Circle troops''Westphalia: The Last Christian Peace''
by Derek Croxton. Retrieved 26 Nov 2013 (german: Kreistruppen) were the contingents of soldiers that the Imperial Circles (''Reichskreise'') actually placed at the disposal of the Army of the Holy Roman Empire or ''Reichsarmee''. Following the Imperial Defence Order (''Reichsdefensionalordnung'') all imperial circles in the empire were obliged to provide contingents of troops, although not all did so in the event. The

Imperial Register The Imperial Register (german: Reichsmatrikel, nl, rijksmatrikel) was a list of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire that specified the precise numbers of troops they had to supply to the Army of the Holy Roman Empire, Imperial Army and/o ...

(''Reichsmatrikel'') laid down how many troops the individual

Imperial State An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...

s had to make available to the ''Reichsarmee''.

Emergence and structure

The Imperial Circles only emerged at the beginning of the 16th century. The first six were established at the Diet of Augsburg in 1500. They were only identified by numbers and consisted of imperial estates of all groups with the exception of the electors. With the creation of four other Imperial Circles in 1512, the

Austrian Hereditary Lands The ''Erblande'' ("Hereditary Lands") of the House of Habsburg formed the Alpine heartland of the Habsburg monarchy.Kann, ''Habsburg Empire'', 1–4. They were the hereditary possessions of the Habsburgs within the Holy Roman Empire from before ...

and the

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district An ...

s now joined the Imperial Circle structure. The "most recent register of all time", drawn up at the

Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms of 1521 (german: Reichstag zu Worms ) was an imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City of Worms. Martin Luther was summoned to t ...

, contained the basic imperial direction, the ''Simplum''. The further division of responsibility to individual Imperial Estates within each Circle was now the business of the Circles themselves according to the Worms register. In a few Circles, the office of Circle Captain / Circle Colonel''The drillmaster of Valley Forge: the Baron de Steuben and the making of the American Army''
by Paul Douglas Lockhart. Retrieved 26 Nov 2013. (''Kreisobrist'') was created: a military leader appointed for the long term. In some Circles the office of Circle General was created. He was appointed by the Circle for the management of its troops, and he and his staff, as well as the regimental commanders, were paid from the Circle's budget. The appointment and payment of the remaining officers was sometimes carried out by the Circles and sometimes by the Imperial Estates providing the contingents of troops.

References

Literature

* Hanns Hubert Hofmann: ''Quellen zum Verfassungsorganismus des Heiligen Römischen Reiches Deutscher Nation 1495-1815'', Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Darmstadt, 1st edn., 1976 * Winfried Dotzauer: ''Die deutschen Reichskreise (1383-1806)'', Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 1998,

External links

Der Augsburger Reichsabschied ("Augsburger Religionsfrieden")
- full text {{Wikisource, Hernach volgend die zehen Krayss, Verzeichnis der Reichskreise von 1532, 3=x Military history of the Holy Roman Empire Army of the Holy Roman Empire

Emergence and structure

See also

References

Literature

External links