The eastern frontier of the Holy Roman Empire in the era of 'Charles V'

This article analyses the political change on the 'eastern frontier' of the Holy Roman Empire during the era of Charles V. The first part discusses the problem of affiliation to the Holy Roman Empire. This is followed by another, more general section on the imminent sixteenth-century evolution towards linear frontiers--on the one hand between members of the Holy Roman Empire, and on the other between the Holy Roman Empire and its neighbours. Following this section, regional problems of the eastern frontier of the Holy Roman Empire are addressed. The findings of this article show that the far-reaching and even radical changes in the political system that took place in the east of the Holy Roman Empire during the reigns of Charles V and his successors were to influence the history of Central Europe substantially.