All About History

All About History is the stunningly realised new magazine from the makers of How It Works and All About Space. Featuring beautiful illustrations, photos and graphics depicting everything from ancient civilisations to the Cold War, All About History is accessible and entertaining to all and makes history fun for the whole family.

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

Holy Roman Empire

Map of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

CHARLEMAGNE • The ‘father of Europe’ and ruler of much of France and Germany, Charlemagne made his name as a king, but he left a legacy as an emperor who reforged a continent

How to CONQUER THE SAXONS • USE CHARLEMAGNE’S TACTICS TO CRUSH YOUR HEATHEN ENEMIES AND BUILD YOUR MAGNIFICENT EMPIRE SAXONY, 772-804

How not to… make the Saxon Wars drag out

Famous…

PIETY IS NOT ENOUGH • The difficulty of splitting an empire between ambitious sons

A king on his knees • Louis’ part in the death of his nephew called for penitence

Brothers in arms • The sons of Louis fought it out for control of the empire

OTTO I • How did Otto I join the crown of Germany to the imperial title and set the stage for the Holy Roman Empire?

Church and state • The Catholic Church could be a powerful ally, but Otto had his own reasons for strengthening it

Popes and politics • Crowning an emperor was one thing, but working with him was quite another

FREDERICK I BARBAROSSA • The ambitious emperor who took on the world – and usually won

The Justinian Code • Frederick embraced an old Roman text to combat the power of the papacy

Death on the Saleph • A peaceful death was never likely for the aging warrior

FREDERICK II • The Holy Roman Emperor was renowned for carrying out sadistic experiments, but has this inquisitive mind ahead of its time been wrongly maligned by papal propaganda?

THE RENAISSANCE IN EUROPE • For three centuries the Holy Roman Empire played host to an explosion of new art, literature and architecture as Europe rediscovered its cultural heritage

The Protestant Reformation • How a single act of defiance sparked a wildfire of destruction and religious reform that swept through Europe and changed the world forever

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

A REFORMATION PAMPHLET • THE PRINTING PRESS WAS THE SECRET OF PROTESTANTISM’S SUCCESS GERMANY, 1520S

How not to… create a reformation pamphlet

Famous… REFORMATION PAMPHLETEERS

THE GERMAN PEASANTS’ WAR

THE HABSBURG DYNASTY • The royal house that dominated a continent for five centuries

CHARLES V • How one man’s pursuit of an empire upon which the sun would never set irretrievably fractured Western Europe

A universal monarch • Could Europe ever be governed by one man?

Empress of the Carnation • Charles V’s regent queen was far more than just a pretty face

The Peace of Augsburg • The religious struggle of three decades ended in defeat for the emperor

THE HOFBURG • Home of the Habsburgs, this expansive palace has seen much of European history unfold within its walls

Timeline

MARGARET OF AUSTRIA • How one European princess negotiated her way around a man’s world to become one of the most powerful and remarkable women of her generation

The French queen-in-waiting • Although raised as queen of France, Margaret’s hopes were dashed

The Habsburgs in the Netherlands

THE ALCHEMIST OF AUSTRIA • Scholar, naïve dupe, political visionary, eccentric or just plain mad? Emperor Rudolf II was, and remains, an enigma

Hermeticism • Rudolf was a keen follower of one particular esoteric tradition

Dirck de Quade van Ravesteyn • As a patron of the arts, Rudolf certainly had his favourite...