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60-698: The adjective kaiserlich means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the Kaiser ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term was used particularly in connexion with the Roman-German Emperor as sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire and with the subsequent Empire of Austria . In the Early Modern Period

120-406: A declaration at Rhense , declaring that papal interference was no longer necessary if an emperor had sufficient popular support. Because of this, John XXII and his successor Clement VI would look for other imperial candidates to challenge and replace Louis, eventually siding with Charles of Luxembourg, who would shortly thereafter successfully gain the emperorship after Louis' death. The crisis of

180-650: A deliberate effort by the electors to prevent a consolidation of power. Following the death of Frederick II in 1250, two claimants claimed the Emperorship, Frederick II's son Conrad IV and the church backed anti-king William of Holland . By Frederick’s death, Conrad had defeated William and forced his submission. Conrad’s position in Germany was strong when he traveled to Italy to claim the rest of his inheritance from his mighty father. However, Conrad's death in 1254 gave William two years of rule but his death in 1256 gave way to

240-614: A double election in 1257, between Richard of Cornwall and Alfonso X of Castile . Alfonso never set foot in Germany during his lifetime and Richard was crowned in 1257, spending the rest of his reign traveling between England and Germany until his death in 1272. Richard maintained a solid support base in Germany during his reign, keeping the feudal relations of the Hohenstaufens and maintaining some officials of William of Holland. After his death in 1272, there were few obvious candidates to succeed him as multiple dynastic conflicts had splintered

300-511: A highly controversial move as Adolf's claim was never questioned prior to this incident and the group of princes acted without papal approval. The conflict moved onto the battlefield, where Adolf was killed in battle and Albert of Habsburg, Rudolf's son, was elected as King of the Romans in 1298. Albert however turned on the electors later in his reign, trying to consolidate his family's control of both Thuringia and Bohemia, though ultimately failing as he

360-670: A letter of his own to other nobility in Europe to gain support by listing the offenses of the church and clergy. The pope was still somewhat relevant for determining legitimacy despite this, as Henry VII over 50 years later traveled to Rome to be crowned King and was publicly noted for having done so. Papal Involvement in elections and legitimacy returns in the 1330s with the dispute between Louis Wittelsbach and Frederick Habsburg, with then pope John XXII having denied Louis' election as legitimate, citing that under canon law, legitimacy required papal confirmation of an election. In response, Louis made

420-482: A similar level of influence due to a gradual collection of territory, so Henry's son John put Louis of Wittelsbach forward as an imperial candidate. Frederick managed to get the imperial insignia and the archbishop of Cologne, the traditional person in charge of coronations, to crown him before Louis could, but Louis was crowned at Aachen, the traditional political capital of the empire. Thus, neither could definitively claim to be emperor and turned to open warfare to resolve

480-588: 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

540-565: 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'), was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire . The title

600-532: The Golden Bull of 1356 . This proclamation formalized the positions of the electors and divided them between secular princes and ecclesiastical clergymen. Importantly, the golden bull denied both Austria and Bavaria, important titles of the Habsburgs and Wittelsbachs rivals respectively, from being electors in this new system and granted the secular electorships were given to his allies. Charles can be seen as an end to

660-563: 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

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720-603: 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

780-500: The Thuringian Counts' War , leading to a general state of near-lawlessness in Germany where robber barons acted unopposed by the nominal system of justice . The role of the papacy in the elections and general governance of the empire were also put into question and would steadily diminish until later emperors would ignore Rome entirely in the election process. Germany was fractured into countless minor states fending for themselves,

840-554: 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

900-568: 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"

960-582: 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

1020-580: The Great Interregnum established an official set of prince-electors as the legal entities that could elect an emperor, and the college of prince-electors as the only source of legitimacy of the German king. Charles' actions in his reign also saw a modest revival of imperial interest in Italy and shifted the center of German politics from central and southern Germany towards the east at Bohemia, and later Austria. At

1080-528: 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

1140-556: The Holy Roman Empire's successors, the Empire of Austria and in Austria-Hungary (with the suffix königlich or "royal"). The kaiserliche soldiers had an especially romanticised calling and loyalty, and occasionally similar names continue to the present day, e.g. in several musical pieces and the Kaiserjäger band. In Switzerland the term has negative connotations that go back to

1200-411: 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

1260-508: The Interregnum were primarily the end of centralization of the imperial monarchy and the fragmentation of power towards the princes and prince-electors. The efforts of the Houses of Welf and Hohenstaufen towards expanding the power of the emperor and ensuring a clear line of succession between family members was difficult in this period, with many elections going from one family to another family in

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1320-421: The Interregnum, having possession of the title of emperor, holding it for several decades, passing it on to his son Sigismund and having no serious anti-king threat to his reign. This breaks the trend of the previous claimants either dying early on into their reigns, losing the title to rival families and having rival claimants violently oppose their rule. The papacy and the empire had a difficult relationship in

1380-737: 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 ,

1440-630: 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

1500-420: 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

1560-464: The conflict grew to the point that John's son Charles was elected as anti-king in opposition of Louis in 1346. The next year in 1347 Louis would die of a stroke and Charles would be elected emperor in the same year. Charles would work fast to deal with both the Habsburgs and Wittelsbachs, offering Brandenburg to the Wittelsbachs to bring them to his side and working with the other princes to formulate

1620-571: 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

1680-510: The dispute. The two fought with one another from 1313 to 1322, when Frederick was captured and in 1325 Louis attempted to mend the issues between the two by proclaiming Frederick as his co-king and granting the Habsburgs lands in Austria. Later in his reign, Louis would come into conflict with his former support John of Bohemia over the inheritance of Brandenburg, with France and the Pope joining in later and

1740-454: 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

1800-492: 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

1860-406: 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 :

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1920-519: 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

1980-550: The electors than Rudolf, primarily because the electors desired a weaker ruler that they could control more easily. Adolf granted concessions to the princes but otherwise continued Rudolf's policies of revindication to expand royal lands. Adolf utilized funds from England meant to finance a war with France to instead gain control of Thuringia, which was desired by the electors and other princes due to inheritance disputes. This proved to be his undoing as several princes and electors worked together to challenge Adolf and decide to depose him,

2040-564: 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

2100-475: 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

2160-438: The larger dynasty's lands into smaller territories, leaving Ottokar II of Bohemia and Rudolf of Habsburg as the main candidates. Ottokar's ambitions for expanding his territory into Babenberger lands alarmed the princes and they elected Rudolf instead, viewing him as less-threatening and more friendly to their interests. Rudolf started his reign by reclaiming Hohenstaufen land that had been pawned off for money or lost during

2220-465: 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

2280-688: The period, going back to the 1000’s with the Investiture Crisis . More recently, prior to his death, Frederick received an official deposition notice from Innocent IV at the Council of Lyons. In theory, Innocent IV had the exclusive power to legitimize and de-legitimize the emperor, but in practice this power was only as powerful as those who believed in it. Innocent deposed Frederick, releasing his vassals from their obligations and excommunicating both Frederick and his supporters, but Frederick retained his emperorship and most of his supporters. He responded with

2340-455: 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 ,

2400-563: 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

2460-790: The previous two decades in a policy called revindication, and during the course of his reign he managed to recover a majority of Hohenstaufen lands and estates. This policy met some resistance in 1274 when a Diet held in Nuremberg decreed that the Count Palatine of the Rhine would be the judge in such cases, diluting some of Rudolf’s power. Rudolf continued the course of Richard, maintaining the Hohenstaufen feudal relationships and expanding on policies started by Richard, notably by overhauling judicial oversight of royal lands to be held by loyal knights and retainers to increase revenues from these lands. Rudolf

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2520-404: 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

2580-744: The protracted struggle for independence of the Swiss Confederation . The term was not used in the German Empire of the 19th century, with the exception of the Imperial German Navy ( Kaiserliche Marine ). Its use in the Napoleonic Wars and in connexion with the Battle of the Three Emperors is problematic. Roman-German Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor , originally and officially

2640-402: 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

2700-572: The same position as Adolf of Nassau, having to concede several powers to the princes in order to be elected. But Henry gained considerable prestige by traveling to Rome and being personally crowned by the Pope. This combined with his public renunciation of Thuringian claims got him support from the princes to enfeoff Bohemia to his son John , securing a royal title for his family. Henry died unexpectedly of disease in 1313, leading to another double election, this time between Frederick of Habsburg and Louis of Wittelsbach . The Luxembourgs and Habsburgs held

2760-597: The same time, it set back the progress of centralization achieved under previous dynasties and rulers and severely weakened the authority of the emperor and the king. The lack of central government strengthened the communal movements , such as the Swabian League of Cities , the Hanseatic League and the Swiss Confederacy . It also encouraged increased feuding among the lesser nobility, leading to conflicts such as

2820-678: 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

2880-486: 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

2940-537: The term is linked with the universal precedence of the Kaiser over the other princes of the realm. Holders of an imperial or kaiserliche office were recruited from the whole empire, and had wide-ranging privileges in the territories. Examples of military, political and cultural institutions with kaiserliche players in the Holy Roman Empire are the: of the Roman-German Emperor (to 1806) ( Habsburg , only 1742–1745 Wittelsbach ) The traditions continued in

3000-415: 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. Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire) The long-lasting effects of

3060-427: 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

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3120-656: 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

3180-477: 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,

3240-601: 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

3300-419: Was frustrated in his attempts to gain control of Babenberger lands in modern-day Austria as his base of support rested on appearing as non-threatening to the other princes. After his death in 1291, Adolf of Nassau was chosen over Rudolf's son Albert due to Albert's attitude towards the electors and the potential threat he might be to them. Adolf of Nassau had more difficulties in securing his authority with

3360-554: 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

3420-451: 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 the empire

3480-441: Was murdered by his nephew Johann in 1308 before either could be fully brought under control. After Albert's murder, the title of King and Emperor was passed onto Henry of Luxembourg , crowned Henry VII in 1308. Henry was chosen due to fears of Habsburg dominance over the other princes with the attempted consolidation of Bohemia and Thuringia. The Luxembourgs were an up and coming family in German politics and Henry found himself in

3540-520: 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

3600-464: 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

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