Holy Roman Republic in history files?

[Sunshine Moon]

So, I noticed that if you start a game in the Latin Empire start date (1204), this appears in the history files for the HRE:

The HRE as a republic for seven years? That's kind of weird, but cool.

However, if you go through the new-custom-game screen year by year, this never appears, and it stays feudal all through that time period.

Furthermore, if you start a game at another date--say, the 1220 Mongols start date...

Heinrich VI is still listed--but as feudal!

Is there any historical basis for this (a quick look at Wikipedia doesn't reveal anything, though he seems to have lead a pretty interesting life)? And why the inconsistency? Does anyone know?

 

[Rockphed]

If I had to guess, one of his holdings is a republic between 1204 and 1220. I think the history doesn't know how to do things with dead people properly.

 

[Sunshine Moon]

That would make sense. I'd only encountered 'variable history' before in the sense of it renaming titles based on their current cultural holder.

 

[Ultima_Ratio]

It's because of Tuscany - If you play the current Monarch's journey you'll notice that Philip is also an inland mayor which can't actually be the intended design.