circles, the office was usually transferred to the most senior (i.e. highest ranking) secular
Imperial Estate
An Imperial Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise signi ...
in the Circle for them to fill.
See also
*
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
*
Imperial Circle
*
Bavarian Circle
The Bavarian Circle () was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire.
The most significant state by far in the circle was the Duchy of Bavaria (raised to an Electorate of Bavaria, Electorate by Emperor Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinan ...
*
Franconian Circle
The Franconian Circle () was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy—roughly corresponding with the present-day Bavarian ''Regierungsbez ...
*
Upper Rhenish Circle
The Upper Rhenish Circle () was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1500 on the territory of the former Duchy of Upper Lorraine and large parts of Rhenish Franconia including the Swabian Alsace region and the Burgundi ...
*
Swabian Circle
* ''
Reichsarmee
The Army of the Holy Roman Empire (; , ''Reichsheer'', or ''Reichsarmatur''; ) was created in 1422 and came to an end when the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars.
The Army of the Empire was not a standing ...
''
Remarks
Literature
* Winfried Dotzauer: ''Die deutschen Reichskreise (1383–1806). Geschichte und Aktenedition.'' Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 1998, .
* Hans Hubert Hofmann (ed.): ''Quellen zum Verfassungsorganismus des Heiligen Römischen Reiches Deutscher Nation 1495–1815'' (= ''Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte der Neuzeit.'' Vol. 13). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1976, {{ISBN, 3-534-01959-8.
External links
Der Augsburger Reichsabschied ("Augsburger Religionsfrieden") - full text