I'm curious about what the political life of a monarch who ruled multiple thrones would look like in Renaissance Europe. With slow communications and different spoken languages, it seems like it would be hard to rule over a single empire, let alone three separate ones. How did monarchs who sat on multiple thrones deal with this issue? Did they just stick to very top level policy decisions (e.g., go to war or make peace with another country) or did they get into the nitty gritty? Would they have been heavily reliant on advisors or local nobility?
Charles V seemed like a good example, but any information about any monarchs from Renaissance Europe would be appreciated.
I can answer the part of the question about the HRE: First, you have to keep the structure of the empire in mind. There were territories, which belonged to their respective owners - a duke, an elector or else. This land was lended to him by the emperor, but technically he reigned over it, there was no way Charles V or any other emperor could rule "into his land". So this alone frees the emperor of smaller problems, since - especially after reforms like the Perpetual Public Peace (ewiger Landfriede), where the duty of peacekeeping was delegated to lesser nobles like a duke or someone, so the emperor did not - at least in theory - had to deal with these kinds of things. This did not work at all in the beginning though, but that's a different story.
The Emperor was the first peacekeeper in the empire, and (maybe even more importantly) the highest judge. Doing war-related stuff was not Charles' business, he almost always delegated leading the troops to a person better suited for it. The Judging part was often called, and, when he was not available, his representative would do this part. However, this institution too was "outsourced", away from the emperor. in 1495, the Reichskammergericht (imperial high court) was founded. This court was led by a number of reps from differing nobles and from the emperor. However, for the actual Emperor-part (he had the first seat in the court), there were multiple persons who represented the emperor (including outside of the court), if he was out of the land:
Why am I explaining that? Because it's showing interesting stuff: When Charles was absent for almost 10 years in 1530, it gave the new belief a timeframe to expand. He did not have a say in the lands because his range of influence was far away in spain. The dukes and so on very much knew that and took advantage out of it. That way Protestantism could spread. When he returned, he quickly diminished the movement within a few years.
To talk about another part: top level policy decisions, as you call them. That was another very important part of HRE: The electorials really fought about their rights. They clearly did not want to let the emperor install a monarchy or succsesion, and they always! let the king-to-be-emperor sign a paper, proving he will not force these things - as well as a really important contract in HRE-history: The Wahlkapitulation (electoral capitulation) in 1519. In this, he (the king to be elected as emperor) had to guarantee, that he will not forge any alliances without consent of the electorials, nor will he start any war without their consent etc.. - so: He had to argue with these electorials first, before he was able to actually do anything. And he just couldn't skip their vote, because he needed their support. This makes the HRE very different from truly monarchist-ruled empires.
For his correspondance, in the early-modern timeframe, a postal system was broadening and expanding. Of course, a distance between spain and say Regensburg would take its while, but shorter distances of less than 1000km was pretty quick. You could expect to get your sendings in one and a half weeks. An example, where it was delivered to late, is in 1555: At the Augsburger Religionsfriede (Peace of Augsburg), Ferdinand, who represented Charles, did sign the Peace, although Charles did not accept it. It is said - however not proven to be true - that Charles' mail was too late or Ferdinand forgot to open it.
Literature (sorry, German:)
Martin Dallmeier: Quellen zur Geschichte des europäischen Postwesens 1501–1806. Kallmünz 1977.
Heinrich Lutz: Das Ringen um deutsche Einheit und kirchliche Erneuerung. Von Maximilian I. bis zum Westfälischen Frieden. Frankfurt/Main 1987.
It worked because you're thinking of the various states with the same kind of nationalistic mindset that any modern citizen would. To us, it would be like having the same President of America, France and Poland. How could they possibly service the interests of each state?
In the time of Charles V, states were not thought of so much as borders on a map. They wouldn't because there wasn't a lot of maps to go around. And they weren't thought of in nationalistic terms. That was a few centuries away.
In a sense, the state WAS Charles V. It was embodied in his throne and it didn't really matter what he ruled. Habsburg Emperors ruled some widely disparate territories. In the cultural milieu of that era, ethnicity and geography just didn't matter much.
The various Spanish and Austrian elites of course, had different ideas. And by 'elites', I mean the few hundred movers and shakers that exercised a controlling influence around the two strongest courts. Because of course they'd prefer the Emperor to spend more time with them, and so grant them more patronage.
But to the people (especially in an age where more often than not, rulers and peasants spoke totally different languages), it was perfectly normal. They might even compete to show their greater devotion (and thus earn more privileges).
I mainly know of Charles and his rule in the Netherlands from that time, but what I do know is that Charles did spent most of his life traveling between Spain, the Netherlands and the HRE to try and keep involved as much as possible.
Charles was born and raised in Brussels, mostly by his aunt Margaret of Habsburg who also was the governor of the Habsburgs Netherlands during his minority and again between 1519 and 1530. Because the Low Countries were his home, he stayed especially involved with them. An example of this are the Joyous Entries. In the Low Countries there was a tradition of Joyous Entries, festive tours through cities he ruled or just conquered. That way the common people could see who their lord was and he could make agreements with the cities, who were an influentual political aspect in the Netherlands. There are several known Joyous Entries of Charles, mainly from 1515 when he first assumed rule, and from 1549 when he toured the Netherlands with his heir Philips. He also stopped several small rebellions, most notably the Revolt of Ghent. He ruled the Low Countries mostly by the help of his aunt and Dutch nobles when he wasn't there. One of those was William of Orange, who actually became a very influential courtier and close confidante of Charles. He later became a figurehead and leader for the Dutch Revolt.
As to the languages, Charles mainly spoke French and Flemish, learned Castilian as an requirement to assume the Spanish throne and spoke basic German. So, in this case he catered to his people. But when he wasn't in the Low Countries he had to rely on his aunt and the nobility to take care of everything. In the Netherlands his politics were mostly about centralization. Unification of the Habsburgs Netherlands, eventually known as the seventeen provinces, had been an ongoing process for several decades. During Charles' lifetime he conquered several other territories that became a part of his territories there.
As a part of his centralization politics he had three councils, based in Brussels: the Council of State (general matters of state), the Privy Council (pertaining to judicial matters) and the Council of Finance (three guesses what they did..) They were subordinate to either him or the governor, the latter when he was absent. In 1549 he issued the Pragmatic Sanction, ruling that his heir would inherit the Habsburg Netherlands as one whole, instead of all the provinces taking care of their own succession.
It was being said of Charles Empire that the sun never set on his lands. He abdicated very early, between 1555 en 1556 because that much might was too much to bear. He split his empire between his son and his brother. And I believe that Charles' situation was quite unique in Renaissance Europe, because no other king had such a huge empire, spread out over the world. When Charles abdicated the rule of the Netherlands to his son, Philips II, in 1555, things changed. Phillip was born and raised in Spain and didn't have the bond with the Netherlands that Charles had. Phillips left in 1559 and never returned. His halfsister Margaretha of Parma was governor, but mostly just in name. Phillip did occupy himself a lot with the Netherlands, but he ruled from Spain, relying on the messages Margaretha and his councils send him. The absence of the king did not allow for a great amount of goodwill from the Dutch people, who felt they were being repressed by a king from afar when he pushed his catholicism onto them. When the Low Countries rebelled from 1566 onward, Phillips waged his war from Spain. One of the contributing factors that the Dutch succeeded in their rebellion was that the Spanish troops had to wait on orders from Spain. By the time the orders came back several months later, the situation would have changed and the orders would have been useless.
That being said, Charles' staunch devotion to catholicism did help to create some of the unrest that was brewing in the Netherlands during the 16th century. So, in conclusion.. Charles was very down to the nitty gritty in the Netherlands, but did try to ease ruling for himself by practising a policy of centralization. On the other hand, that didn't help that much in the long run when his heir had to run the country from a thousand miles away.
Dear /u/TellahTheSage , this is your King and Emperor speaking.
In practical matter, being ruler of so much of Europe meant a lot of travel. My travels took me nine times to Germany, six times to Spain, seven times to Italy, four times to France, twice to England, and twice to Africa in a total of four great journeys, not to mention the less important visits I paid over the years to my individual realms. I have crossed the Mediterranean Sea eight times and sailed the Atlantic Ocean twice, not to speak of the journey I made from Spain to the Netherlands for the very serious reasons about which you know, which is to settle my inheritance. If only there were frequent travel miles in my lifetime, I'd have been platinum for life!
Powerful as I was, I could not be omnipresent, so I had to rely on vice-royals such as my aunt Margaret of Austria and Duchess of Savoy, as governor of the Low Countries in my absence; and Cardinal Adrian of Utrecht, as my regent for the crowns of Spain. Each of these governed as my representative, and they kept me appraised as to what was going on and what important matters required my immediate attention and decision. Conversely, I communicate with them to update them on my policy and if I need something from them: soldiers, money, what have-you. Each one of them dealt with the local government as appropriate. So my aunt had to deal with bickering vassals in the Low Countries and Adrian of Utrecht had to literally deal with the uprising that was the Revolt of the Comuneros, an anti-foreigner revolt in Castilla.
As to whether I dealt only with the top level decisions, there was not yet a bureaucracy that dealt with this in a structured way yet. That had to wait until my boy Philip II became King of Spain. The vice-royal system relied a lot on personal opinion of the regents, and the credibility of these same regents. This is why I had to visit my realms periodically, to make sure that important grievances are heard in person, and so that I could truly check on the well being of each one of them. Travel was so important that my entourage included an entire chapel with singers and musical instruments, to ensure I could be entertained and could hear a solemn beautiful mass as much as I wanted to.
If you wish to learn more about my life, I recommend:
J. H. Elliott, "Imperial Spain: 1496-1716," ISBN-13: 978-0141007038, 2nd ed 2002.
J. D. Tracy, "Emperor Charles V, Impresario of War," ISBN-10: 0-521-81431-6, 2002.
Best regards,
Emperor Charles V, by the grace of God, Holy Roman Emperor, forever August, King of Germany, King of Italy, King of all Spains, of Castile, Aragon, León, of Hungary, of Dalmatia, of Croatia, Navarra, Grenada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Sevilla, Cordova, Murcia, Jaén, Algarves, Algeciras, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, King of Two Sicilies, of Sardinia, Corsica, King of Jerusalem, King of the Western and Eastern Indies, of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Lorraine, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Limburg, Luxembourg, Gelderland, Neopatria, Württemberg, Landgrave of Alsace, Prince of Swabia, Asturia and Catalonia, Count of Flanders, Habsburg, Tyrol, Gorizia, Barcelona, Artois, Burgundy Palatine, Hainaut, Holland, Seeland, Ferrette, Kyburg, Namur, Roussillon, Cerdagne, Drenthe, Zutphen, Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire, Burgau, Oristano and Gociano, Lord of Frisia, the Wendish March, Pordenone, Biscay, Molin, Salins, Tripoli and Mechelen.