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All this talk of partitioning the empire reminds me of Renaissance "divide-the-kingdom" tragedies. Gorboduc (1561) was notable at the time but largely unknown now. The most famous is King Lear. In both cases the division did not go well—perhaps by the time of the Renaissance, Europeans had developed an instinctual pessimism about attempts to divide a realm among multiple children.

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One of the reasons as to why the Germans chose to elect their kings was because it made partitioning among sons far less likely--even impossible. The fluctuations of the HRE's borders over time were due exclusively marriage contracts or warfare. During the 16th century, ideas of division re-emerged as a result of the religious division caused by the Reformation. I think you are right about the instincts of Europeans though it applies mainly to western Europeans. Eastern Europeans like to have their own thing, like Poland or Serbia--with exceptions like Hungary and Slovenia--as they were never really a part of an empire in a leadership capacity. All of the Western Europeans, in contrast, have had their moment as a leader and long for that sense of unity. The EU is a constant, passive aggressive, expression of that stuggle

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Fascinating reply (especially that observation about the EU), thank you.

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