神圣罗马帝国(Holy Roman Empire)
德语作Heiliges R?misches Reich
中世纪时期范围变化很大的政治实体，领土大致在现代西欧和中欧。原本由法兰克国王统治，後来为德意志国王接手，存在时间从西元800年教宗利奥三世加冕查理曼开始到1806年法兰西斯二世废弃神圣罗马帝国皇帝称号为止。德意志国王奥托一世在位时，大为扩张帝国版图，继而掌控他的盟友，所以有时被视为神圣罗马帝国的开端时期，此帝国名称（一直到腓特烈一世才采用）反映了查理曼所宣称的：神圣罗马帝国是罗马帝国的继承者，而藉由他在世俗领域上的地位－－神的主要代理人（与教宗在精神领域上是并行的）使这种世俗权力扩大了。帝国的核心由德意志、奥地利、波希米亚和摩拉维亚组成。瑞士、尼德兰和义大利北部有时构成帝国的一部分；法国、波兰、匈牙利和丹麦是原始成员，英国和西班牙是名义上的一部分。从11世纪中期起，神圣罗马帝国皇帝们开始与教宗为了统治权问题而展开一场大争夺战，尤其是在势力强大的霍亨斯陶芬王朝时期（1138～1254），他们与教宗争夺义大利的控制权。1273年鲁道夫一世成为第一个哈布斯堡皇帝，自1438年开始，哈布斯堡王朝一直掌控了帝位。1356年以前皇帝是从德意志诸侯中选出来的，之後从选侯中正式选出。皇帝在其所继承的领土之外，与帝国议会分权治理。在宗教改革运动时期，德意志诸侯大部分叛教加入新教阵营，反对信奉天主教的皇帝，1562年以後皇帝不再受教宗加冕。三十年战争结束後，「西伐利亚和约」承认帝国内各邦的个别主权，神圣罗马帝国自此成为松散的国家联盟，皇帝的头衔主要是尊称。18世纪时，帝位的继承争议问题导致奥地利王位继承战争和七年战争。拿破仑的胜利使得势力大衰的帝国加速灭亡。亦请参阅Guelphs and Ghibellines、Investiture Controversy、Worms, Concordat of。
English version：
Holy Roman Empire
Realm of varying extent in medieval and modern western and central Europe. Ruled initially by Frankish kings and later by Germans, it existed from Charlemagne's coronation by Pope Leo III in AD 800 until the renunciation of the imperial title by Francis II in 1806. The reign of the German Otto I the Great, who greatly enlarged the empire and succeeded in dominating his allies, is sometimes regarded as the beginning of the empire, whose name (not adopted until the reign of Frederick I Barbarossa) reflected Charlemagne's claim that his empire was the successor of the Roman empire, and that this temporal power was augmented by his status as God's principal vicar in the temporal realm (parallel to the pope's in the spiritual realm). The empire's core consisted of Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Moravia. Switzerland, the Netherlands, and northern Italy sometimes formed part of it; France, Poland, Hungary, and Denmark were initially included, and Britain and Spain were nominal components. From the mid-11th century the emperors engaged in a great struggle with the papacy for dominance, and particularly under the powerful Hohenstaufen dynasty (1138-1254) they fought with the popes over control of Italy. Rudolf I became the first Habsburg emperor in 1273, and from 1438 the Habsburg dynasty held the throne permanently. Until 1356 the emperor was chosen by the German princes; thereafter he was formally elected by the electors. Outside of their personal hereditary domains, emperors shared power with the imperial diet. During the Reformation, the German princes largely defected to the Protestant camp, opposing the Catholic emperor, and after 1562 emperors were no longer crowned by the pope. At the end of the Thirty Years' War, the Peace of Westphalia recognized the individual sovereignty of the empire's states; the empire thereafter became a loose federation of states and the title of emperor principally honorific. In the 18th century, issues of imperial succession resulted in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. The greatly weakened empire was brought to an end by the victories of Napoleon. See also Guelphs and Ghibellines, Investiture Controversy, Concordat of Worms.