About the middle of the thirteenth century the central authority of the Holy Roman Empire was for a time practically dissolved. Frederick II., the last strong ruler of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, died in 1250, and even he was so largely Italian in character and interests that he could bring himself to give little attention to German affairs. During the stormy period of the Interregnum (1254-1273) there was no universally recognized emperor at all. Germany had reached an advanced stage of political disintegration and it is scarcely conceivable that even a Henry IV. or a Frederick Barbarossa could have made the imperial power much more than a shadow and a name. But while the Empire was broken up into scores of principalities, independent cities, and other political fragments, its people were enjoying a vigorous and progressive life. The period was one of great growth of industry in the towns, and especially of commerce. The one serious disadvantage was the lack of a central police authority to preserve order and insure the safety of person and property. Warfare was all but ceaseless, robber-bands infested the rivers and highways, and all manner of vexatious conditions were imposed upon trade by the various local authorities. The natural result was the formation of numerous leagues and confederacies for the suppression of anarchy and the protection of trade and industry. The greatest of these was the Hanseatic League, which came to comprise one hundred and seventy-two cities, and the history of whose operations runs through more than three centuries. An earlier organization, which may be considered in a way a forerunner of the Hansa, was the Rhine League, established in 1254. At this earlier date Conrad IV., son of Frederick II., was fighting his half-brother Manfred for their common Sicilian heritage; William of Holland, who claimed the imperial title, was recognized in only a small territory and was quite powerless to affect conditions of disorder outside; the other princes, great and small, were generally engaged in private warfare; and the difficulties and dangers of trade and industry were at their maximum. To establish a power strong enough, and with the requisite disposition, to suppress the robbers and pirates who were ruining commerce, the leading cities of the Rhine valley--Mainz, Cologne, Worms, Speyer, Strassburg, Basel, Trier, Metz, and others--entered into a "league of holy peace," to endure for a period of ten years, dating from July 13, 1254. The more significant terms of the compact are set forth in the selection below. Source--Text in Wilhelm Altmann and Ernst Bernheim, _Ausgewaehlte Urkunden zur Erlauterung der Verfassungsgeschichte Deutschlands im Mittelalter_ ["Select Documents Illustrative of the Constitutional History of Germany in the Middle Ages"], 3rd ed., Berlin, 1904, pp. 251-254. Translated in Thatcher and McNeal, _A Source Book for Mediaeval History_ (New York, 1905), pp. 606-609.