What were the primary factors that most medieval states took advantage of to centralize? (Mainly France vs. HRE)

by imperator-hadaril

So, this question has been nagging me ever since I first started reading about the Holy Roman Empire and medieval Europe in general. What factors did France, England, Etc, have which aided them in their journey towards centralizing? And building off of that question, were any of the same factors shared across different nations? I am mostly curious about France and the Holy Roman Empire, the former was able to centralize and the latter wasn't. Why? Also, f there are any book I could read on the subject, feel free to recommend them to me. As stated above, my main interest is in the Holy Roman Empire, and to a much lesser degree, France. Thanks for your time!

Itsalrightwithme

Fantastic question! And we hope there are already several sufficiently fantastic answers in the FAQ.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/faq/europe#wiki_the_holy_roman_empire

Feel free to post again if you have further questions!

imperator-hadaril

Thanks for the link! For some reason, looking at the wiki never occored to me before posting. From what I have read, it appears that most of the posts allude to four main root causes which caused the Empire's decline:

1. Lack of a hereditary monarchy:

  • France developed a very long lasting dynasty, which led to its acceptance as hereditary.
  • Germany never had any long lasting dynasties, and thus never developed a hereditary monarchy.
  • The elective nature of the HRE's monarchy forced the Emperors to make concessions in order to get heirs elected.

2. No capital:

  • France developed the Ile-de-France as a capital for their dynasty.
  • Germany never had a main long lasting dynasty, and thus they never developed a capital for it.
  • This lack of a capital meant that the Emperor was constantly traveling.

3: Lack of a bureaucracy:

  • France, due to the expansion of their demesne, was forced to build up a large bureaucracy.
  • Bureaucracies are able to administer the realm efficiently and loyally, unlike rebellious dukes.
  • The H.R.E, which never had a bureaucracy, was forced to give away rights to the dukes in order to administer the realm.

4: Sources of Legitimacy:

  • The Holy Roman Emperors were tied to the pope for legitimacy, which led to many conflicts.

So, that appears to answer my own question. Hopefully what I just wrote will be helpful to others who discover this thread. It will certainly help me sleep better!

If there are any errors in my reasoning here, or if I completely missed a huge factor, please let me know. As I mentioned, this stuff drives me crazy when I don't know the answer!