The History of the Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was never a unitary state with a homogeneous population, but instead a patchwork of lands and peoples under an uneven and changing jurisdiction. Latin served as a universal language transcending vernacular dialects. The Roman Catholic religion provided a common belief system and a common language to address political issues. Institutions such as monastic orders as well as the church itself spread across borders. Unlike its monarchical counterparts, the Holy Roman Empire did not use language, culture and later religion to distinguish between loyal subjects and suspect foreigners. It also greatly contributed to the difficulty of defining the German nation.