The Carolingian HRE essentially floundered on Charlemagne's death as his empire was divided into what would become Francia, Lotharingia and Germania.

The HRE that is a lasting feature of the Medieval period was originally the Ottonian Holy Roman Empire, declared in 962 by Otto I. Otto had previously been King of the Germans, a title he inherited from his father, Henry 'the Fowler', Duke of Saxony. As Duke of Saxony, Henry was the first non-Frank to be elected King in Germany, and set the tone for his son's Empire.