Hi, I am looking for books about the Holy Roman Empire during the 1500s, specifically about how it functioned as an empire and how much power the emperor actually had. The more detailed the better!
Thanks!
It's a large volume, but the Heart of Europe by Peter H Wilson is a great book on the inner workings of the HRE.
The section on the Ideal functioning of the empire, as well as the portion discussing the Governance of it should be what you're looking for.
He does not expressly focus on the 1500s, but discusses the Empires in its entirety.
The book Germany and the Holy Roman Empire (Oxford History of Early Modern Europe) Volume 1 by Joachim Wiley should also be helpful for you. It focuses on the time period you're looking for.