One Year of Maintaining the Realm

Some reflections after one year on Substack.

The first year of of Maintaining the Realm has come to a close. In one year, over 1,070 people have subscribed—more than what I had ever imagined! I hope to maintain those subscribers and perhaps grow a larger base. To that end, I have a few tactics I wish to employ as part of a larger strategy, namely, to make the history of the Holy Roman Empire free, accessible, and worth your time.

But without further ado, there will no longer be any articles behind a paywall. Henceforth, all articles will be free. Nevertheless, the necessary research and time to regularly publish articles does require an incentive, namely, paid subscribers willing to support this site.

My overall goal is to tell my readers about the HRE from sources that are either understudied, or not available in English. The vast majority of my sources are scholarly articles and books, written in German or Latin and located in the depths of university libraries. However, the information they contain is truly revolutionary to the public’s understanding of the Middle Ages.

My Request

To those of you who can, please consider paying for a full subscription—if you have not already done so. Most people on Substack are freely subscribed to many different sites and must decide which they choose to financially support. Some are more financially free than others to support multiple sites. Others do not have the resources, yet share the same desire to inform themselves on the history of the HRE, for which there is currently no other site on Substack dedicated to the same topic.

In this regard, Maintaining the Realm is more than simply a site about medieval history: it is the only site delivering accessible and scholarly research about the medieval Holy Roman Empire.

Pricing for Paid Subscribers:

1. The monthly subscription is now $7.00 per month, down from $8.00.

2. The annual subscription will stay at $80.00.

3. Group subscriptions are now possible! If three people decide to subscribe together, they will receive a 40% reduction. This is ideal for students whose funds are limited. Click here for that option.

4. In-app purchases are now available as well.

Going Forward

This past year’s objective was to establish an overview of the origins of the HRE, some of the key legal reforms during the Middle Ages, as well as an exploration of the social structure. Having now set a firm foundation, the second year of Maintaining the Realm will dive deeper into the lives of individuals who lived in the HRE. This will include the occasional emperor, but will largely focus upon the lesser known people.

I am also preparing multiple series about:

• The imperial abbeys

• The medieval universities

• The crusades

• Everyday life in the HRE.

I sincerely enjoy publishing articles here and hope to continue, but I will not be able to justify the time required for each article without your financial support!