Frederick II issues the Statute in Favour of Princes

1235

At Mainz, the emperor granted the German princes sweeping rights over coinage, tolls, and justice in their lands. The statute ratified the decentralization of the empire and ensured that Germany would enter the modern era as a patchwork rather than a nation state. Frederick traded central authority for princely support in his Italian wars, a bargain that would haunt German politics for six centuries.