The Roman Month (German ''Römer Monat'', pl. ''Römer Monate'', abbr. RM) was a basic unit of imperial taxation in 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 ...

, initially worth around 128,000

Rhenish guilder The Rhenish ''gulden'' or Rhenish ''guilder'' (german: Rheinischer Gulden; la, florenus Rheni) was a gold, standard currency coin of the Rhineland in the 14th and 15th centuries. They weighed between 3.4 and 3.8 grams (). History The Rhenish ...

s when the underlying tax was created in 1521 by the emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

, equivalent to a month's wages for around 4,202 cavalry and 20,063 infantrymen. It gained this title due to its initial purpose of providing for one month's escort for the King of the Romans' trip to

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 ...

to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

(the ''

Italienzug An ''Italienzug'' (also known as ''Romfahrt'' or ''Romzug'', Latin ''expeditio italica'') was the expedition undertaken by an elected king of the Romans to be crowned Holy Roman emperor in City of Rome. Prior to the reforms of Frederick Barbaro ...

''), though it was rarely, if ever, used for this purpose. The tax was collected through a system that reflected the divided, corporate nature of the Holy Roman Empire. Though the local territorial powers recognized the need for a common purse to protect and preserve the Empire, they were simultaneously unwilling to surrender power to the Emperor. Thus, instead of a direct tax collected by the Emperor, obligations were set through the Worms ''

Reichsmatrikel The Imperial Register (german: Reichsmatrikel, nl, rijksmatrikel) was a list of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire that specified the precise numbers of troops they had to supply to the Imperial Army and/or the financial support they h ...

'' on the individual Electors, Bishops,

Princes 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. The ...

Prelates A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

Counts Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, Lords, Imperial Towns, and other political structures to provide a set number of horse and footmen, or a set amount of money based on the wages of the requested troops. The obligations of the territorial powers were based on a rough estimate of how wealthy each individual territory in the Empire was, with some of the larger, richer territories obligated to provide hundreds of men, while the smaller lords provided as few as five. Through this system, almost 400 separate territories were obligated to pay something to the Empire, while leaving collection and payment of the tax up to the regional territorial powers, preserving local independence. This obligation could be multiplied when more funds were required, allowing the Emperor some flexibility in taxing his subjects while keeping the distribution somewhat equal among the various territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Sometimes, the multiple requested could be very high, such as in the '' Peace of Prague'', where Emperor Ferdinand II requested 120 months, to help pay for the ongoing

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

."The Peace of Prague", ''The Thirty Years' War: A Documentary History'', ed. Tryntje Helfferich (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company Inc., 2009), 175

References

{{reflist Economy of the Holy Roman Empire Military history of the Holy Roman Empire

See also

Further reading

References