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56-632: The imperial church system (German: Reichskirchensystem , Dutch: rijkskerkenstelsel ) was a governance policy by the early Holy Roman emperors and other medieval European rulers to entrust the secular governance of the state to as many celibate members of the clergy (especially bishops and abbots ) of the Catholic Church as possible instead of to the non-celibate laity . Rulers did this because celibate clergymen could not produce legitimate heirs who could claim their inheritance at death, and thus not establish regional dynasties that could threaten

112-550: A prince-bishopric (German: Fürstbistum , Stift or Hochstift ; Dutch: prinsbisdom or sticht ). Although the phenomenon is most often associated with the Ottonian emperors (and is therefore sometimes also called the Ottonian system ), since Otto I introduced the system in the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century, the practice of appointing celibate Catholic clerics in worldly governing positions had already existed during

168-588: Is a modern shorthand for "emperor of the Holy Roman Empire" not corresponding to the historical style or title, i.e., the adjective "holy" is not intended as modifying "emperor"; the English term "Holy Roman Emperor" gained currency in the interbellum period (the 1920s to 1930s); formerly the title had also been rendered as "German-Roman emperor" in English. The elective monarchy of the Kingdom of Germany goes back to

224-868: The French Revolution or even the German mediatisation (1803), they gradually declined in number and power in subsequent centuries. Holy Roman emperor The Holy Roman Emperor , originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( Latin : Imperator Romanorum ; German : Kaiser der Römer ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Romano-German Emperor since the early modern period ( Latin : Imperator Germanorum ; German : Römisch-deutscher Kaiser , lit.   'Roman-German emperor'),

280-517: The Germanic peoples of his own time, and used this term for all northern peoples located east of the Rhine . Later Roman authors followed his identification. However, there is no direct evidence about whether or not they spoke a Germanic language . Evidence such as the tribal name, and the names of their rulers, as they were written up by Roman historians, indicates a strong influence from Celtic languages . On

336-522: The Hittite tuzzi - and the Luwian tuta ('army'). The name Teutones may be interpreted as deriving from Proto-Celtic * towtā ('people, tribe'), or it may have been from a stage of Germanic language development prior to the first consonantal shift ("pre-Germanic"). (Compare the later-attested Germanic form * þeudō - 'nation, people, folk'; embodied for example by Gothic þiuda .) A possible corruption of

392-563: The Holy Roman Empire . Under the Ottonians , much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire. Since 911, the various German princes had elected the King of the Germans from among their peers. The King of the Germans would then be crowned as emperor following the precedent set by Charlemagne, during the period of 962–1530. Charles V

448-554: The Ingaevones , related to the Cimbri and Chauci . Plutarch in his biography of Marius, who fought the Teutones, wrote that they and the Cimbri "had not had intercourse with other peoples, and had traversed a great stretch of country, so that it could not be ascertained what people it was nor whence they had set out". He reported that there were different conjectures: that they were "some of

504-603: The King of the Franks and King of Italy , for securing his life and position. By this time, the Eastern Emperor Constantine VI had been deposed in 797 and replaced as monarch by his mother, Irene . Under the pretext that a woman could not rule the empire, Pope Leo III declared the throne vacant and crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans ( Imperator Romanorum ), the successor of Constantine VI as Roman emperor, using

560-593: The Proto-Indo-European (PIE) stem * tewtéh₂- ('people, tribe, crowd') attached to the suffix -ones , which is commonly found in both Celtic (Lingones, Senones, etc.) and Germanic (Ingvaeones, Semnones, etc.) tribal names during the Roman era. The stem apparently had a lower-class connotation, as opposed to an elite group or a ruling class and its original meaning in PIE times may have been 'the people under arms', as suggested by

616-554: The archbishop of Mainz , the archbishop of Trier , the archbishop of Cologne , the king of Bohemia , the count palatine of the Rhine , the duke of Saxony and the margrave of Brandenburg . After 1438, the title remained in the House of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine , with the brief exception of Charles VII , who was a Wittelsbach . Maximilian I (emperor 1508–1519) and his successors no longer traveled to Rome to be crowned as emperor by

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672-547: The metropolitan bishop . In the 14th century, the Holy See began to reserve the appointment of certain bishops to itself, after which the popes gradually laid claim to the exclusive right to appoint all bishops everywhere. This enabled them to appoint their confidants, thus nullifying the emperors' advantages and thus interest in maintaining and enlarging the Imperial church system. Although some prince-bishoprics continued to exist until

728-568: The (Germanic) Holy Roman emperors as the inheritors of the title of emperor of the Western Roman Empire , despite the continued existence of the Eastern Roman Empire. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser ("Roman-German emperor") is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman emperor on one hand, and that of German emperor ( Deutscher Kaiser ) on the other. The English term "Holy Roman Emperor"

784-582: The 5th to 8th centuries were convoked by the Eastern Roman Emperors . In Western Europe , the title of Emperor in the West lapsed after the death of Julius Nepos in 480, although the rulers of the barbarian kingdoms continued to recognize the authority of the Eastern Emperor at least nominally well into the 6th century. While the reconquest of Justinian I had re-established Byzantine presence in

840-516: The Cimbri and Teutones divided their forces. Gaius Marius then defeated them separately in 102 BC and 101 BC respectively, ending the Cimbrian War . The defeat of the Teutones occurred at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae (near present-day Aix-en-Provence ). According to the writings of Valerius Maximus and Florus , the king of the Teutones, Teutobod, was taken in irons after the Teutones were defeated by

896-570: The Cimbri, in a part of the landscape they did not have good information for – either in Zealand or Scandinavia, or else somewhere on the southern Baltic coast. The name of the district of Thy in Jutland has been connected to the name of the Teutons, a proposal in line with ancient reports that they came from that area. After achieving decisive victories over the Romans at Noreia and Arausio in 105 BC,

952-576: The German peoples which extended as far as the northern ocean"; that they were "Galloscythians", a mixture of Scythians and Celts who had lived as far east as the Black Sea, or that the Cimbri were Cimmerians , from even farther east. The Fourth Century BC traveller, Pytheas , as reported by Pliny the Elder (died AD 79), described the Teutones as neighbours of the northern island of Abalus where amber washed up in

1008-528: The Holy Roman Empire (800–1806). Several rulers were crowned king of the Romans (king of Germany) but not emperor, although they styled themselves thus, among whom were: Conrad I and Henry the Fowler in the 10th century, and Conrad IV , Rudolf I , Adolf and Albert I during the interregnum of the late 13th century. Traditional historiography assumes a continuity between the Carolingian Empire and

1064-411: The Holy Roman Empire, while a modern convention takes the coronation of Otto I in 962 as the starting point of the Holy Roman Empire (although the term Sacrum Imperium Romanum was not in use before the 13th century). On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, was crowned Emperor of the Romans ( Imperator Romanorum ) by Pope Leo III , in opposition to Empress Irene , who was then ruling

1120-785: The Italian Peninsula , religious frictions existed with the Papacy who sought dominance over the Church of Constantinople . Toward the end of the 8th century, the Papacy still recognised the ruler at Constantinople as the Roman Emperor, though Byzantine military support in Italy had increasingly waned, leading to the Papacy to look to the Franks for protection. In 800 Pope Leo III owed a great debt to Charlemagne ,

1176-572: The Merovingian and Carolingian Empire , and in Ottonian times also occurred in France and England , albeit at a smaller scale. The system worked as long as the emperors and kings could control the appointment of the bishops. The Ottonians even managed to control the bishops of Rome , who were in the process of achieving papal primacy inside Western Christendom . The popes, objecting to Imperial control in

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1232-579: The Roman Empire from Constantinople. Charlemagne's descendants from the Carolingian Dynasty continued to be crowned Emperor until 899, excepting a brief period when the Imperial crown was awarded to the Widonid Dukes of Spoleto . There is some contention as to whether the Holy Roman Empire dates as far back as Charlemagne, some histories consider the Carolingian Empire to be a distinct polity from

1288-475: The Romans. Under the conditions of the surrender, three hundred married women were to be handed over to the victorious Romans as concubines and slaves . When the matrons of the Teutones heard of this stipulation, they begged the consul that they might instead be allowed to minister in the temples of Ceres and Venus . When their request was denied, the Teutonic women slew their own children. The next morning, all

1344-411: The church, called on the bishops to oppose the emperor, managed to strengthen their position in the 11th and 12th century during the investiture controversy , and seized indirect control of the appointment of bishops in the Holy Roman Empire with the 1122 Concordat of Worms . Initially, a system was introduced where local cathedral chapters elected the new bishop, and their choice had to be confirmed by

1400-420: The concept of translatio imperii . On his coins, the name and title used by Charlemagne is Karolus Imperator Augustus . In documents, he used Imperator Augustus Romanum gubernans Imperium ("Emperor Augustus, governing the Roman Empire") and serenissimus Augustus a Deo coronatus, magnus pacificus Imperator Romanorum gubernans Imperium ("most serene Augustus crowned by God, great peaceful emperor governing

1456-623: The coronation of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor . The period of free election ended with the ascension of the Austrian House of Habsburg , as an unbroken line of Habsburgs held the imperial throne until the 18th century. Later a cadet branch known as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine passed it from father to son until the abolition of the Empire in 1806. Notably, from the 16th century, the Habsburgs dispensed with

1512-454: The early 10th century, the election of Conrad I of Germany in 911 following the death without issue of Louis the Child , the last Carolingian ruler of Germany. Elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of England , although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. The process of an election meant that

1568-492: The election of Rudolf I of Germany (1273). Rudolf was not crowned emperor, nor were his successors Adolf and Albert . The next emperor was Henry VII , crowned on 29 June 1312 by Pope Clement V . In 1508, Pope Julius II allowed Maximilian I to use the title of Emperor without coronation in Rome, though the title was qualified as Electus Romanorum Imperator ("elected Emperor of the Romans"). Maximilian's successors each adopted

1624-459: The election procedure by (unnamed) princes of the realm, reserving for the pope the right to approve of the candidates. A letter of Pope Urban IV (1263), in the context of the disputed vote of 1256 and the subsequent interregnum , suggests that by " immemorial custom ", seven princes had the right to elect the king and future emperor. The seven prince-electors are named in the Golden Bull of 1356 :

1680-471: The elector palatine was restored, as the eighth elector. The Electorate of Hanover was added as a ninth elector in 1692, confirmed by the Imperial Diet in 1708. The whole college was reshuffled in the German mediatization of 1803 with a total of ten electors, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire. This list includes all 47 German monarchs crowned from Charlemagne until the dissolution of

1736-564: The emperor chosen by the prince-electors . Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, became de facto hereditary holders of the title, notably the Ottonians (962–1024) and the Salians (1027–1125). Following the late medieval crisis of government , the Habsburgs kept possession of the title (with only one interruption ) from 1440 to 1806. The final emperors were from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine , from 1765 to 1806. The Holy Roman Empire

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1792-475: The empire of the Romans"). The Eastern Empire eventually relented to recognizing Charlemagne and his successors as emperors, but as "Frankish" and "German emperors", at no point referring to them as Roman, a label they reserved for themselves. The title of emperor in the West implied recognition by the pope. As the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict

1848-610: The empire was considered by the Catholic Church to be the only successor of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages and the early modern period . Thus, in theory and diplomacy, the emperors were considered primus inter pares , regarded as first among equals among other Catholic monarchs across Europe. From an autocracy in Carolingian times (AD 800–924), the title by the 13th century evolved into an elective monarchy , with

1904-465: The later Holy Roman Empire as established under Otto I in 962. Nephew and adopted son of Charles III While earlier Frankish and Italian monarchs had been crowned as Roman emperors, the actual Holy Roman Empire is often considered to have begun with the crowning of Otto I , at the time Duke of Saxony and King of Germany . Because the King of Germany was an elected position, being elected King of Germany

1960-465: The names of both the Teutones and their associates the Cimbri , as well as the personal names known from these tribes, some historians have suggested a Celtic origin for the Teutones. The earliest classical writers classified the Teutones as Celts ; more generally, they did not distinguish between Celtic and Germanic peoples. Apparently, this distinction was first made by Julius Caesar, whose main concern

2016-655: The ocean. Most scholars have interpreted this bay as being the Baltic Sea , and Codannovia as being Scandinavia. Surviving texts based on the work of the geographer Ptolemy mentioned both Teutones and " Teutonoaroi " in Germania , but this is in a part of his text that has become garbled in surviving copies. Gudmund Schütte proposed that the two peoples should be understood as one, but that different versions of works based on that of Ptolemy used literary sources such as Pliny and Mela to place them in different positions somewhere near

2072-496: The original name by Greek and Latin writers means however that the real pronunciation may not have been reflected in the spelling. The much later use of Teuton to refer to speakers of West Germanic languages occurred in the Latin of monastic writers by the ninth century and has continued into modern times. It originally served as a learned classical Latin word to be used instead of the similar sounding " theodiscus ", an older term that

2128-415: The other hand, the indications that classical authors gave about the homeland of the Teutones is considered by many scholars to show that they lived in an area associated with early Germanic languages, and not in an area associated with Celtic languages. The ethnonym is attested in Latin as Teutonēs or Teutoni (plural) or, more rarely, as Teuton or Teutonus (singular). It transparently derives from

2184-455: The pope. Maximilian, therefore, named himself elected Roman emperor ( Erwählter Römischer Kaiser ) in 1508 with papal approval. This title was in use by all his uncrowned successors. Of his successors, only Charles V , the immediate one, received a papal coronation . The elector palatine's seat was conferred on the duke of Bavaria in 1621, but in 1648, in the wake of the Thirty Years' War ,

2240-563: The position was viewed as a defender of the Catholic faith. Until Maximilian I in 1508, the Emperor-elect ( Imperator electus ) was required to be crowned by the pope before assuming the imperial title. Charles V was the last to be crowned by the pope in 1530. Even after the Reformation , the elected emperor was always a Catholic . There were short periods in history when the electoral college

2296-414: The power of the ruling family. Upon their deaths, the areas governed by celibate clerics automatically reverted to the ruler, who could then appoint their own new confidants to the position and thus retain control of all parts of the realm. A bishop thus bestowed with temporal (secular) power of a prince , on top of his spiritual (religious) power as a bishop, was known as a prince-bishop , and his domain as

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2352-404: The prime candidate had to make concessions, by which the voters were kept on his side, which was known as Wahlkapitulationen ( electoral capitulation ). Conrad was elected by the German dukes , and it is not known precisely when the system of seven prince-electors was established. The papal decree Venerabilem by Innocent III (1202), addressed to Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen , establishes

2408-402: The requirement that emperors be crowned by the pope before exercising their office. Starting with Ferdinand I , all successive emperors forwent the traditional coronation. The interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire is taken to have lasted from the deposition of Frederick II by Pope Innocent IV in 1245 (or alternatively from Frederick's death in 1250 or from the death of Conrad IV in 1254) to

2464-725: The same titulature, usually on becoming the sole ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Maximilian's predecessor Frederick III was the last to be crowned Emperor by the Pope in Rome, while Maximilian's successor Charles V was the last to be crowned by the pope, though in Bologna , in 1530. The Emperor was crowned in a special ceremony, traditionally performed by the Pope in Rome . Without that coronation, no king, despite exercising all powers, could call himself Emperor. In 1508, Pope Julius II allowed Maximilian I to use

2520-486: The spiritual health of their subjects, and after Constantine they had a duty to help the Church define and maintain orthodoxy . The emperor's role was to enforce doctrine, root out heresies , and uphold ecclesiastical unity. Both the title and connection between Emperor and Church continued in the Eastern Roman Empire throughout the medieval period ( in exile during 1204–1261). The ecumenical councils of

2576-533: The spring, and was traded by the Teutones. Abalus was one day's sail from a tidal marsh or estuary facing the ocean ( aestuarium ) called Metuonis inhabited by another Germanic people, the Guiones (probably either the Inguaeones , or Gutones ). Pomponius Mela (died circa 45 CE) stated that the Teutons lived on a large island, Codannovia , which was one of a group of islands in a large bay called Codanus , open to

2632-420: The title of Emperor without coronation in Rome, though the title was qualified as Electus Romanorum Imperator ("elected Emperor of the Romans"). Maximilian's successors adopted the same titulature, usually when they became the sole ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Maximilian's first successor Charles V was the last to be crowned Emperor. Teutons Some generations later, Julius Caesar compared them to

2688-427: Was "August Emperor of the Romans" ( Romanorum Imperator Augustus ). When Charlemagne was crowned in 800, he was styled as "most serene Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, governing the Roman Empire," thus constituting the elements of "Holy" and "Roman" in the imperial title. The word Roman was a reflection of the principle of translatio imperii (or in this case restauratio imperii ) that regarded

2744-433: Was a Latinization of the then-current pronunciations of the related West Germanic word meaning "of the people". By extension the word "Teutonic" is often also used in a broader way to mean the same as "Germanic". The Teutons commonly are classified as a Germanic tribe and thought probably to have spoken a Germanic language, although the evidence is fragmentary. However, because of the non-Germanic, possibly Celtic, form of

2800-477: Was dissolved by Francis II , after a devastating defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz . The emperor was widely perceived to rule by divine right , though he often contradicted or rivaled the pope , most notably during the Investiture controversy . The Holy Roman Empire never had an empress regnant , though women such as Theophanu and Maria Theresa exerted strong influence. Throughout its history,

2856-601: Was dominated by Protestants , and the electors usually voted in their own political interest. From the time of Constantine I ( r.  306–337 ), the Roman Emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity . The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the Christian emperor in the Great Church . Emperors considered themselves responsible to God for

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2912-554: Was functionally a pre-requisite to being crowned Holy Roman Emperor. By the 13th century, the Prince-electors became formalized as a specific body of seven electors, consisting of three bishops and four secular princes. Through the middle 15th century, the electors chose freely from among a number of dynasties. A period of dispute during the second half of the 13th century over the kingship of Germany led to there being no emperor crowned for several decades, though this ended in 1312 with

2968-520: Was that known as the investiture controversy , fought during the 11th century between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII . After the coronation of Charlemagne, his successors maintained the title until the death of Berengar I of Italy in 924. The comparatively brief interregnum between 924 and the coronation of Otto the Great in 962 is taken as marking the transition from the Frankish Empire to

3024-583: Was the last emperor to be crowned by the pope, and his successor, Ferdinand I , merely adopted the title of "Emperor elect" in 1558. The final Holy Roman emperor-elect, Francis II , abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empire's final dissolution. The term sacrum (i.e., "holy") in connection with the German Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa . The Holy Roman Emperor's standard designation

3080-512: Was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire . The title was held in conjunction with the title of King of Italy ( Rex Italiae ) from the 8th to the 16th century, and, almost without interruption, with the title of King of Germany ( Rex Teutonicorum , lit.   ' King of the Teutons ' ) throughout the 12th to 18th centuries. The Holy Roman Emperor title provided the highest prestige among medieval Catholic monarchs , because

3136-520: Was to argue that raids into southern Gaul and Italy by northern peoples who were less softened by Mediterranean civilization, should be seen in Rome as a systematic problem that can repeat in the future, and thereby demanded pre-emptive military action. This was his justification for invading northern Gaul. After Caesar, Strabo (died circa AD 24) and Marcus Velleius Paterculus (died circa AD 31) classify Teutons as Germanic peoples . Pliny also classified them this way and specified that they were among

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