Assemblies of Imperial Circles – Collegiate decision-making Bodies in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (Kreiskonvente – Kollegialentscheidungsorgane im Heiligen Römischen Reich Deutscher Nation)
Author : Wolfgang Wüst
Abstract :
In recent decades, interdisciplinary research has repeatedly focused on early modern opinion-forming processes. In the process, it has become clear that the end of the Old Empire, even in an extended parliamentary tradition, was by no means the decisive caesura that has been attributed to the key year 1806. If we assess "pre-democratic" decision-making forums from the source perspective of the 17th and 18th centuries, and less so of the 19th century, the share of the Imperial Circles in the evaluation of the Estates Chambers and early parliamentary forms is certainly of greater importance. The Imperial Circles, as often called collegial decision-making bodies, formed an indispensable steering element for political and legal stability in Europe, at least since their competence was expanded in 1555 by the Diet of Augsburg. In historical retrospect, the Imperial Circles formed a bridge between the history of the regions and the history of the empire, and through the multitude of county assemblies they integrated countless votes and wishes into the deliberations and decisions of other constitutional bodies of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
Keywords :
Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Imperial Circles, estates chambers, assemblies, decision-making, democracy
