Holy Roman Emperor

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List of Holy Roman Emperors
)

Emperor of the Romans
Imperator Romanorum
Kaiser der Römer
Imperial
Habsburg emperors of the early modern period
Longest reigning
Frederick III

19 March 1452 – 19 August 1493
Details
First monarchCharlemagne (AD 800 formation)
Otto the Great (AD 962 formation)
Last monarchFrancis II
Formation25 December 800
Abolition6 August 1806

The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (

king of Germany (Rex Teutonicorum, lit. "King of the Teutons") throughout the 12th to 18th centuries.[2]

The Holy Roman Emperor title provided the highest prestige among medieval Catholic monarchs, because 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.[3]

From an

Carolingian times (AD 800–924), the title by the 13th century evolved into an elective monarchy, with 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
Habsburgs kept possession of the title without interruption from 1440 to 1740. The final emperors were from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, from 1765 to 1806. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by Francis II, after a devastating defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz
.

The emperor was widely perceived to rule by

Protestants
, and the electors usually voted in their own political interest.

Title

Coats of arms of prince electors surround the imperial coat of arms; from a 1545 armorial. Electors voted in an Imperial Diet for a new Holy Roman Emperor.
Depiction of Charlemagne in a 12th-century stained glass window, Strasbourg Cathedral, now at Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame.

From the time of

Eastern Roman Emperors.[5]

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 reestablished Byzantine presence in Italy, religious frictions existed with the Papacy who sought dominance over the Constantinople Church. 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, the King of the Franks and King of Italy, for securing his life and position. By this time, the Eastern Emperor Constantine VI has been deposed in 797 and replaced as monarch by his mother, Irene.[6]

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 the concept of translatio imperii.[6] 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 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.[7]

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 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

. Under the
Eastern Francia
fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire.

Since 911, the various

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

The Holy Roman Emperor's standard designation 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.[9]

The word Roman was a reflection of the principle of translatio imperii (or in this case restauratio imperii) that regarded 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

German emperor (Deutscher Kaiser) on the other. The English term "Holy Roman Emperor" 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.[1]

Succession

Codex Balduini Trevirorum
, c. 1340).

The

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 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

margrave of Brandenburg
.

After 1438, the kings remained in the House of

Wittelsbach. Maximilian I (emperor 1508–1519) and his successors no longer travelled to Rome to be crowned as emperor by 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

German mediatization
of 1803 with a total of ten electors, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire.

List of emperors

This list includes all 47 German monarchs crowned from Charlemagne until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806).

Several rulers were crowned

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 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).

Frankish emperors

On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, was crowned Emperor of the Romans (Imperator Romanorum) by

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 the later Holy Roman Empire as established under Otto I in 962.

800–888: Carolingian dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Reign Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Charlemagne (Charles I)
742–814
25 December 800 28 January 814 None
Louis I, the Pious
778–840
11 September 813[10] 20 June 840 Son of Charles I
Lothair I
795–855
5 April 823 29 September 855 Son of Louis I
Louis II
825–875
29 September 855 12 August 875 Son of Lothair I
Charles II, the Bald
823–877
29 December 875 6 October 877 Son of Louis I younger half-brother of Lothair I
Charles III, the Fat
839–888
12 February 881 13 January 888 Grandson of Louis I

891–898: Widonid dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Reign Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Guy
?–894
21 February 891 12 December 894 Great-great-grandson of Charles I
Lambert
880–898
30 April 892 15 October 898 Son of Guy

896–899: Carolingian dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Reign Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Arnulf
850–899
22 February 896 8 December 899 Nephew of Charles III
Great-grandson of Louis I

901–905: Bosonid dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Reign Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Louis III, the Blind
880–928
22 February 901 21 July 905 Grandson of Louis II

915–924: Unruoching dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Reign Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Berengar
845–924
December 915 7 April 924 Grandson of Louis I

Holy Roman Emperors

While earlier Germanic and Italian monarchs had been crowned as Roman emperors, the actual

King of Germany. Because the King of Germany was an elected position, being elected King of Germany 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 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 the requirement that emperors be crowned by the pope before exercising their office. Starting with Ferdinand I
, all successive emperors forwent the traditional coronation.

962–1024: Ottonian dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Otto I, the Great
912–973
7 August 936 2 February 962 7 May 973 None
Otto II, the Red
955–983
26 May 961 25 December 967 7 December 983 Son of
Otto I
Otto III
980–1002
25 December 983 21 May 996 23 January 1002 Son of Otto II
Henry II [note 1]
973–1024
7 June 1002 14 February 1014 13 July 1024 Second cousin of Otto III

1027–1125: Salian dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Conrad II, the Elder [note 2]
990–1039
8 September 1024 26 March 1027 4 June 1039 Great-great-grandson of Otto I and Eadgyth of England through Liutgarde, Duchess of Lorraine
Henry III, the Black
1017–1056
14 April 1028 25 December 1046 5 October 1056 Son of Conrad II
Henry IV
1050–1106
17 July 1054 1 April 1084 7 August 1106 Son of Henry III
Henry V[11]
1086–1125
6 January 1099 13 April 1111 23 May 1125 Son of Henry IV

1133–1137: Supplinburg dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Lothair II [note 3]
1075–1137
30 August 1125 4 June 1133 4 December 1137 Great-great-great-great-great-great-grandnephew of
Otto I

1155–1197: Staufen dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Frederick I
Barbarossa
1122–1190
4 March 1152 18 June 1155 10 June 1190 Great-grandson of Henry IV through Agnes of Waiblingen
Descendant of Otto II through Matilda of Germany
Henry VI
1165–1197
15 August 1169 14 April 1191 28 September 1197 Son of
Frederick I

1198–1215: Welf dynasty

Portrait
Coat of arms
Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Otto IV
1175–1218
9 June 1198 21 October 1209 1215 Great-grandson of
Lothair II through Gertrude of Süpplingenburg

1220–1250: Staufen dynasty

Portrait Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Frederick II,
Stupor Mundi 1194–1250
5 December 1212 22 November 1220 13 December 1250 Son of Henry VI

The

Conrad IV in 1254) to 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
.

1312–1313: House of Luxembourg

Portrait
Coat of arms
Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Holy Roman Emperor
Coats of arms
Henry VII
1273–1313
27 November 1308 29 June 1312 24 August 1313 Descendant of Charles II

1314–1347: House of Wittelsbach

Portrait
Coat of arms
Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Holy Roman Emperor
Coats of arms
Louis IV, the Bavarian
1282–1347
20 October 1314 17 January 1328 11 October 1347 Descendant of
Lothair II (through Gertrude of Süpplingenburg
)

1346–1437: House of Luxembourg

Portrait
Coat of arms
Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Holy Roman Emperor
Coats of arms
Charles IV
1316–1378
11 July 1346 5 April 1355 29 November 1378 Grandson of
Frederick I through Philip of Swabia
  • King of Germany
  • King of Italy
  • King of Bohemia
  • King of Burgundy
  • Count of Luxemburg
  • King of the Lombards
Holy Roman Emperor
Coats of arms
Sigismund
1368–1437
10 September 1410
/21 July 1411
31 May 1433 9 December 1437 Son of Charles IV

1440–1740: House of Habsburg

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 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.[12]

Portrait
Coat of arms
Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Frederick III, the Peaceful
1415–1493
2 February 1440 16 March 1452 19 August 1493 Second cousin of
Lothair II (through Gertrude of Süpplingenburg
)
Maximilian I
1459–1519
16 February 1486 4 February 1508 12 January 1519 Son of Frederick III
Descendant of Frederick II through Manfred, King of Sicily
  • King of Germany
  • Archduke of Austria
Charles V
1500–1558
28 June 1519 27 August 1556 Grandson of Maximilian I
Ferdinand I
1503–1564
5 January 1531 27 August 1556 25 July 1564 Brother of Charles V
Grandson of Maximilian I
  • King of Germany
  • King of Bohemia
  • King of Hungary
  • King of Croatia
  • Archduke of Austria
Maximilian II
1527–1576
22 November 1562 25 July 1564 12 October 1576 Son of Ferdinand I
Descendant of Sigismund through Elizabeth of Luxembourg
Rudolf II [note 4]
1552–1612
27 October 1575 12 October 1576 20 January 1612 Son of Maximilian II
Grandson of Charles V
Matthias
1557–1619
13 June 1612 20 March 1619 Brother of Rudolf II
Son of Maximilian II
Grandson of Charles V
Ferdinand II
1578–1637
28 August 1619 15 February 1637 Cousin of Rudolf II and Matthias
Grandson of Ferdinand I
Ferdinand III
1608–1657
22 December 1636 15 February 1637 2 April 1657 Son of Ferdinand II
Leopold I
1640–1705
18 July 1658 5 May 1705 Son of Ferdinand III
Great-great-grandson of Charles V and Maximilian II
Joseph I
1678–1711
23 January 1690 5 May 1705 17 April 1711 Son of Leopold I
Charles VI
1685–1740
12 October 1711 20 October 1740 Brother of Joseph I
Son of Leopold I
Full list
  • King of Germany
  • King of Bohemia
  • King of Hungary
  • King of Croatia
  • Archduke of Austria
  • King of Naples
  • King of Sicily
  • King of Sardinia
  • Duke of Luxemburg
  • Duke of Teschen
  • Duke of Parma and Piacenza
  • Count of Flanders

1742–1745: House of Wittelsbach

Portrait
Coat of arms
Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Charles VII
1697–1745
24 January 1742 20 January 1745 Great-great-grandson of Ferdinand II
Son-in-law of Joseph I
  • King of Bohemia
  • Elector of Bavaria

1745–1765: House of Lorraine

Portrait
Coat of arms
Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Francis I
1708–1765
13 September 1745 18 August 1765 Great-grandson of Ferdinand III
Son-in-law of Charles VI
  • King of Germany
  • Archduke of Austria
  • Grand Duke of Tuscany
  • Duke of Lorraine

1765–1806: House of Habsburg-Lorraine

Portrait
Coat of arms
Name
Lifespan
Term as King began Term as Emperor began Term(s) ended Relationship with predecessor(s) Other title(s)
Joseph II
1741–1790
27 March 1764 18 August 1765 20 February 1790 Son of Francis I
and Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, de facto ruler of the empire
Grandson of Charles VI
  • King of Germany
  • King of Bohemia
  • Croatia
  • Archduke of Austria
Leopold II
1747–1792
30 September 1790 1 March 1792 Brother of Joseph II
  • King of Germany
  • King of Bohemia
  • Croatia
  • Archduke of Austria
  • Grand Duke of Tuscany
Francis II
1768–1835
5 July 1792 6 August 1806 Son of Leopold II

Coronation

The Emperor was crowned in a special ceremony, traditionally performed by the

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 adopted the same titulature, usually when they became the sole ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.[13] Maximilian's first successor Charles V
was the last to be crowned Emperor.

Emperor Coronation date Officiant Location
Charles I 25 December 800 Pope Leo III Rome, Italy
Louis I 5 October 816 Pope Stephen IV Reims, France
Lothair I 5 April 823 Pope Paschal I Rome, Italy
Louis II
15 June 844 Pope Leo IV Rome, Italy
Charles II 29 December 875 Pope John VIII Rome, Italy
Charles III 12 February 881 Rome, Italy
Guy III of Spoleto 21 February 891 Pope Stephen V Rome, Italy
Lambert II of Spoleto
30 April 892 Pope Formosus Ravenna, Italy
Arnulf of Carinthia 22 February 896 Rome, Italy
Louis III 15 or 22 February 901 Pope Benedict IV Rome, Italy
Berengar December 915 Pope John X Rome, Italy
Otto I
2 February 962 Pope John XII Rome, Italy
Otto II 25 December 967 Pope John XIII Rome, Italy
Otto III 21 May 996 Pope Gregory V Monza, Italy
Henry II 14 February 1014 Pope Benedict VIII Rome, Italy
Conrad II 26 March 1027 Pope John XIX Rome, Italy
Henry III 25 December 1046 Pope Clement II Rome, Italy
Henry IV 31 March 1084 Antipope Clement III Rome, Italy
Henry V 13 April 1111 Pope Paschal II Rome, Italy
Lothair III 4 June 1133 Pope Innocent II Rome, Italy
Frederick I
18 June 1155 Pope Adrian IV Rome, Italy
Henry VI 14 April 1191 Pope Celestine III Rome, Italy
Otto IV 4 October 1209 Pope Innocent III Rome, Italy
Frederick II 22 November 1220 Pope Honorius III Rome, Italy
Henry VII 29 June 1312 Ghibellines cardinals Rome, Italy
Louis IV 17 January 1328 Senator Sciarra Colonna Rome, Italy
Charles IV 5 April 1355 Pope Innocent VI's cardinal Rome, Italy
Sigismund 31 May 1433
Pope Eugenius IV
Rome, Italy
Frederick III 19 March 1452 Pope Nicholas V Rome, Italy
Charles V 24 February 1530 Pope Clement VII Bologna, Italy

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Enumerated as successor of Henry I who was German King 919–936 but not Emperor.
  2. ^ Enumerated as successor of Conrad I who was German King 911–918 but not Emperor
  3. ^ Enumerated also Lothair III as successor of Lothair II, who was King of Lotharingia 855–869 but not Emperor
  4. ^ Enumerated as successor of Rudolph I who was German King 1273–1291.

References

  1. ^ a b The New International Encyclopædia. Vol. 10. 1927. p. 675.; Hayes, Carlton J. H. (1932). A Political and Cvltvral History of Modern Europe. Vol. 1. p. 225.
  2. ^ Peter Hamish Wilson, The Holy Roman Empire, 1495–1806, MacMillan Press 1999, London, p. 2. Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn: The Menace of the Herd or Procrustes at Large – p. 164. Robert Edwin Herzstein, Robert Edwin Herzstein: "The Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages: universal state or German catastrophe?"[year needed][page needed]
  3. .
  4. ^ Richards, Jeffrey (1979). The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages, 476–752. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 14–15.
  5. ^ Richards 1979, p. 16.
  6. ^ a b Bryce, James (1968) [1864]. The Holy Roman Empire. Macmillan. pp. 62–64.
  7. S2CID 183386465
    .
  8. ^ Moraw, Peter (1977–1999). Heiliges Reich. Lexikon des Mittelalters. Vol. 4. Munich & Zurich: Artemis. Columns 2025–2028.
  9. ^ Bryce 1968, p. 530.
  10. ^ Egon Boshof: Ludwig der Fromme. Darmstadt 1996, p. 89
  11. .
  12. ^ Brinckmeier, Eduard (1882). Praktisches Handbuch der historischen Chronologie aller Zeiten und Völker, besonders des Mittelalters. p. 311.
  13. ^ " Wir Franz der Zweyte, von Gottes Gnaden erwählter römischer Kaiser Imperator Austriae, Fransiscus I (1804), Allerhöchste Pragmatikal-Verordnung vom 11. August 1804, The HR Emperor, p. 1

External links