James Baquet

Before we get to today’s battle, let’s talk for a moment about the Holy Roman Empire.

The empire had its roots in the 5th-century collapse of the Roman Empire. The Carolingians rose to power in France, reaching a pinnacle during the rein of Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, who extended the empire to include France, Germany, northern Italy and more. The dynasty provided a western power base to balance out the eastern Byzantine Empire. Pope Leo III, on Christmas Day in 800, crowned Charlemagne emperor, the first to bear that title in the west in over three centuries.

But Charlemagne’s descendants split the empire between them with each succeeding generation, until at last the west was once again under the control of numerous “kinglets.” In 962, one of these, Otto I, was crowned emperor, which moved the center of the west into Germany. This was the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire, which wasn’t dissolved until 1806 as the result of the Napoleonic Wars.

One of the turning points in the history of the Holy Roman Empire took place at Breitenfeld, 8 kilometers northwest of Leipzig, Germany, in September 1631.

There, the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus (whom you may recall was admired by Napoleon himself) led the Protestants to their first victory over the Holy Roman Empire in the Thirty Years War. Many Protestant leaders were at first reluctant to join with Gustavus, who had been having only marginal results in battle before Breitenfeld. But the efforts of Gustavus to force cooperation, and the propaganda generated after the brutal sacking of the city of Magdeburg by imperial troops, brought more troops to the Protestants, who outnumbered the Catholics at Breitenfeld.

Gustavus showed himself to be a brilliant tactician, and annihilated the imperial army, which had to be rebuilt. This victory caused even more Protestant states to join the cause, and even some of the Catholic enemies of the Holy Roman Empire, like France, engaged in the war, which ultimately involved virtually all of Europe and ended in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. But Gustavus never saw the day; he was killed in battle a year after Breitenfeld.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. minor rulers with little power

2. not willing

3. following

4. harsh, cruel

5. high point

6. information of questionable value meant to get people to follow someone

7. carry, hold

8. looting, plundering

9. insignificant, minor

10. came apart

ANSWERS: 1. kinglets 2. reluctant 3. succeeding 4. brutal 5. pinnacle 6. propaganda 7. bear 8. sacking

9. marginal 10. dissolved