The book by Peter H. Wilson explores the time of the Holly Roman Empire through the prism of the social, cultural and political events, which shaped its legacy. Moreover, it informs the reader about the development, structure and the significance of the Empire in its last centuries, by thoroughly revising the history, updating and expanding the gathered information. Wilson is a professor at the University of Hull, a well-established specialist in early modern German history, with a particular interest in the Holy Roman Empire between 1495 and 1806 and the impact of war and its impact in Europe. He presents an absorbing picture of those turbulent years and has acknowledged the key figures and themes that brought impact in the society and the political development of the countries within the Empire. The author tells us the story while deceiving all key events and shows us how they influenced the next generations, pointing out all political and diplomatic challenges the Holy Roman Empire faced, from its establishment all the way to its demise in 1806. In the last fourty years many historians accepted that the Holy Roman Empire came to existence as a joined union of small kingdoms and free cities in Western Europe, lacking strong arm, clear structure and procedures, …show more content…
However the institutional progress allowed the Empire to function independently without a highly centralized infrastructure. The German historian and philosopher Samuel von Pufendorf once referred to the Empire as a ‘monstrosity’ [121] and he came to such a conclusion considering all the wars the Empire fought and the impacts it had on the human lives. Finally when it collapsed, what was left behind was its heritage and ideologies, which still continue to exist in German politics in present days.