Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Diet (meeting)

DIET, a meeting or assembly of delegates or dignitaries convened and held from day to day for legislative, ecclesiastical, political, or administrative purposes; specifically, the legislative assemblies of the former German Empire, provincial assemblies of Austria-Hungary, the Cantons of Switzerland, etc. The Diet of the German Empire was composed of three colleges: one of electors, one of princes, and one of imperial towns, and began with the edict of Charles IV. in 1356. The best known meetings were those at Nuremberg, 1467, Worms, 1521 (at which Luther was excommunicated), Spires, 1529, and Augsburg, 1530.