Civilization #34: The Useful Fiction of the Holy Roman Empire

Voltaire once wrote: "The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.”Historians often see this as a witticism. In this lecture to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that Voltaire was right, and the Holy Roman Empire was a useful fiction created to legitimize the rule of Charlemagne and his successors.