Original
Rulers on the road: Itinerant rule in the Holy Roman Empire, AD 919–1519
Abstract
Abstract Itinerant rule, rule exercised through traveling, was a common yet insufficiently researched, premodern form of governance. Studying the determinants of ruler itineraries in the Holy Roman Empire, AD 919–1519, we argue that rulers' visits targeted “marginal” elites. Powerful rulers could count on family members and thus targeted unrelated local elites. Weak emperors had to monitor their less loyal relatives and left unrelated nobles unvisited. We reconstruct emperors' itineraries from 72,665 dated and geolocated documents and measure territorial control by their relatives. Exploiting the weakening of imperial power through the Great Interregnum (1250–1273), we find that strong, pre‐1250 emperors frequented areas controlled by their relatives relatively less. In contrast, family control increased visits post‐1273. Causal identification rests on the discontinuous reduction of emperors' power through the Great Interregnum and differences in family relations between subsequent emperors. The results show strategic itinerant rule as an important but understudied form of governance.
中文
旅途中的统治者：神圣罗马帝国的巡游统治，公元919—1519年
摘要
巡游统治，即通过旅行行使的统治，是一种常见但研究不足的前现代治理形式。通过研究公元919—1519年神圣罗马帝国统治者巡游路线的决定因素，我们认为统治者的访问以“边缘”精英为目标。强大的统治者可以依靠家族成员，因而以无亲属关系的本地精英为目标。弱皇帝则不得不监视忠诚度较低的亲属，并不访问无亲属关系的贵族。我们利用72,665份有日期和地理定位的文献重建了皇帝们的巡游路线，并测量其亲属对领土的控制。利用大空位期（1250—1273年）中皇权的削弱，我们发现，1250年前强大的皇帝相对较少前往其亲属控制的地区。相反，1273年后家族控制增加了访问。因果识别依赖于大空位期皇帝权力的不连续下降以及后续皇帝之间家族关系的差异。结果表明，战略性巡游统治是一种重要但研究不足的治理形式。
关键词
巡游统治、神圣罗马帝国、皇帝巡游、精英、家族控制、大空位期、前现代治理、因果识别