This book traces the history of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted for over a thousand years, from the reign of Charlemagne in AD 800 until AD 1806 when it was dissolved following defeat by Napoleon. It is an Empire that had no fixed boundaries and until the 16th century, when the Habsburgs settled in Vienna, it had no permanent imperial city. At different periods its territories stretched from the North Sea to the Balkans and for a time in the 16th century included the South Americas.
The first chapter covers the rise of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century and then its subsequent division into regions that roughly equate to modern France and Germany. Chapter Two looks at the period of the Ottonian dynasty, a time when many of the structures of the Imperial Church were put in place. The third chapter covers the Salian dynasty and conflict with the Papacy over the issue of Lay Investiture.
Chapter Four covers the role of the Prince Electors and the process for the election of the Emperor. The last two chapters are devoted to the Habsburgs, a dynasty that lasted from the 12th century until modern times and includes the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the foundation of the Austrian Empire and finally the fall of the Austria-Hungarian Empire after World War I.