https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/HRR_10Jh.jpg
This map illustrates the make up of the Holy Roman Empire and its consisting kingdoms.
However, I never really understood how you can draw such a map... I know that the Kingdom of Germany is supposed to be the former East Francia, while Italy is the former Lombard kingdom. But obviously borders changed throughout the centuries and some parts (like modern day East Germany which was Slavic territory in the Early Middle Ages) were considered to be part of th Kingdom of Germany while other parts like Bohemia seemed to be its own thing (or wasn't it? I received conflicting info on that).
I wonder how you could know which territory belonged to which kingdom. Was it maybe that when the German (Roman) king was crowned in Aachen only some lords of the empire paid homage and those and their territories were considered to be directly subordinate to the king while other lords (in Italy and Burgundy) did not recognize him as their liege as long as he did not either became king of Italy or burgundy or emperor?
Hopefully someone can get me straight on that point. Thanks
Hi there! I'm fairly sure you're asking: On what basis was the Holy Roman Empire (theoretically) partitioned into sub-imperial kingdoms?
I'll start in the west. The root of the situation that existed at the times your map covers is the Treaty of Verdun which partitioned the Carolingian Empire into three. A map of Western Europe after the Treaty can be seen here; notice that, in general, the borders match up well with your map. Talking with kingdoms in mind, Middle Francia was composed of the Kingdoms of Lotharingia, Burgundy, and Italy. Middle Francia would again be divided as a result of the Treaty of Prüm and is now beginning to resemble what we see in your map. Note that there were border changes: the Kingdom of Burgundy expanded north and east after the Treaty of Prüm to become the full entity shown here. Unlike Lotharingia, which was absorbed into East Francia gradually (and thus appears as a pair of duchies, and has lost Alsace to Swabia) the Kingdom of Burgundy was inherited in full by Conrad II. So, as far as the Kingdoms of Germany, Italy, and Burgundy go, as well as the (reduced to a pair of duchies) Kingdom of Lotharingia, their existence was the result of treaties and inheritances being split among sons. Each was, at one point, an independent realm and was gradually incorporated into the later Holy Roman Empire.
In the East, the new conquests in Slavic lands were generally added to the Kingdom of East Francia/Germany as marches, which then usually became something else later in history. Bohemia is a very special case in the history of the HRE. The Duchy of Bohemia was initially a tributary state to the empire, before becoming an ally (and acknowledging the suzerainty of the King/Emperor of East Francia) and eventually, as a result of the Golden Bull of 1212, a hereditary Kingdom that was loosely part of the Empire. At the later date of your map, Bohemia was a pair of duchies of the Empire and did not yet have its Kingdom status, although the Dukes often pursued semi-independent policy.
