ABSTRACT
During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the nature of government changed in many parts of Europe. It has been suggested that these changes are closely linked with the Renaissance, and that ‘the Renaissance witnessed a widespread rise of nationalism, which undermined both the feudal system and the concept of a Holy Roman Empire’. (1)
Government in the Middle Ages had been based on the personal holdings and inheritance of the royal and noble families. England had held large areas of France through inheritance and marriage, for example, under Henry II, rather than conquest. Loyalty was supposed to be due to the feudal overlord, regardless of his nationality, so that in large areas of Central Europe, regions of varying language and culture recognised the overlordship of the Holy Roman Emperor. Wars were fought making use of the feudal obligation to support the overlord in conflict, from the ‘host’ made up of unskilled peasants to the trained knights who held their fiefdoms on condition that they fought when called upon to do so. In theory, kings were chosen by God and so the Church wielded substantial influence over governments and dynasties.
