This book examines the transition from the Reichstag assemblies of the 16th century, which were still convened on a case-by-case basis for several months at a time, to the Perpetual Reichstag. Like the earlier assemblies, this Reichstag was also planned and was intended primarily to defend against the Turkish threat. However, some constitutional issues had not been fully negotiated in the Peace of Westphalia after the Thirty Years' War and had been referred to the next Reichstag. These issues could not be fully resolved at the first Reichstag after the peace and were referred again. In 1663, the Reichstag was finally opened in Regensburg and remained in session until the end of the Holy Roman Empire. In contrast to previous Reichstag assemblies, a congress of envoys developed, at which the estates of the empire were no longer personally present. However, as this was never formally intended, the book attempts to clarify how the permanence of the perpetual Reichstag came about and examines the extent to which the Reichstag changed as a result of this permanence.
