Chris Spangle and Matt Wittlief open Season 2 with essential background for the late 1200s, tracing how the Holy Roman Empire’s electoral system emerged after the Carolingians, how the Great Interregnum unfolded and how the Habsburgs entered European politics. They also outline parallel developments in Wales, Scotland, the Low Countries, international trade, banking and the origins of English common law to set the stage for the reigns of Kings Edward I, II and III.

Topics in this episode:

Early imperial elections after Otto III and the king of the Romans title

The Stauffers and the Welfs, plus the Ghibelline and Guelph factions

Frederick II’s deposition in 1245, William of Holland and the Great Interregnum

The seven prince electors and the contested 1254 election between Richard of Cornwall and Alfonso II of Castile

Rudolf of Habsburg’s election in 1273, later Habsburg influence and Albert’s election in 1298

Wales from Offa’s Dyke to Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, Llywelyn the Great and the Marcher lords

Scotland from the Picts and Gaels to Malcolm III, the Dunkeld line and the Treaty of York in 1237

Norway’s role in northern politics, including control of the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland

The Low Countries, the county of Flanders, English wool and the trade cities of Bruges and Ghent

The Champagne fairs, the growth of Italian merchant banking and the Knights Templar’s financial system

The position of Jews in medieval Europe, including moneylending, Aaron of Lincoln, the York massacre and the 1255 Lincoln accusation

The rise of universities in Bologna, Paris and Oxford and the development of English common law through writs, precedent and administrative expansion under Edward I

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