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An ''Italienzug'' (also known as ''Romfahrt'' or ''Romzug'', Latin ''expeditio italica'') was the expedition undertaken by an elected
An ''Italienzug'' (also known as ''Romfahrt'' or ''Romzug'', Latin ''expeditio italica'') was the expedition undertaken by an elected king of the Romans
King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward.
The title originally referred to any German k ...
to be crowned Holy Roman emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
in City of Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
Prior to the reforms of Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
, the kings of the Romans struggled to muster an army for the expedition, for they needed the formal approval of the '' Reichstag''. If such permission was granted, the king had permission to recruit knights for their military service in Italy for 410 days. However, the nobility was generally disinterested and inclined to rather substitute a monetary payment for the service. Therefore, the small force tended to be composed out of mercenaries and high ranking clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
men, reinforced by loyal Italian cities. Occasionally the substitution wasn't enough and kings like Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
ended up using their dowry to fund their ''Italienzug''.
Following Barbarossa's struggles against the Lombard League towards the end of the 12th century, the system was reformed by banning monetary substitution and requiring each prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
to contribute a fixed amount of troops for the cause. These troops could be substituted by an amount of money, which was eventually known as the Roman Month
The Roman Month (German ''Römer Monat'', pl. ''Römer Monate'', abbr. RM) was a basic unit of imperial taxation in the Holy Roman Empire, initially worth around 128,000 Rhenish guilders when the underlying tax was created in 1521 by the emperor ...
.
Examples
* The 1154–55 ''Italienzug'' of Frederick I Barbarossa of Hohenstaufen * The 1310–12 ''Italienzug'' of Henry VII of Luxemburg * The 1508 failed ''Italienzug'' ofMaximilian I of Habsburg
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...
during the opening phase of the War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...
* The 1529 ''Italienzug'' preceding the Coronation of Charles V
Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII in the San Petronio Basilica in Bologna on 24 February 1530. He was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by a pope.
Context for the coronation
Pope Clement VII Medici and Charle ...
of Habsburg would be the last in history.
See also
*Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor
The Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor was a ceremony in which the ruler of Western Europe's then-largest political entity received the Imperial Regalia from the hands of the Pope, symbolizing both the pope's right to crown Christian sovereigns a ...
References
{{reflist History of the Holy Roman Empire Medieval Italy