
12: Things We Didn’t Tell You in Season One
From The History of Modern Politics by We Are Libertarians
December 6, 2025 · 55 min
About this episode
Chris Spangle and Matt Wittlief open Season 2 with essential background for the late 1200s, exploring the emergence of the Holy Roman Empire’s electoral system and parallel developments in Europe.
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…
People in this episode
Hosts: Chris Spangle, Matt Wittlief
Topics covered
- Holy Roman Empire
- medieval politics
- Habsburg influence
- English common law
- international trade
- banking history
Keywords
- Holy Roman Empire
- Great Interregnum
- Habsburgs
- medieval Europe
- English common law
- international trade
- banking
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Treaty of York
Places: Holy Roman Empire, Wales, Scotland, Norway, Low Countries, Flanders
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