Holy grail: Did you mean...?

In this gallery of four maps we chart the rise and expansion of the Holy Roman Empire, a pivotal period in European history following the decline of the Roman Empire. Emerging from the ashes of Rome's collapse...

Pilgrimage in the Byzantine Empire involved the Christian faithful travelling often huge distances to visit such holy sites as Jerusalem or to see in person relics of holy figures and miraculous icons on show from...

The Holy Roman Empire (962–1806) was a decentralized political order in which authority was shared among the monarch, territorial princes, ecclesiastical...

Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird is a Sumerian myth dated to the Ur III Period (2047-1750 BCE) featuring the hero-king of Uruk, Lugalbanda, father of Gilgamesh, in his younger years as an honorable officer in the army...

The Investiture Controversy, also referred to as the Investiture Contest or Investiture Dispute, was a conflict lasting from 1076 to 1122 between the papacy of the Catholic Church and the Salian Dynasty of German monarchs...

Painted illustration of the quaternion eagle of the Holy Roman Empire, created by Jost de Negker in 1510 CE. It depicts the double-headed eagle crest of the Holy Roman Empire (adopted 1433 CE) with the banners...

Woodcut portrait of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1084-1105) by Christoffel Jegher, c. 1631-1633. The British Museum, London.

Depiction of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II (r. 1564-1567 CE) on a medal created by Antonio Abondio, 1575 CE. From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, United States

Illustration of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (r. 1519-1556 CE) and Ferdinand I. The illustration depicts the Habsburg brothers Charles V (left) sitting by the imperial coat of arms, while Ferdinand (right...

Matilda of Canossa (c. 1046-1115), the Countess of Tuscany (r. 1055-1115) and Vice-Queen of Italy (r. 1111-1115), was the final head of the noble House of Canossa following the deaths of her father in 1052 and her elder brother...