The Reichskriegsverfassung, the early modern Imperial Military Constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, exemplifies the shift in responsibility for the military from the Empire to its territories. In this respect, the Empire was evolving in the opposite direction to most Western European countries, in which total monarchy found itself able to secure a monopoly on the use of force (Violence) in the military sphere (Military; King’s peace). Although the Reichskriegsverfassung was initially conceived as a …