The Imperial Register (german: Reichsmatrikel, nl, rijksmatrikel) was a list of the

Imperial Estates An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

that specified the precise numbers of troops they had to supply to the Imperial Army and/or the financial support they had to make available to sustain the Army. An entry in the register was often viewed as an important indicator of the

imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

of an Imperial Estate, although that was not always undisputed. The importance of the register for historical research is that all Estates were recorded in it. However, it also contains obvious errors. The term ''Matrikel'' is derived from the Latin word ''mātrīcula'', a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-form ...

of ''mātrīx'' ("list", "register").

Literature

References

Sources

Military history of the Holy Roman Empire Military history of Germany Army of the Holy Roman Empire Index (publishing) {{Germany-hist-stub