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THE ALMANACH DE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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The Imperial and Royal Society of The Almanach de Holy Roman Empire
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THE OFFICIAL ALMANACH DE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
800-2009
The Imperial and Royal Society of
The Almanach de Holy Roman Empire
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Welcome to The Official Website of
The Almanach de Holy Roman Empire.
The most comprehensive Website on
The History and Structure of The First Reich,
and The Official Listing of The
Imperial Nobility of the Holy Roman Empire.
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English :
Holy Roman Empire .
German :
Heiliges Römisches Reich .
Italian :
Sacro Romano Impero .
Latin :
Sacrum Romanum Imperium .
Czech :
Svatá øíše øímská .
Croatian :
Sveto Rimsko Carstvo
French :
Saint Empire Romain Germanique .
Polish :
wiête Cesarstwo Rzymskie Narodu Niemieckiego .
Dutch :
Heilige Roomse Rijk .
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(Above)
The Crown of The Holy Roman Empire, also known as The 'Reichskrone' and 'The Crown of Charlemagne ', this ancient Crown is believed to have been made at the Monastery of Reichenau for the Coronation of Emperor Otto I, The Great, in 962. Made of Eight joined plates, four depict enamelled figures of Our Lord enthroned in Majesty, King Solomon, King David and King Hezekiah and The Prophet Isaiah. The remaining four plates are set with large precious stones.
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THE OFFICIAL ALMANACH DE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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The Almanach de Holy Roman Empire, was formally founded for the compiling of certain relevent Histories, Genealogies and Information concerning the First Reich being The Holy Roman Empire of The German Nation, We are most pleased to have the formal Patronage and valuable assistance of His Imperial and Royal Highness Prinz Karl Friedrich von Deutschland, de jure Charles VIII of Germany, as Founder and President of The Almanach de Holy Roman Empire, We are pleased to welcome you to the Official Website of The Almanach.
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THE IMPERIAL AND ROYAL SOCIETY
OF
THE ALMANACH DE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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PRESIDENT
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Karl Friedrich of Germany,
de jure Emperor Charles VIII I.R.
CHAIRMAN
Her Imperial and Royal Highness
Princess Maria Alexandra of Germany.
VICE-CHAIRMAN
Her Imperial and Royal Highness
Princess Charlotte Elizabeth of Germany.
COMITE' DE PATRONAGE
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Louis Stefan of Germany.
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Henry Eduard of Germany.
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Eduard Stefan of Germany..
His Serene Highness
Prince Stefan-Johannes von Regensburg,
Furst von Regensburg.
His Excellency
Count Frederick Wilhelm von Buren.
His Most Illustrious Highness
Count Charles von Giech.
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis.
His Excellency
Count Leopold zu Limpurg und Gaildorf.
His Excellency
Baron Christian Wilhelm von Groditz.
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THE HONOURY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETE DES
AMIS DE L'ALMANACH DE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI , Bishop of Rome,
Supreme Primate of The Holy Roman Empire.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
( Princess of The Holy Roman Empire )
Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
( Princess of The Holy Roman Empire )
Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands.
( Princess of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Majesty Czar Simeon II of The Bulgarians,
Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Majesty King Albert II of The Belgians
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Majesty King Harald V of Norway.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Majesty King Michael I of Romania.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Majesty King Constantine II of Greece.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Albert II of Monaco.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Maria of Russia.
( Princess of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Imperial Highness Grand Duke George of Russia.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Royal Highness Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy,
The Prince of Naples.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Dom Pedro Orleans-Bragança.
His Imperial and Royal Highness
The Archduke Otto von Habsburg of Austria
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Imperial and Royal Highness
The Archduke Sigismund of Austria, Prince of Tuscany.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince George Friedrich of Prussia.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Royal Highness
Margrave Max of Baden.
( Margrave of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Royal Highness
Duke Franz of Bavaria.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Royal Highness
Margrave Maria Emanuel of Meissen.
( Margrave of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Royal Highness
Prince Michael of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Royal Highness
Duke Friedrich-Konrad of Saxe-Meiningen.
( Duke of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Highness
Duke Borwin of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
( Duke of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Highness
Duke Eduard of Anhalt.
( Duke of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Highness
Duke Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
( Duke of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Jean-Engelbert of Arenberg.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Serene Highness
Prince York of Schaumburg-Lippe.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire )
His Illustrious Highness
Count Ernst Leonhard von Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen.
( Princely Count of The Holy Roman Empire )
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THE IMPERIAL REICHS COUNCIL OF ELECTORS OF
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
( The College of Electors of The Holy Roman Empire )
( Kurfürstenrat )
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* The Official List of The Present Imperial Prince Electors :
( Kurfürsten )
(1) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF MAINZ
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Henry Eduard of Germany,
Prince Elector of Mainz
Duke of Mainz.
(2) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF TRIER
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Louis Stefan of Germany ,
Imperial Prince Elector of Trier ,
Duke of Trier.
(3) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF COLOGNE
His Eminence Cardinal Joachim Meisner ,
Pro-Tempore Imperial Prince Elector of Cologne ,
Prince Archbishop of Cologne.
(4) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF BOHEMIA
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Karl Friedrich of Germany,
Imperial Prince Elector of Bohemia ,
Duke of Bohemia, Margrave of Moravia,
de jure Charles IV, King of Bohemia .
(5) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF THE PALATINE OF THE RHINE
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Karl Friedrich of Germany,
Imperial Prince Elector of The Palatine of the Rhine,
Count Palatine of the Rhine .
(6) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF REGENSBURG
Prince Stephan-Johannes of Regensburg,
Imperial Prince Elector of Regensburg ,
Prince of Regensburg.
(7) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF SAXONY
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Karl Friedrich of Germany,
Imperial Prince Elector of Saxony
Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, Duke of Saxony .
(8) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF BRANDENBURG
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia,
Imperial Prince Elector of Brandenburg ,
Margrave of Brandenburg ,
Burgrave of Nuremburg ,
de jure King of Prussia .
(9) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF HANNOVER
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Eduard Rupert Stefan of Germany ,
Pro tempore Imperial Prince Elector of Hannover .
(10) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF BADEN
Her Imperial and Royal Highness
Princess Charlotte Elizabeth of Germany ,
Pro tempore Imperial Prince Elector of Baden .
(11) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF BAVARIA
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Karl Friedrich of Germany ,
Pro tempore Imperial Prince Elector of Bavaria .
(12) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF HESSEN-KASSEL
His Royal Highness
Prince Moritz of Hesse-und-Kassel,
Imperial Prince Elector of Hesse-Kassel
Landgrave of Hesse.
(13) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF SALZBURG
His Grace Archbishop Alois Kothgasser of Salzburg ,
Pro tempore Imperial Prince Elector of Salzburg ,
Archbishop of Salzburg .
(14) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF WURTEMBERG
Her Imperial and Royal Highness
Princess Maria Alexandra of Germany ,
Pro tempore Imperial Prince Elector of Würtemberg.
(15) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF WURZBURG
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Karl Friedrich of Germany,
Imperial Prince Elector of Wurzburg ,
Prince of Wurzburg.
(16) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF WESTPHALIA
His Royal Highness
Prince Keith Patrick of Westphalia,
Imperial Prince Elector of Westphalia
de jure King of Westphalia.
(17) THE IMPERIAL PRINCE ELECTOR OF LOMBARDY
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Karl Friedrich of Germany ,
Imperial Prince Elector of Lombardy ,
de jure King of Lombardy .
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THE IMPERIAL HIGH OFFICERS OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Erzämter, Archiofficia )
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THE SUPREME IMPERIAL PRIMATE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI , Bishop of Rome,
Chief Vicar of The Holy Roman Empire.
THE IMPERIAL ARCH-CHANCELOR OF GERMANY
( Erzkanzler durch Germanien )
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Henry Eduard of Germany,
Duke of Mainz, Duke of Franconia ,
Duke of Saxony, Prinz von Saxe-Altenburg,
Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen-Rudolstadt.
THE IMPERIAL ARCH-CHANCELOR OF ITALY
( Erzkanzler durch Italien )
Her Imperial and Royal Highness
Princess Maria Alexandra of Germany ,
Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg ,
de jure Empress of The Holy Roman Empire of The German Nation .
THE IMPERIAL ARCH-CHANCELOR OF GAUL AND ARLES
( Erzkanzler durch Gallien und Arelat ( Burgund )
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Louis Stefan of Germany ,
Prince of Saxe-Altenburg , Duke of Saxony ,
de jure King of the Romans.
THE IMPERIAL GRAND BUTLER OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Erzschenk )
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Karl Friedrich of Germany,
Duke of Saxe-Altenburg,
de jure Emperor Charles VIII, King of Bohemia.
THE IMPERIAL ARCH-STEWARD OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Erztruchseß )
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Eduard Rupert Stefan of Germany ,
Prince of Saxe-Altenburg , Duke of Saxony.
THE IMPERIAL GRAND MARSHAL OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Erzmarschall )
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Henry Eduard of Germany,
Duke of Saxony, Prinz von Saxe-Altenburg.
THE IMPERIAL ARCH-CHAMBERLAIN OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Erzkämmerer )
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia,
de jure King of Prussia,
Margrave of Brandenburg,
Burgrave of Nuremburg.
THE IMPERIAL ARCH-TREASURER OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Erzschatzmeister )
Her Imperial and Royal Highness
Princess Charlotte Elizabeth of Germany ,
Princess of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxony .
THE HEREDITARY GRAND SENESCHAL OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Maximillian von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee .
THE HEREDITARY BUTLER OF HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Mundschenk )
His Excellency
Count Otto von Althan .
THE HEREDITARY STEWARD OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Truchseß )
His Most Illustrious Highness
Count Carl Ludwig Waldbott von Bassenheim.
THE HEREDITARY CHAMBERLAIN OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Kämmerer )
His Highness
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm von Hohenzollern .
THE HEREDITARY MARSHAL OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Marschall )
His Most Illustrious Highness
Count Albert zu Pappenheim .
THE HEREDITARY TREASURER OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Schatzmeister )
His Illustrious Highness
Count Anton Josef von Sinzendorf .
THE HEREDITARY STANDARD-BEARER OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Bannerherr )
His Royal Highness
Duke Carl of Wurttemberg ,
de jure King of Wurttemberg .
THE HEREDITARY POST MASTER GENERAL OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Postmeister )
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis.
THE IMPERIAL GRAND REGISTRAR OF THR HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
His Most Illustrious Highness
Count Charles von Giech.
THE USHER OF THE IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD
( Erbtürhüter )
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Rupert zu Lowenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg
THE MASTER OF THE HOUNDS OF THE IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD
( Jägermeister )
His Royal Highness
Prince Wilhelm Albert Raphael Maria of Urach,
Count of Württemberg, 5th Duke of Urach ,
de jure King of Lithuania .
THE MASTER OF THE HORSES OF THE IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD
( Stallmeister )
His Serene Highness
Prince Stefan-Johannes von Regensburg,
Prince von Regensburg, Baron von Aachen.
THE IMPERIAL FALCONER OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Falkenmeister )
His Excellency
Count Joseph von Thurheim .
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THE IMPERIAL AULIC COURT COUNCIL OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Reichshofrat )
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The Aulic Council (from the Latin aula, court in feudal language,) is the executive-judicial Council for the Holy Roman Empire. Known in German as the Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire, it is one of the two Supreme Courts of the Empire, the other being the Court of the Imperial Chamber (Reichskammergericht).
It has not only concurrent jurisdiction with the latter court, but in many cases exclusive jurisdiction, in all feudal processes, and in criminal affairs, over the immediate feudatories of the Emperor and in affairs which concern the Imperial Government.
Originating during the later Middle Ages as a paid Council of the Emperor, it was organized in its later form by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1497, It is composed of a President, a Vice-President, a Vice-Chancellor, and 18 Councilors, who are all chosen and paid by the Emperor, with the exception of the Vice-Chancellor, who is appointed by the Elector of Mainz. The seat of the Aulic Council is at the Imperial residence, of the Emperor. On the death of the Emperor, the Council is dissolved and has to be reconstructed by his successor.
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THE PRESIDENT OF THE AULIC
COURT COUNCIL OF THE EMPIRE
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His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Louis Stefan of Germany ,
Prince of Saxe-Altenburg , Duke of Saxony ,
de jure King of the Romans.
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THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE AULIC
COURT COUNCIL OF THE EMPIRE
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His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Henry Eduard of Germany,
Prince of Saxe-Altenburg , Duke of Saxony .
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THE VICE-CHANCELLOR OF THE AULIC
COURT COUNCIL OF THE EMPIRE
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Her Imperial and Royal Highness
Princess Charlotte Elizabeth of Germany ,
Princess of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxony .
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THE IMPERIAL COUNCILORS OF THE
AULIC COURT COUNCIL OF THE EMPIRE
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His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI , Bishop of Rome,
Chief Vicar of The Holy Roman Empire.
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Eduard Rupert Stefan of Germany ,
Prince of Saxe-Altenburg , Duke of Saxony .
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia,
de jure King of Prussia,
Margrave of Brandenburg,
Burgrave of Nuremburg.
His Royal Highness
Prince Keith Patrick of Westphalia,
Imperial Prince Elector of Westphalia
de jure King of Westphalia.
His Royal Highness
Duke Carl of Wurttemberg ,
de jure King of Wurttemberg .
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis.
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Rupert zu Lowenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg.
His Royal Highness
Prince Wilhelm Albert Raphael Maria of Urach,
Count of Württemberg, 5th Duke of Urach ,
de jure King of Lithuania .
His Royal Highness
Prince Moritz of Hesse-und-Kassel,
Imperial Prince Elector of Hesse-Kassel
Landgrave of Hesse.
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein.
His Serene Highness
Prince Stefan-Johannes von Regensburg,
Prince von Regensburg, Baron von Aachen.
His Eminence Cardinal Joachim Meisner ,
Pro-Tempore Imperial Prince Elector of Cologne ,
Prince Archbishop of Cologne.
His Illustrious Highness
Count Anton Josef von Sinzendorf .
His Most Illustrious Highness
Count Charles von Giech.
His Most Illustrious Highness
Count Carl Ludwig Waldbott von Bassenheim.
His Most Illustrious Highness
Count Albert zu Pappenheim .
His Most Serene Highness
Prince Maximillian von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee .
His Excellency
Count Joseph von Thurheim .
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THE IMPERIAL CHAMBER COURT OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
( Reichskammergericht )
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The Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court) is one of two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Reichshofrat (Aulic Council). It was founded in 1495 by the Reichstag in Worms. All legal proceedings in the Holy Roman Empire, can be brought to the Reichskammergericht, except if the ruler of the territory has a so-called privilegium de non appellando, in which case the highest judicial institution was founded by the ruler of that territory. Another exception was criminal law. The Reichskammergericht could only intervene in criminal cases if basic procedural rules have been violated.
Membership of the Court is determined by both the Emperor and the component states of the Empire. The Emperor names the Chief Justice, several presidents of the court senates, and some of the members of the court. The majority of the judges are selected by the estates of the Empire. Originally, half of the judges were knights of the empire, and the other half doctors of Roman law, but after 1548 all judges had to be doctors of law, at present the Court Chamber of the Holy Roman Empire, is in dormant session.
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THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE CHAMBER
COURT OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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His Imperial and Royal Majesty
Charles VIII, By the Grace of God,
Holy Roman Emperor Elect, Always August,
King in Germany, King of Jerusalem,
King of Bohemia, King of Burgundy,
King of Lombardy, King of Dalmatia,
Supreme Defender of The Faith.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
OF THE GERMAN NATION, THE CREATION,
ILLEGAL SUSPENSION AND FORMAL RESUMPTION.
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Forwarded by
The Imperial Armorial Bearings of
His Imperial and Royal Majesty
Charles VIII, By the Grace of God,
Holy Roman Emperor Elect, Always August,
King in Germany, King of Jerusalem,
King of Bohemia, King of Burgundy,
King of Lombardy, King of Dalmatia,
Supreme Defender of The Faith.
The Holy Roman Empire was formally founded in the year 800 by Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Lombards, who revived the Imperial August Title of Roman Emperor in the West. According to Carolingian theory, the Roman Empire had merely been suspended, not ended, by the abdication of the last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus in 476. On Christmas Day, In the year 800 AD Pope Leo III, Crowned Charlemagne Roman Emperor, in St.Peters, Rome, probably perceived more as a personal Imperial Title than as a reference to a particular Territorial Rule. The Holy Roman Empire was once famously dismissed by Voltaire as neither Holy, Roman, nor an Empire, despite covering most of central Europe for over a thousand years, its history was intricately interwoven with that of Europe as a whole. The ghosts of the old Empire still haunt the Twenty-First century Europe in the guise of many institutions and ideals as well as political divisions and factional struggles. From the death of Arnulf (899), the last Carolingian to hold the Imperial Title, until Emperor Otto’s Coronation in Rome by Pope John XII, various rulers bore the Imperial Title but exercised no authority; among them were Louis III, King of Provence, and Berengar I, King of Italy. From the time of Otto's reign the Imperial office was based on the German Kingship. The German King, elected by the German Princes, automatically sought Imperial Coronation by the Pope, the Churchmen who crowned the Emperors, and thus actually sustained the Empire, considered it to be the Church's Secular arm, sharing responsibility for the welfare and spread of the Christian faith and duty-bound to protect the Papacy. This view of the relationship between Church and state, which dated from the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine I, was generally accepted by both Emperors and Popes. In practice, however, this partnership seldom worked smoothly, as one of the partners inevitably tried to dominate the other. Frequent fluctuations in the actual power and vitality of each individual as well as changes in the prevailing political and theological theories gave a fluid, dynamic quality to the empire's history. After 1045 a King who was not yet Crowned Emperor was known as King of the Romans, a Title that asserted his right to the Imperial Throne and implied that he was Emperor-designate. Not every German King became Emperor, however, because the Popes, especially when elections to the Kingships were disputed, often claimed that the selection of the Emperor was their prerogative. Despite the fact that the German Kingship and the Imperial office were technically elective, they tended to become hereditary. At times the electors, the German Princes who approved the succession to the German Kingship, exercised real authority in choosing the King, although Papal confirmation was still necessary for accession to the Imperial Throne. In 1338 at the diets of Rhense and Frankfurt the German Princes proclaimed the electors’ right to choose the Emperor without papal intervention. The Golden Bull of 1356 issued by Emperor Charles IV reaffirmed this and regulated the election procedure. Emperors continued to be crowned by the Pope until after the coronation (1530) of the Emperor Charles V. Thereafter, following the precedent (1508) of Emperor Maximilian I, they were Crowned at Frankfurt. Several early Emperors were also Crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of the Lombards. After 1438 the Imperial office was held, with one exception, by the House of Hapsburg.The Empire was justified by the claim that, just as the Pope was the Vicar of God on earth in spiritual matters, so the Emperor was God’s temporal Vicar; hence he claimed to be the supreme Temporal Ruler of Christendom. Actually, the power of the Emperor never equaled his pretensions. Although the Emperors were accorded diplomatic precedence over other Sovereigns Rulers, their Suzerainty early ceased over France, Italy, Denmark, Poland, and Hungary; and their control over England, Sweden, and Spain was never more than nominal. The authority of the Emperors in Italy and Germany was sometimes nonexistent, sometimes real.The territorial limits of the Empire varied, but it generally included Germany, Austria, Bohemia and Moravia, parts of Northern Italy, present-day Belgium, and, until 1648, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Some countries (e.g., Hungary) were ruled by the Emperor or Imperial Prince but were outside the Empire, while others (e.g., Flanders, Pomerania, Schleswig, and Holstein) were part of the Empire but were Ruled by foreign Princes who held their lands in fief from the Emperor and took part in the Imperial diet. When Otto I became Emperor, he renewed the traditions of the Carolingian Empire that had been eroding for decades before Arnulf’s death. Otto’s Empire comprised the German Duchies, Lorraine (or Lotharingia), Italy, and Burgundy, which had its own nominal King. Burgundy was formally annexed in 1033. The Imperial position, however, was precarious from the start. A conflict over the relationship between the Papacy and the Imperial Throne resulted in the investiture controversy during the reign of Henry IV (1084–1105), who appointed Bishops to three Sees already under the direction of Papal appointees. He was also suspected of tolerating simony and other practices that the Pope was trying to curb. In 1076, Henry IV withdrew his obedience to Pope Gregory VII and was excommunicated. Subsequent struggles between the Popes Alexander III, Gregory IX, and Innocent IV and the Emperors Frederick I and Frederick II concerned papal Sovereignty in Italy. The Papacy was victorious, and the Emperors ceased to interfere seriously with Papal affairs except during the Great Schism of the 15th century, and in the Italian Wars of the 16th century. Also untenable was the dual position of the Emperors as Rulers of Germany and of Italy; geography as well as cultural and political conditions separated the two Countries. The defense of the Empire against foreign attack was made more difficult by the repeated attempts of the emperors to maintain their authority in Italy against the opposition of the city-states the Papacy, and the petty Princes. Frederick I failed to suppress the Lombard League, which had Papal support. Frederick II, after inheriting Naples and Sicily, was primarily interested in Italian affairs; his conflict with the Papacy produced the feud between Guelphs and Ghibellines throughout Italy and ruined the Imperial authority there.The death (1254) of Conrad IV, the last ruling Hohenstaufen, was followed by an interregnum of 19 years. Opposing claimants to the Imperial Crown were unable to exercise authority during this period, and the power of the Emperor declined considerably. The election (1273) of the Emperor Rudolf I as the first Hapsburg German King restored some order, but after his death rival claimants renewed the strife. The effect of continued warfare and weak monarchs increased the power of the German Princes, particularly the dukes of the great Duchies of Bavaria, Saxony, Swabia, Franconia, Thuringia, and Upper and Lower Lorraine. The Golden Bull of 1356 conceded the Princes’ dominance over the monarchy.The Emperors maintained some authority against the nobles with the support of the towns and of the great Ecclesiastical Princes (e.g., the archbishop-electors of Cologne, Mainz, and Trier), who were Imperial appointees. As the German towns grew in wealth and power, they entered leagues for defense against the Nobles. Since they acted as a counterbalance to the Nobility, they were generally favored by the emperors, who made them free Imperial cities with a voice in the diet. The power of the Emperors, however, had come to depend largely on the size and wealth of the Emperors’ hereditary domains. Thus, the Luxemburg Emperors (Henry VII, Emperor Charles IV, Wenceslaus, and Sigismund) and the Hapsburg Emperors concerned themselves with their own lands to the detriment of the unity of the Empire. During the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I (1493–1519) the conflict between the dynastic policy of the Hapsburg Emperors and the interests of the German empire (then known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation) became pronounced. The Princes attempted to remove the administration of the Empire from the Emperor and put it in the hands of an Imperial council; the council would control all external and internal affairs of the empire. Under pressure Maximilian I, created (1500) a council and an Imperial court of justice. However, these were only temporary measures, since the Hapsburgs had no intention of pursuing German policy, which would conflict with their dynastic interests, particularly in Austria.In the 16th cent., under Charles V and Ferdinand I, Imperial and Austrian affairs were practically identical. This identity was furthered by the Reformation, which generally aligned the German Protestant Princes against the Emperors, who championed Roman Catholicism. In the Thirty Years War (1618–48) the Emperor, allied with Spain, opposed the Protestant princes, who were allied chiefly with Sweden and France. The struggle ended with the virtual dissolution of the Empire in the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which recognized the Sovereignty of all the States of the Empire; the only limitation was that the princes could not make alliances directed against the Empire or the Emperor.Although the Imperial Title became largely honorific, the outward forms of the empire were retained; the emperors, with their hereditary lands, remained powerful monarchs. While the peace generally legalized the situation that had existed in the empire since the Reformation, it also advanced the growth of particularism and absolutism in the German States. The Emperors suffered further loss of prestige in their wars against Louis XIV . The death (1740) of Charles VI ended the male Hapsburg line, precipitating further conflict While the elector of Bavaria was chosen (1742) Emperor as Charles VII, Maria Theresa, daughter of Charles VI, defended her Hapsburg inheritance against the claims of Bavaria, Prussia, and Saxony. By the peace of Hubertusburg (1763), Francis I, husband of Maria Theresa, was recognized as Emperor; however, Prussia, under King Frederick II, had emerged as the leading German power. Joseph II, successor of Francis I, adhered to the principles of the Enlightenment; he attempted to rationalize the administration of the Imperial Government but failed in the face of resistance by the particularist princes, especially Frederick II of Prussia.During the French Revolutionary Wars the Empire was completely reorganized by the treaty of Lunéville (1801) and by action of the diet in 1803. The number of states was greatly reduced, and the remaining States were aggrandized at the expense of the petty Princedoms and Ecclesiastical Estates. In 1804, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II took the title Francis I, emperor of Austria, and after the establishment (1806) of the Confederation of the Rhine under Napoleon I, Francis renounced his Imperial Title as Holy Roman Emperor. After the fall of Napoleon no attempt was made to restore the Empire, the Illegal suspension of the Empire by the Emperor Francis II, on the sixth of August, 1806, following the Emperors Abdication and formal Renunciation of the Imperial Title and Crown, for Himself, His Heirs and Descendants, laid both the Empire and Imperial Title dormant. The Empire, has formally remained in a dormant State of Illegal suspension since the sixth of August, 1806 until the First of September 1999, when Karl von Deutschland, formally issued a Statutory Promulgated Proclamation in the form of Legal Deed of Patent Claim by the Instrument of Universal Public Proclamation open with certain Dimensions, an Act for which He formally Perpetuated the full resumption of the Old Empire, its Imperial Patrimony, Sovereign Rights, Prerogatives, Pretensions and Institutions etc., and thus formally Claimed, Pertained and Perpetuated the Formal Act of Instauration of the Imperial Sovereign Title, Electoral Office, Imperial Throne and Crown, for Himself, His Heirs and Descendants of His Body in Universal Perpetuity.
________________
_____________________________
THE CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
OF
THE KINGS OF GERMANY AND
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPERORS,
RIVAL EMPERORS,
REGENTS, AND CO-REGENTS.
______________________________
( CAROLINGIAN HOUSE )
Charles I . The Great, Charlemagne , 800-814 ,
Born: 2 April 742, Died: 28 January 814
Birthplace: ? , Emperor known as "a light in the Dark Ages". Charlemagne was the Frankish king who conquered most of Europe and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in the year 800. Charlemagne was probably born somewhere in what is now France or Germany, the eldest son of Pepin the Short. Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman, divided the kingdom after Pepin's death in 768; a few years later Carloman died and Charlemagne annexed his portion. During his 43-year reign from his court at Aachen, Charlemagne proved himself a brilliant military strategist and administrator, promoting art and education while waging war from Saxony to the Mediterranean. Among his many campaigns were: The Lombard War (773-775); the Spanish War (778-801); the conquest of Bavaria (787-788); the conquest of the Avars (791-801); the Byzantine War (802-812); and a thirty-year effort to subdue the Saxons and convert them to Christianity. Charlemagne united most of Europe and created a period of relative order during the otherwise tumultuous Middle Ages. King of The Franks 768, Crowned Emperor 800.
Louis I . The Pious, 814-840.
Lothair I . 840-855.
Louis II . 855-875.
Charles II . The Bald, 875-877.*Interregnum 877-81*
Charles II or Charles the Bald,823–77, emperor of the West (875–77) and king of the West Franks (843–77); son of Emperor Louis I by a second marriage. The efforts of Louis to create a kingdom for Charles were responsible for the repeated revolts of Louis's elder sons that disturbed the latter part of Louis's reign. When Lothair I, the eldest and heir to the imperial title, attempted to reunite the empire after Louis's death (840), Charles and Louis the German marched against their brother and defeated him at Fontenoy (841). Reaffirming their alliance in 842 (see Strasbourg, Oath of), they signed (843) with Lothair the Treaty of Verdun (see Verdun, Treaty of), which divided the empire into three parts. The part roughly corresponding to modern France fell to Charles. He was almost continuously at war with his brothers and their sons, with the Norsemen (or Normans, as they came to be known in France), and with rebellious subjects. When Charles's nephew Lothair, son of Lothair I and king of Lotharingia, died in 869, Charles seized his kingdom but was forced by the Treaty of Mersen (870) to divide it with Louis the German. In 875, at the death of his nephew Louis II, who had succeeded Lothair I as emperor, Charles secured the imperial crown. His reign witnessed the growth of the power of the nobles at the expense of the royal power and thus marked the rise of local feudalism. Charles's chief adviser was Archbishop Hincmar.
Charles III . The Fat, 881-887. *Deposed 887*
Arnulf . of Carinthia , 887-899, Louis III. The Child, 899-911.
( HOUSE OF FRANCONIA )
Conrad I of Franconia , 911-918.
( HOUSE OF SAXONY )
Henry I . The Fowler, 919-936.
0tto I . The Great, 936-973.
Otto I or Otto the Great,912–73, Holy Roman emperor (962–73) and German king (936–73), son and successor of Henry I of Germany. He is often regarded as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. Boldly developing the policies that his father had begun, Otto brought the Middle Kingdom of the Carolingian Lothair I (see Verdun, Treaty of), including Italy, Burgundy, and Lotharingia, under German influence and broke the independence of the duchies. The rebellions of Otto's brother, Henry, and of Duke Eberhard of Franconia were ended by the battle of Andernach (939) and Henry's submission (941). King Louis IV of France, hoping to gain Lotharingia, had assisted the rebels, and Otto campaigned against him (940) with Hugh the Great; in 942, however, Otto and Louis reached an agreement, and Otto helped Louis to defeat Hugh (950). In 951, Otto invaded Italy, taking advantage of an appeal from the widowed Italian queen, Adelaide, who was about to be forced into a marriage with the son of Berengar II. Defeating Berengar, Otto assumed the title king of the Lombards, married Adelaide, and returned to Germany, where Berengar eventually paid him homage. In Germany another revolt was brewing. Rivalry and jealousy among the dukes, particularly against Otto's brother, Henry, whom he had made duke of Bavaria in 947, resulted in a rebellion in 953 led by Conrad the Red and Otto's son Duke Ludolf of Swabia. New attacks by the Magyars ended the rebellion and forced the dukes to form a united front against the invaders, who were defeated (955) in the Lechfeld. Otto had already begun to counter the ducal power by creating the “Ottonian system,” entailing close alliance between the crown and the higher prelates. An important exponent of the alliance was his brother and chief adviser, St. Bruno, archbishop of Cologne, whom Otto made duke of Lotharingia. Meanwhile, in Italy, Berengar II resumed his aggression. Pope John XII appealed to Otto, who entered Rome and was crowned emperor early in 962, reviving the imperial title of the Carolingians and legitimizing the German kings' claim to the Middle Kingdom; Otto thus linked the destinies of Italy and Germany. John soon found the emperor too powerful and, while Otto was campaigning against Berengar, secretly negotiated with Otto's enemies. Otto hastened back to Rome (963), deposed John, and installed a new pope, Leo VIII. The Romans, seeing all independence lost, rose in 964 and restored John, but John died the same year and Otto reinstated Leo. Otto's campaign (966–72) to gain control over S Italy was unsuccessful, but a minor diplomatic triumph was scored in 972 when Emperor John I of Byzantium gave a Greek princess in marriage to Otto's son and successor, Otto II.
Otto II . 973-983. Co-Regent,961.
Otto II, 955–83, Holy Roman emperor (973–83) and German king (961–83), son and successor of Otto I. He was crowned joint emperor in 967. Shortly after his father died Otto faced a rebellion by his cousin, Henry the Wrangler, duke of Bavaria, who coveted the crown. Otto defeated and deposed Henry (976), at the same time making Austria, Carinthia, and the Nordgau virtually independent of Bavaria. During this period he also repulsed a Danish attack. In 978, Otto invaded France in retaliation for the French king Lothair's attempt to conquer Lorraine; the inconclusive war ended in 980. Campaigning in Italy (981–82), Otto was, after some initial success, disastrously defeated by the Arabs in S Italy. In 983 he held a diet of German and Italian nobles at Verona, where he had his son Otto III elected German king. Meanwhile, the Danes and the Slavs were again attacking his German lands, but Otto died suddenly before he could act. Regarding Germany and Italy as a united realm, Otto II felt his position as emperor more keenly than his role as German king. His failure in Italy greatly weakened the imperial prestige.
Otto III . 983-1002. Co-Rgent,983.
Otto III, 980–1002, Holy Roman emperor (996–1002) and German king (983–1002), son of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and the Byzantine princess Theophano. On Otto's accession Henry the Wrangler, the deposed duke of Bavaria, attempted to become his guardian and then to obtain the crown, but the plot was frustrated and Henry was forced to abandon it, although he was restored in Bavaria. Instead, Theophano was regent until her death in 991, and Otto's grandmother Adelaide succeeded her until 994. Otto established his cousin Bruno in the vacant papacy as Gregory V (996) and restored him (998) after his expulsion by a Roman revolt. After Gregory's death (999), Otto installed his tutor Gerbert of Aurillac as pope (see Sylvester II). His pilgrimage (1000) to the grave of his friend St. Adalbert gave him the opportunity to strengthen the influence of his “ecclesiastical empire” against Germany's eastern neighbors. The scion of both the Western and Eastern imperial houses and remarkably well educated, Otto III was at the same time noted for his asceticism and religiosity. In 998 he settled in Rome, hoping to make this the seat of his empire, which would include German, Italian, and Slavic lands. He tried unsuccessfully to establish a permanent imperial administration. In 1001 discontented Romans rioted and forced Otto to flee the city. He was planning to attack Rome when he died. Otto was succeeded by Henry II, son of Henry the Wrangler.
St.Henry II . 1002-1024.
Henry II, 973–1024, Holy Roman emperor (1014–24) and German king (1002–24), last of the Saxon line. He succeeded his father as duke of Bavaria. When Otto III died without an heir, Henry, who was Otto's second cousin and the great-grandson of Henry I, was elected German king. After some opposition he was recognized by the German duchies. In 1004 he entered Italy and at Pavia was crowned king of the rebellious Lombards by the bishops. Italian resistance appeared to be broken when Pavia was destroyed in a conflict between the citizens and Henry's German followers, but his supremacy was still uncertain when he went north to meet Boleslaus I of Poland. Henry expelled (1004) Boleslaus from Bohemia, but the war dragged on until 1018, when Boleslaus was able to obtain territories in E Germany in fief from Henry. Returning (1013) to Italy, Henry was crowned (1014) Holy Roman emperor at Rome. On his third Italian campaign (1021–22), undertaken at the pope's behest, he restored order in Lombardy, reasserted his sovereignty in all Italy, and attended a synod at Pavia where he advocated far-reaching church reform. Always relying heavily on ecclesiastic support, Henry opposed the monastic clergy in its jurisdictional struggle with the bishops, and he forcefully exercised his right of nominating bishops. However, both Henry and his empress, Kunigunde of Luxembourg, were distinguished for piety and have been canonized. His most notable achievement was the foundation of the new bishopric of Bamberg, which became a center of scholastic culture and art. Henry died childless; he was succeeded by Conrad II. Feast: July 15.
( HOUSE OF SALIAN )
Conrad II . 1024-1039.
Conrad II, c.990–1039, Holy Roman emperor (1027–39) and German king (1024–39), first of the Salian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. With the end of the Saxon line on the death of Henry II, the succession passed to the matrilineal descendants of Otto I, and Conrad, a Franconian noble, was elected (1024) as German king. Although the hereditary principle in Germany was strong enough to secure his election, it did not ensure Conrad support throughout the empire. His accession was contested by his stepson, Ernest of Swabia, and by the Lotharingians (see Lotharingia) and the Italians. After the collapse of the revolts of Ernest and the Lotharingians, Conrad brought N Italy into submission (1026–27) and was crowned emperor at Rome. He suppressed two more revolts (1027, 1030) by Ernest and won (1031) Lusatia from Poland. In 1034 he annexed the kingdom of Burgundy (see Arles, kingdom of) under the terms of a treaty (1006) between Rudolf III, last independent king of Arles, and Holy Roman Emperor Henry II. In 1036, Conrad returned to Italy, where war was raging between the greater and the lesser nobles. He deposed Archbishop Aribert of Milan, a powerful ally of the great nobles, and made the fiefs of the lesser nobles hereditary by issuing (1037) the Constitution of Pavia. In Germany also Conrad favored the small nobility, thus reversing the policy of Otto I and Henry II, who had depended for support on the Church. He promoted the servile classes to administrative office, thus building a new hereditary class of ministeriales to replace the ecclesiastics in the civil service. Conrad's administration was economical, and he encouraged commerce by granting market and mint privileges. At his death, his son Henry III ascended the throne at the height of its wealth and power.
Henry III . 1039-1056. Co-Regent,1028.
Henry III, 1017–56, Holy Roman Emperor (1046–56) and German king (1039–56), son and successor of Conrad II. He was crowned joint king with his father in 1028, and acceded on Conrad's death in 1039. Under Henry III the medieval Holy Roman Empire probably attained its greatest power and solidity. In 1041, Henry defeated the Bohemians, who had been overrunning the lands of his vassals, the Poles, and compelled Duke Bratislaus I of Bohemia to renew his vassalage. Although several expeditions to Hungary against the raiding Magyars failed to establish his authority in that country, Henry was able in 1043 to fix the frontier of Austria and Hungary at the Leitha and Morava rivers, where it remained until the end of World War I. In the West, Henry attempted with some initial success to control particularist tendencies among the duchies. The dukes of Saxony and Lorraine (Lotharingia) offered the most resistance. In Saxony, Henry managed to avert rebellion, which, however, erupted after his death. On the death of Duke Gozilo of Lorraine (1044), Henry divided the duchy between the duke's two sons. Duke Godfrey, the elder, who received Upper Lorraine, organized numerous revolts against Henry; in 1047–50 the counts of Holland and Flanders (Lower Lorraine) joined in the revolt. Godfrey was successively defeated, imprisoned, restored, and expelled again. He went to Italy (1051), where he married (1054) Marchioness Beatrice of Tuscany, mother of Matilda; Godfrey used his Tuscan position to bolster his strength in Germany, and Henry was unable to subdue him. Despite his political involvement Henry made religious matters his prime concern and supported monastic reform movements, including the Cluniac order. He branded as simony the customary payments made to the king by new bishops and in 1046 undertook to reform the church. Descending into Italy, he had three rival claimants to the papacy set aside at the synods of Sutri and Rome and was accorded the decisive vote in papal elections. The four German popes named by Henry (including Leo IX) renewed the strength of the papacy, which was to prove the nemesis of his successors. On his death his wife Agnes of Poitou assumed the regency for his infant son, Henry IV.
Henry IV . 1056-1105. Co-Regent,1054.
Holy Roman emperor (1084–1105) and German king (1056–1105), son and successor of Henry III. He was the central figure in the opening stages of the long struggle between the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy.
[ Rudolf of Swabia ]. 1077-1080.
[ Herman of Salm ]. 1081-1088.
Conrad . 1087-1098. Co-Regent;*deposed, died 1101.*
Henry V . 1105-1125. Co-Regent, 1099.
Henry V, 1081–1125, Holy Roman emperor (1111–25) and German king (1105–25), son of Henry IV. Crowned joint king with his father in 1099, he put himself at the head of the party desiring reconciliation with the pope and, with the approval of Pope Paschal II, rebelled (1104) against his father and compelled him to abdicate (1105). Formally reconciled with the church, Henry V practiced lay investiture from the beginning of his reign. The pope protested against the practice. In 1110, Henry entered Italy with his army to settle the conflict and receive the imperial crown. At this time the pope proposed a compact that provided that if the king abandoned lay investiture and confirmed the pope's right to the Patrimony of St. Peter (see Papal States), the bishops of the empire would give up the temporal powers and estates they had received from former emperors. Henry accepted the compromise, but when it was announced at St. Peter's as a preliminary to his imperial coronation (1111), a violent tumult arose from the clergy, who saw their wealth and power being given away. Henry thereupon left the city with the pope and cardinals as his prisoners; in order to procure his release, Paschal conceded to Henry the right to appoint and invest at will and crowned him emperor. Henry returned to Germany, but in 1112 Paschal repudiated his concessions. Henry was faced (1114–21) by rebellions in Saxony that he was unable to put down; he nevertheless went to Italy in 1116 to take possession, as suzerain, of the fiefs of Matilda of Tuscany and, as heir, of her alodial lands. In 1118, Paschal died. Henry set up an antipope to the new pope, Gelasius II, whereupon Gelasius excommunicated the emperor. In 1119, Henry entered upon negotiations with Pope Calixtus II, Gelasius's successor, and a compromise on the investiture question was reached at last in the Concordat of Worms (1122; see Worms, Concordat of). Henry made peace with his domestic enemies at the Diet of Würzburg (1121). His empress, Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, bore him no heir; the nobles elected the duke of Saxony to succeed him as Holy Roman Emperor Lothair II. Henry was the last emperor of the Salian line.
( HOUSE OF SUPPLINBURG )
Lothair II . of Saxony , 1125-1137.
Lothair II, also called Lothair III,1075–1137, Holy Roman Emperor (1133–37) and German king (1125–37); successor of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. His predecessor invested him with the duchy of Saxony in 1106, but after 1112 Lothair, in several rebellions, successfully championed local independence against the royal authority. When Henry V died (1125), the electors chose Lothair over Frederick of Hohenstaufen, Henry V's nephew, to succeed him; this represented an important victory of elective over hereditary kingship. Frederick and his brother Conrad (who later became German king as Conrad III) made war on Lothair, and Conrad was elected (1127) antiking. However, Lothair and his son-in-law, Henry the Proud of Bavaria, defeated the Hohenstaufen and peace was made in 1135. In Italy, Lothair promised his support to Pope Innocent II, whose election was disputed. In 1132 he entered Italy and was crowned emperor in Rome (1133). After the defeat of the Hohenstaufen he returned (1136) to Italy and campaigned successfully against Roger II of Sicily, supporter of the antipope Anacletus II. Lothair died on the journey home. As emperor, Lothair adhered loyally to the Concordat of Worms (see Worms, Concordat of), and actively supported both political expansion and revival of missionary activity in the East. He forced various heathen princes to pay tribute and established German suzerainty in Denmark, Bohemia, and Poland (see Boleslaus III). At his death his rival, Conrad III, was elected king. Lothair is known also as Lothair of Saxony or Lothair of Supplinburg.
( HOUSE OF HOHENSTAUFEN )
Conrad III . 1138-1152.
[ Henry ] . Co-Regent, 1147-1150.
Frederick I . Barbarossa, 1152-1190.
Frederick I or Frederick Barbarossa (bärburôs'u)[Ital.,=red beard], c.1125–90, Holy Roman emperor (1155–90) and German king (1152–90), son of Frederick of Hohenstaufen, duke of Swabia, nephew and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III.
Henry VI . 1190-1197. Co-Regent,1169.
Henry VI, 1165–97, Holy Roman emperor (1191–97) and German king (1190–97), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa). He was crowned German king at Aachen in 1169 and king of Italy at Milan in 1186 after his marriage to Constance, heiress presumptive to the throne of Sicily. Henry remained in Italy as his father's representative, ravaging central Italy and forcing it to submit to imperial domination. He became regent at his father's departure (1189) for the Third Crusade and succeeded Frederick, who died in 1190. In 1191, Henry entered Italy on an expedition to secure Constance's Sicilian inheritance from Tancred of Lecce, who had illegally assumed the crown. Stopping at Rome he was crowned Holy Roman emperor by Pope Celestine III. He continued southward, but failed in the initial attempt to take Sicily. He returned to Germany, where he faced a rebellion fomented by the Guelphs and the nobles of the Lower Rhine, who opposed his attempt to absorb Thuringia into the royal demesne. Henry secured a powerful bargaining weapon when he obtained custody (1193) of King Richard I of England, brother-in-law and ally of the Guelph leader, Henry the Lion. Soon after Richard had paid a ransom, sworn fealty to Henry, and been released (Feb., 1194), peace was made. In Sicily, the death of Tancred favored the success of Henry's second expedition (May, 1194). Palermo fell in November, and on Christmas Day Henry was crowned king of Sicily. Insatiable, Henry dreamed of further expansion in the Mediterranean. He began to promote (1195) a new crusade and intimidated the Byzantine emperor, Alexius III, into paying him tribute. At the Diet of Würzburg (1196) Henry proposed that the empire be made hereditary in his family, the Hohenstaufen, and in return offered unrestricted rights of inheritance to those who held fiefs from him. The proposal was defeated, though it found many supporters, and Henry contented himself with securing the election of his infant son (later Emperor Frederick II) as king. Henry died of a fever at Messina just as he was preparing to invade the Holy Land. He was succeeded in Sicily by Frederick II and in the rest of the empire by Philip of Swabia.
Constance, 1154–98, Holy Roman Empress, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI; daughter of King Roger II of Sicily. She was named heiress of Sicily by her nephew King William II. On his death, however (1189), the Sicilian nobles, wishing to prevent German rule in Sicily, chose Constance's nephew Tancred of Lecce as William's successor. Henry VI conducted an unsuccessful campaign (1191) against Tancred during which Constance was captured but soon released. After Tancred's death (1194) Henry was crowned king of Sicily. When he died (1197) all of Italy revolted against German rule. In order to save the throne of Sicily for her infant son Frederick (later Holy Roman emperor as Frederick II), Constance renounced the German kingship for Frederick and had him crowned (1198) king of Sicily. She was regent for her son; before her death she named Pope Innocent III his guardian.
Philip of Swabia, 1198-1208.
( HOUSE OF WELF )
Otto IV . of Brunswick, 1198-1215.
Otto IV, 1175?–1218, Holy Roman emperor (1209–15) and German king, son of Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony. He was brought up at the court of his uncle King Richard I of England, who secured his election (1198) as antiking to Philip of Swabia after the death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. Civil war in Germany ensued. The murder of Philip (June, 1208), who had just been recognized by Pope Innocent III as king, although not Otto's work, revived his cause; he won over the princes by submitting to a new election (Nov., 1208). By the charter of Speyer (Mar., 1209), Otto confirmed his earlier acknowledgment (1201) of the papacy's rights to the Papal States and his promise of aid in upholding papal suzerainty over Sicily. He also conceded the freedom of episcopal elections and the unrestricted right of appeal to the pope. However, no sooner was he crowned emperor (Oct., 1209) at Rome than he reverted to the Hohenstaufen policy of dominance over Italy. He seized (1210) the lands left to the church by Matilda of Tuscany. Only when he invaded Apulia and prepared to attack Sicily, however, did Innocent III excommunicate him (1210). Prompted by the pope and by King Philip II of France, some of the German nobles revolted and elected the Hohenstaufen, Frederick of Sicily (later Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II), as king. In the ensuing war Otto was supported by the nobles of the Lower Rhine and of the northeast, as well as by his uncle King John of England, but he was defeated (1214) at Bouvines by Philip II of France. The pope declared him deposed in 1215.
( HOUSE OF HOHENSTAUFEN )
Frederick II . 1212-1250.
Frederick II, 1194–1250, Holy Roman emperor (1220–50) and German king (1212–20), king of Sicily (1197–1250), and king of Jerusalem (1229–50), son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and of Constance, heiress of Sicily.
[ Henry ]. 1220-1235, Co-Regent;*deposed,died 1220.*
[ Henry Raspe of Thuringia ]. 1246-1247
[ William of Holland ]. 1247-1256.
Conrad IV . 1237-1254. Co-Regent,1237.
[ Richard of Cornwall ]. 1257-1271.
[ Alfonso X of Castille ]. 1257-1273.
( HOUSE OF HABSBURG )
Rudolf I . 1273-1291.
( HOUSE OF NASSAU )
Adolf of Nassau , 1292-1298.*deposed,died,1298.*
( HOUSE OF HABSBURG )
Albert I . 1298-1308.
( HOUSE OF LUXEMBURG )
Henry VII . 1308-1313.
Henry VII , c.1275–1313, Holy Roman emperor (1312–13) and German king (1308–13). A minor count of the house of Luxembourg, Henry was elected German king on the death of King Albert I after the electors had set aside the two main contenders, Albert's eldest son, Frederick of Austria, and the French prince Charles of Valois. By accepting Elizabeth of Bohemia's offer (1310) to marry his son, John of Luxembourg, he gained Bohemia for his house and made it the main rival to the house of Hapsburg. He secured the German princes' approval for the acquisition by lavishly distributing the imperial domain. Henry's chief concern, however, was to renew the Hohenstaufen policy of making Italy the main source of imperial power. Pope Clement V and, among others, Dante welcomed his rule as a means of ending the by now almost meaningless strife of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Entering the peninsula in 1310, Henry proclaimed himself above all parties and received the homage of leaders of both of the chief factions; in Jan., 1311, he was crowned king of the Lombards at Milan, a Guelph city. A revolt occurred in Milan, however, when Henry levied taxes on the city to support his army; although the revolt was suppressed, it drove Henry into the Ghibelline camp and precipitated war with the Guelph cities. Henry did not reach Rome until the following year, where on June 29, 1312, he was crowned Holy Roman emperor. Leaving Rome, he besieged Florence, but without success; in 1313, having allied himself with King Frederick II of Sicily, he pronounced the ban of the empire against King Robert of Naples, who opposed Henry's policy in Italy. While preparing to attack Robert, Henry died of fever. Henry VII's abortive Italian campaign only served to prove the futility of any attempt to revive the ancient imperial policy at a time when the papacy and S Italy were controlled by France and the N Italian towns were autonomous. Henry was succeeded by Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV.
( HOUSE OF WITTLESBACH )
Louis IV . 1314-1346.
Louis IV or Louis the Bavarian,1287?–1347, Holy Roman emperor (1328–47) and German king (1314–47), duke of Upper Bavaria. After the death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII the Luxemburg party among the electors set aside Henry's son, John of Luxemburg, because of his youth and chose Louis as rival king to Frederick the Fair. The popes Clement V and his successor John XXII refused to approve Louis's election and, claiming that the imperial throne was vacant, declared the Holy Roman Empire to be under papal rule. This doctrine fitted in well with the papacy's ambition to restore papal authority in Italy. In 1322, Louis defeated and captured Frederick at Mühldorf. Despite this victory, John XXII refused to ratify Louis's election and in 1324 excommunicated him. In 1327–30 Louis was in Italy, where he was crowned emperor by the representatives of the Roman people, and set up Pietro Rainalducci as Antipope Nicholas V. Rainalducci was soon reconciled with the pope, however, and Louis unsuccessfully attempted to reach a settlement. The failure of protracted negotiations with the papacy led (1338) to the declaration at Rhense by six electors to the effect that election by all or the majority of the electors automatically conferred the royal title and rule over the empire, without papal confirmation. Throughout his reign Louis kept adding to the possessions of his family, the house of Wittelsbach. He conferred Brandenburg on his son and added Lower Bavaria to Upper Bavaria. In 1342 he acquired Tyrol by voiding the first marriage of Margaret Maultasch and marrying her to his own son, thus alienating the house of Luxemburg. In 1346 he further antagonized the lay princes by conferring Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland upon his wife. Meanwhile, the pope, Clement VI, took advantage of the hostility to Louis and deposed him (1346), securing the election of a new German king, Charles of Luxemburg (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV). Louis was successfully resisting his rival when he was killed in a hunting accident. The controversy between Louis and the popes caused the publication of many books and pamphlets, notably the Defensor pacis by Marsilius of Padua, which supported Louis's claims. William of Occam was another of his supporters.
[ Frederick of Austria ]. 1314-1330.
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Charles IV . 1346-1378.
Charles IV, 1316–78, Holy Roman emperor (1355–78), German king (1347–78), and king of Bohemia (1346–78). The son of John of Luxemburg, Charles was educated at the French court and fought the English at Crécy, where his father's heroic death made him king of Bohemia. Pope Clement VI, to whom he had promised far-reaching concessions, helped secure his election (1346) by the imperial electors as antiking to Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV. Louis's death (1347), the popular desire for peace, which was fostered by the ravages of the Black Death (bubonic plague), and the absence of a strong leader to unite the opposition enabled Charles to make good his claim to the crown by 1349. In 1355 he journeyed to Rome, where, on Easter Sunday, he was crowned emperor by the papal legate (the pope was then residing at Avignon). His coronation with papal approval ended years of conflict between popes and emperors, during which time the imperial rulers had tried to regain control of Italy and the papacy. Although the emperors continued to be crowned at Rome, they were excluded from Italian affairs. At the same time, Charles's Golden Bull of 1356 ended papal interference in the Holy Roman Empire by eliminating the need for papal approval and confirmation of emperors. Although he had virtually renounced imperial pretensions in Italy through his treaty with Clement VI, Charles supported the plans of Urban V to return the papacy from Avignon to Rome. Charles's major concern was to strengthen his dynasty. Through skillful diplomacy he acquired Brandenburg (1373) and added to his territories in Silesia and Lusatia. He ensured the succession of his son Wenceslaus by bribing the electors to name him German king (1376). To raise the money for the bribes, he imposed even higher taxes on the cities. This led to a revolt by a league of Swabian cities. Charles obtained peace (1378) by granting concessions. During Charles's reign Bohemia flourished. His imperial capital was at Prague, where he founded (1348) Charles Univ. (the oldest in Central Europe) and rebuilt the Cathedral of St. Vitus. By introducing new agricultural methods and by expanding industries, he fostered economic life. He drew up a code of laws, the Maiestas Carolina (1350)—which, however, was rejected by the diet—and he protected the lower classes by giving them courts in which to sue their overlords. Through Charles's efforts as margrave of Moravia, Prague was elevated (1344) to an archbishopric, thus gaining ecclesiastic independence. By the Golden Bull, which strengthened the electors at the expense of the emperor, he confirmed Bohemia's internal autonomy. As Holy Roman emperor, his reputation rests mainly on the Golden Bull, which, although it confirmed the weakness of the imperial power, provided a stable constitutional foundation for its exercise.
[ Gunther of Schwarzburg ].*abdicated,died,1349.*
Wenceslaus . 1378-1400. Co-Regent 1376, deposed,died 1419.
Wenceslaus, 1361–1419, Holy Roman emperor (uncrowned) and German king (1378–1400), king of Bohemia (1378–1419) as Wenceslaus IV, elector of Brandenburg (1373–76), son and successor of Emperor Charles IV. He was, even more than his father, a Bohemian rather than German king. Although gifted, he was given to drunkenness and violent fits of temper. It was largely through his support that his half-brother Sigismund was able to take possession (1387) of Hungary. Residing in Bohemia, Wenceslaus could do little to end the conflict in Germany between the nobles and the imperial towns. In the general war from 1386 to 1389, Wenceslaus finally sided with the nobles, who were favored by the Peace of Eger (or Peace of Cheb). In the Great Schism, Wenceslaus, like his father, at first supported the Roman pope, Urban VI, but in 1398 he agreed with Charles VI of France that both rival popes should resign and a new pope be elected. The two weak monarchs were unable to execute this plan. As early as 1380, Wenceslaus's neglect of German affairs caused the princes to demand that he name a vicar for Germany. Dissatisfied with his appointment (1396) of Sigismund, they were further provoked by his entente with France and his sale (1395) of Milan as a hereditary fief to Gian Galeazzo Visconti (see under Visconti). They deposed him from the German kingship and elected (1400) Rupert of the Palatinate. Wenceslaus refused to recognize the deposition, but he retired to Bohemia; in 1411, after Rupert's death, he surrendered his claim to Germany to Sigismund. In Bohemia, Wenceslaus was early embroiled with the nobles and higher clergy, especially with the archbishop of Prague. Constant civil war with the nobles twice led to Wenceslaus's imprisonment (1394, 1402–3); Sigismund was both times involved in the plot. As an enemy of the higher clergy, Wenceslaus supported John Huss, the Czech religious reformer. The Decree of Kutna Hora (1409), which gave the Czechs preponderance in voting for the rector of the Univ. of Prague led to the election of Huss as rector. The king attempted to prevent the burning of the writings of John Wyclif and the termination of Huss's preaching and sought to persuade John XXIII (see Cossa, Baldassare) to suspend proceedings against Huss. When the interdict was laid on Prague (1412), he persuaded the reformer to leave the city, but continued to support him covertly. Wenceslaus avoided suppressing the national and religious outburst that followed the burning of Huss, but pressure from Sigismund, then German king, and the rise of the radical Hussite leader John Zizka cooled his feelings toward the Hussites. The reform took on a rebellious character, and after serious riots several town councilors appointed by the king were thrown from the windows of the town hall (the first Defenestration of Prague, July 30, 1419) and were killed. Wenceslaus died shortly afterward and was succeeded by Sigismund as king of Bohemia. The Hussite Wars prevented Sigismund from being accepted as king until 1436.
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Rupert of Palatinate . 1400-1410.
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Sigismund . 1410-1437.
Sigismund (sij'ismund, sig'–) 1368–1437, Holy Roman Emperor (1433–37), German king (1410–37), king of Hungary (1387–1437) and of Bohemia (1419–37), elector of Brandenburg (1376–1415), son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.
[ Jobst of Moravia ]. 1410-1411.
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Albert II . 1438-1439.
Frederick III . 1440-1493.
Frederick III, 1415–93, Holy Roman emperor (1452–93) and German king (1440–93). With his brother Albert VI he inherited the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. He became head of the house of Hapsburg at the death (1439) of his distant cousin Albert II, whom he was elected (1440) to succeed as German king. Although Frederick was generally a weak ruler, he made considerable progress toward reuniting the Hapsburg family lands under his own branch. On Albert II's death Frederick became guardian for his young son Ladislaus Posthumus (see Ladislaus V) and regent of Austria for Ladislaus. In Bohemia and Hungary, however, he was unable to establish himself as regent for Ladislaus. In 1453 he temporarily lost Austria when he was forced to give up the youth. After the death (1457) of Ladislaus, Frederick relinquished Bohemia to George of Podebrad and Hungary to Matthias Corvinus. In Austria, his succession to Ladislaus as duke was challenged by his brother, but Albert's death (1463) left Frederick with an undisputed claim. In 1485, Matthias Corvinus, who had invaded Bohemia and Austria, occupied Vienna, and Frederick was forced to abandon his hereditary lands. However, longevity again proved an advantage; Matthias died in 1490, and Frederick recovered his possessions. In his relations with the Roman Catholic Church, Frederick was guided by his secretary, the brilliant Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (later Pope Pius II). In return for his support of Pope Eugene IV against Antipope Felix V (see Amadeus VIII), Frederick was promised an imperial coronation at Rome and various subsidies and revenues. He was the last emperor crowned at Rome. Frederick's greatest success was his acquisition of Burgundy, including the Netherlands and Belgium, for the house of Hapsburg. In 1473 at an interview at Trier with Charles the Bold of Burgundy, Frederick attempted to arrange the marriage of his son, later King Maximilian I, to Charles's daughter Mary of Burgundy. However, he was not prepared to meet Charles's demands and the negotiations ended abruptly. In 1477, soon after the defeat and death of Charles at Nancy, the marriage of Maximilian and the Burgundian heiress nevertheless took place and netted Austria a huge and cheap prize. This alliance set the pattern for the subsequent marriages and successions through which the Hapsburgs came to dominate a large part of the globe. In 1486, Maximilian was elected king of the Romans, or German king, and after 1490, Frederick resigned most of his duties to his son. The anagram AEIOU, inscribed on Frederick's personal possessions, has traditionally been explained as signifying Austria est imperare orbi universo [Lat.,=it is Austria's destiny to rule the whole world] or Alles Erdreich ist Österreich untertan [Ger.,=all the earth is subject to Austria].
Maximilian I . 1493-1519. Co-Regent,1486.
Maximilian I, 1459–1519, Holy Roman emperor and German king (1493–1519), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. As emperor, he aspired to restore forceful imperial leadership and inaugurate much-needed administrative reforms in the increasingly decentralized empire. In both domestic and foreign policy, however, he sacrificed the interests of Germany as a whole to the aggrandizement of the Hapsburg possessions.
Charles V . 1519-1558.*abdicated,died 1558.*
Charles V, 1500–1558, Holy Roman emperor (1519–58) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516–56); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of Castile, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and Mary of Burgundy.
Ferdinand I . 1558-1564.
Ferdinand I, 1503–64, Holy Roman emperor (1558–64), king of Bohemia (1526–64) and of Hungary (1526–64), younger brother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Brought up in Spain, he was expected to succeed his grandfather, Ferdinand II of Aragón, who, instead, made Charles his heir. In 1521, Charles gave him the Austrian duchies of the Hapsburgs. In the same year Ferdinand married Anna, daughter of Uladislaus II, king of Hungary and Bohemia, in fulfillment of a treaty (1515) between his grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and Uladislaus II. When Anna's brother Louis II, who succeeded to the thrones of Bohemia and Hungary on his father's death (1516), was killed at the battle of Mohacs (1526), Ferdinand claimed the succession. He was elected king of Bohemia, but in Hungary he met the rival claim of John I (John Zapolya), supported by Sultan Sulayman I. John's claims were inherited by his son John Sigismund (king as John II). The sporadic warfare in Hungary was indecisive, except that Ferdinand had to pay tribute to the sultan for the strip of NW Hungary that he was allowed to keep with the royal title. In Bohemia, Ferdinand laid the groundwork for Hapsburg absolutism by virtually abrogating (1547) the prerogatives of the diet and the towns; he also began the reconversion of the kingdom to Catholicism by calling in the Jesuits. In Germany, Ferdinand increasingly acted as agent of Charles V, who in 1531 had him elected king of the Romans, which insured Ferdinand's succession as Holy Roman emperor. He had to deal with the Peasants' War and with the rebellions stirred up by Ulrich I, dispossessed duke of Württemberg, where Ferdinand was unpopular as governor. Ulrich secured the aid of Philip of Hesse and defeated Ferdinand at Lauffen (1534). Ferdinand was obliged to restore the duchy to Ulrich. In the war against the Protestant Schmalkaldic League (1546–47), Ferdinand was an important figure. Though a devout Catholic, Ferdinand was less committed against the Reformation than Charles V. When Charles's triumph against the league was turned to defeat by the betrayal of Maurice, elector of Saxony, Ferdinand acted as mediator in making the Treaty of Passau (1552), and in 1555 he negotiated a religious truce at Augsburg (see Augsburg, Peace of). Charles had practically surrendered the government of the empire to Ferdinand by 1556, although formal abdication was not complete until 1558. At the end of his reign, Ferdinand still hoped that the reconvened Council of Trent would bring about a union of the churches. He was succeeded by his son, Maximilian II, who had been crowned king of Bohemia (1562) and king of Hungary (1563) and had been elected king of the Romans (1562) before Ferdinand's death.
Maximilian II . 1564-1576.
Maximilian II, 1527–76, Holy Roman emperor (1564–76), king of Bohemia (1562–76) and of Hungary (1563–76), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. Before acceding he evidenced a sympathy for Lutheranism that caused grave concern in imperial and papal circles and led Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to urge that his son King Philip II of Spain succeed Ferdinand. However, Maximilian yielded and in 1562 swore to remain a Catholic and to allow his immediate heirs to be educated in Spain. He thereupon was elected king of the Romans, or Holy Roman emperor-elect (1562), and king of Hungary (1563). On Ferdinand's death (1564) he took full direction of imperial affairs. He obtained funds from the diet for the defense of Austria against the Turks but did not press his advantage, and by the truce of 1568 with Selim II he agreed to continue paying tribute to the sultan for his part of Hungary. Maximilian granted a large degree of religious toleration in his Bohemian and Austrian possessions. His policy of neutrality, however, also allowed the Counter Reformation to make considerable gains in some parts of the empire. A candidate for the throne of Poland to succeed Henry of Anjou (Henry III of France), he was elected (1575) by the Polish diet as rival king to Stephen Báthory. Maximilian died, refusing the sacraments, while preparing to invade Poland. His son succeeded him as Rudolf II.
Rudolf II . 1576-1612.
Rudolf II, 1552–1612, Holy Roman emperor (1576–1612), king of Bohemia (1575–1611) and of Hungary (1572–1608), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. Acceding to the Hapsburg lands, he reversed his father's tolerant policy toward Protestantism and gave assistance to the Counter Reformation. Although Rudolf was a learned man, he was incapable of ruling because he was plagued by melancholy and later became subject to occasional fits of insanity. Other members of his family began to intervene in imperial affairs. Following a revolt in Hungary (1604–6) by Stephen Bocskay and his Ottoman allies, most of the actual ruling power passed to Rudolf's brother Matthias; the revolt was provoked by Rudolf's attempt to impose Roman Catholicism in Hungary. In 1608, Matthias forced Rudolf to cede Hungary, Austria, and Moravia to him. Seeking to gain the support of the Bohemian estates, Rudolf issued (1609) a royal charter that guaranteed religious freedom to the nobles and cities. This effort was in vain, and Rudolf was forced to give up Bohemia to Matthias in 1611. Rudolf's turbulent reign was a prelude to the Thirty Years War.
Matthias . 1612-1619.
Matthias, 1557–1619, Holy Roman emperor (1612–19), king of Bohemia (1611–17) and of Hungary (1608–18), son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. He was appointed governor of Austria (1593) by his brother, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. He formed a close association there with the bishop of Vienna, Melchior Klesl, who later became his chief adviser. In 1605, Matthias forced the ailing emperor to allow him to deal with the Hungarian Protestant rebels. The result was the Peace of Vienna (1606), which guaranteed religious freedom in Hungary. In the same year Matthias was recognized as head of the house of Hapsburg and as future Holy Roman emperor, as a result of Rudolf's illness. Allying himself with the estates of Hungary, Austria, and Moravia, Matthias forced (1608) his brother to yield rule of these lands to him; Rudolf later ceded (1611) Bohemia. After Matthias's accession as Holy Roman emperor, his policy was dominated by Klesl, who hoped to bring about a compromise between Catholic and Protestant states within the empire in order to strengthen it. Matthias had already been forced to grant religious concessions to Protestants in Austria and Moravia, as well as in Hungary, when he had allied with them against Rudolf. His conciliatory policies were opposed by the more intransigent Catholic Hapsburgs, particularly Matthias's brother Archduke Maximilian, who hoped to secure the succession for the inflexible Catholic archduke Ferdinand (later Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II). The start of the Bohemian Protestant revolt in 1618 provoked Maximilian to imprison Klesl and revise his policies. Matthias, old and ailing, was unable to prevent a takeover by Maximilian's faction. Ferdinand, who had already been crowned king of Hungary (1617) and of Bohemia (1618), succeeded Matthias as Holy Roman emperor.
Ferdinard II . 1619-1637.
Ferdinand II, 1578–1637, Holy Roman emperor (1619–37), king of Bohemia (1617–37) and of Hungary (1618–37); successor of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias. Grandson of Ferdinand I, son of Archduke Charles of Styria, Ferdinand was educated by the Jesuits and supported the Counter Reformation. He was chosen successor to Matthias and became, before the emperor's death, king of Bohemia and Hungary. His Catholicism, however, alienated the Bohemian nobles, who rebelled (1618) and chose (1619) Frederick V (Frederick the Winter King), elector palatine, as their ruler. This began the Thirty Years War. The Bohemians at first were successful and pressed upon Vienna, but Ferdinand, allied with Maximilian I of Bavaria and the Catholic League, won back Bohemia in 1620 in the battle of the White Mt. War continued in the Palatinate. In Hungary, Gabriel Bethlen was successful in opposing Ferdinand in 1619 and 1620, but after the defeat of the Bohemians a peace was signed (1621). During the Danish phase (1625–29) of the Thirty Years War, Tilly, commander of the Catholic League, and Wallenstein, head of the imperial army, defeated the Danes, and a favorable peace was made with Denmark. Ferdinand, then at the height of his power, issued (1629) the Edict of Restitution, ordering the restoration of ecclesiastical property secularized after 1552. That further antagonized the Protestant princes, but they did not take up arms. At that time, however, Gustavus II (Gustavus Adolphus) of Sweden, a Protestant, came into the war. Ferdinand in 1630 had dismissed Wallenstein under pressure from the princes of the empire, who felt the general was becoming too powerful. In 1632, however, after a series of defeats, Wallenstein was restored. He was later suspected of treason and dismissed. In 1634, Wallenstein was assassinated, almost certainly at the instigation of Ferdinand. The battle of Nördlingen marked the resurgence of the imperialists, but the war was wrecking Germany and the house of Hapsburg. The Peace of Prague (1635), the last important act of the irresolute Ferdinand, did not end the fighting. The war reached its unhappy conclusion in the reign of his son, Ferdinand III.
Ferdinard III . 1637-1657.
Ferdinand III, 1608–57, Holy Roman emperor (1637–57), king of Hungary (1626–57) and of Bohemia (1627–57), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. After the dismissal and assassination (1634) of the imperial commander Wallenstein, Ferdinand became nominal leader of the imperial forces in the Thirty Years War, but it was the imperial general Gallas who was responsible for the successes that culminated in the victory of Nördlingen (1634). After Ferdinand's accession, however, the war took a disastrous turn. Although anxious for peace, Ferdinand rejected the early peace proposals, but in 1648 he had to assent to the treaties negotiated at Münster and Osnabrück (see Westphalia, Peace of), which virtually ended the central power of the Holy Roman Empire. The emperor and his successors were left only the shadow of the imperial dignity, and their power was restricted to the hereditary Hapsburg dominions. In these dominions—a vast enough empire in themselves—Ferdinand devoted the rest of his reign to healing the wounds of war and to continuing administrative reforms. He was succeeded by his son, Leopold I.
Leopold I . 1658-1705.
Leopold I, 1640–1705, Holy Roman emperor (1658–1705), king of Bohemia (1656–1705) and of Hungary (1655–1705), second son and successor of Ferdinand III. Upon his elder brother's death (1654), Leopold, who had been educated for the church, became Ferdinand's heir. During his reign the Holy Roman Empire was menaced by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in the east and by King Louis XIV of France in the west. The Turkish invasions of Hungary were temporarily checked by the imperial commander Montecucculi, but by the Treaty of Vasvar (1664) the Turks kept their conquests and their suzerainty over Transylvania. In the west, Leopold joined the anti-French coalition in the third (1672–78) of the Dutch Wars. A revolt in Hungary against Hapsburg rule reopened war with the Ottomans, who supported the rebel leader Thököly. The Turks besieged Vienna (1683), which Leopold saved with the aid of King John III of Poland and the imperial general Charles V of Lorraine. Other victories followed. However, Leopold's attempts to stop French aggression divided his energies and postponed the successful conclusion of war with the Turks. In 1686 he formed a defensive alliance against France known as the League of Augsburg. In 1688, Louis XIV invaded the Palatinate and war broke out (see Grand Alliance, War of the). The Treaty of Ryswick with Louis XIV temporarily halted French expansion. In the east the triumph of Eugene of Savoy over the Turks at Zenta (1697) led to the Treaty of Karlowitz by which Leopold obtained nearly all of Hungary. War with France over the succession to the Spanish throne ensued in 1701 (see Spanish Succession, War of the). After Leopold's death the war continued under Joseph I, his son and successor. During Leopold's reign Vienna became a cultural center. His particular interest was music, and he was a fair composer.
Joseph I . 1705-1711.
Joseph I, 1678–1711, Holy Roman emperor (1705–11), king of Hungary (1687–1711) and of Bohemia (1705–11), son and successor of Leopold I. Joseph became Holy Roman emperor in the midst of the War of the Spanish Succession and died before it ended. He vigorously supported the claim of his brother (who succeeded him as Charles VI) to the Spanish throne. During his reign Hungary was in revolt under Francis II Rákóczy, but by 1711 the rebellion had been quelled. Joseph made some attempts at internal reform. A musician and an admirer of art, he encouraged cultural life in Vienna.
Charles VI . 1711-1740. *Interregnum, 1740-1742.*
Charles VI, 1685–1740, Holy Roman emperor (1711–40), king of Bohemia (1711–40) and, as Charles III, king of Hungary (1712–40); brother and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I. Charles was the last Holy Roman emperor of the direct Hapsburg line. In 1700 he was designated successor in Spain to King Charles II, who was childless. On his deathbed, however, Charles II left his throne to Philip of Anjou (Philip V), grandson of King Louis XIV of France; Philip was proclaimed king in Nov., 1700. War broke out immediately against Louis XIV and Philip (see Spanish Succession, War of the). Although Charles, with the aid of British troops, invaded Spain and proclaimed himself king as Charles III in 1704, he was able to maintain himself only in Catalonia, with his capital at Barcelona. When Charles's brother Joseph I died (1711), Charles succeeded him as Holy Roman emperor. His accession led to England's withdrawal from the war since the English did not wish to see the reunification of the empire of Charles V. A treaty (see Utrecht, Peace of; 1713) was signed between France and Charles's former allies, Holland and England. Charles continued fighting. He finally concluded peace in 1714. By the terms of the peace Philip V remained king of Spain and Charles received most of the Spanish possessions in the Low Countries and in Italy. Philip's subsequent attempt to overthrow the settlement in Italy resulted (1718) in the formation of the Quadruple Alliance against him. The war was ended by the Treaty of The Hague (1720), which repeated the terms of 1713–14, except that Charles obtained Sicily from Savoy in exchange for Sardinia. In E Europe, Charles continued to defend his lands against Turkish invasions (1716–18). In a campaign against the Turks the imperial commander Eugene of Savoy obtained for Hungary the Banat and N Serbia. Charles was later forced to return these lands to the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) after several defeats in the Turkish war of 1736–39. Near the end of his reign in the War of the Polish Succession (1733–35) Charles was again involved in a conflict with France and Spain. By the Treaty of Vienna (1738) he was forced to give up Sicily and Naples to Spain, but received Parma and Piacenza. Since Charles had no male heirs, one of his chief concerns was to secure the succession to the Hapsburg lands for his daughter, Maria Theresa. His last years were spent in an effort to win European approval of the pragmatic sanction of 1713, which made Maria Theresa his heir. Although the Pragmatic Sanction was guaranteed by the Treaty of Vienna, the succession was contested on his death (see Austrian Succession, War of the). Charles was a patron of learning and the arts, particularly of music. A mercantilist, he encouraged commerce and industry.
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Charles VII, 1697–1745, Holy Roman emperor (1742–45) and, as Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria (1726–45). Having married a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, he refused to recognize the pragmatic sanction of 1713 by which Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (his wife's uncle) reserved the succession to the Hapsburg lands for his daughter, Maria Theresa. On Charles VI's death (1740) he advanced his own claim and joined with Frederick II (of Prussia), France, Spain, and Saxony to attack Maria Theresa. In 1742 he was elected Holy Roman emperor, but Bavaria was overrun by Austrian troops. Shortly before his death he regained his territories. Francis I, husband of Maria Theresa, was elected Emperor to succeed him.
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Francis I . of Lorraine, 1745-1765.,
married Maria Theresa, daughter of last
Habsburg, Emperor Charles VI. Francis I, 1708–65, Holy Roman Emperor (1745–65), duke of Lorraine (1729–37) as Francis Stephen, grand duke of Tuscany (1737–65), husband of Archduchess Maria Theresa. He succeeded his father in Lorraine, but agreed (1735) to cede his duchy to Stanislaus I of Poland to end the War of the Polish Succession, in exchange he received the right of succession to Tuscany. In 1736 he married Maria Theresa, heiress to all Hapsburg lands. Francis succeeded (1737) the last Medici ruler of Tuscany and carried out several long-needed reforms. In 1740, Maria Theresa acceded to her inheritance, which was immediately contested in the War of the Austrian Succession, by an alliance under Frederick II of Prussia. The election (Sept., 1745) of Francis to succeed Charles VII as emperor was recognized by Frederick in the Treaty of Dresden (Dec., 1745) with Maria Theresa. Francis I governed little; the real rulers were Maria Theresa and chancellor Kaunitz. Founder of the house of Hapsburg-Lorraine, Francis was succeeded as Holy Roman emperor by his eldest son, Joseph II, and as grand duke of Tuscany by his younger son, Leopold (later Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II).
Joseph II, 1741–90, Holy Roman Emperor (1765–90), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1780–90), son of Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, whom he succeeded. He was the first emperor of the house of Hapsburg-Lorraine.
Leopold II, 1747–92, Holy Roman emperor (1790–92), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1790–92), as Leopold I grand duke of Tuscany (1765–90), third son of Maria Theresa. Succeeding his father, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, in Tuscany, Leopold reorganized the Tuscan government, abolished torture and the death penalty, equalized taxation, and sought to gain control over the church. When Leopold succeeded (1790) his brother Joseph II as emperor and as ruler of the Hapsburg lands, he took over a nearly disrupted state. To pacify his subjects in the Austrian Netherlands (see Netherlands, Austrian and Spanish), in Hungary, and in Bohemia, he repealed most of Joseph's reforms. Unlike Joseph, he had himself crowned king at Pozsony in Hungary (now Bratislava) and at Prague in Bohemia; he was the last crowned king of Bohemia. Having reached an agreement (1790) with Frederick William II of Prussia, who wished to prevent Austrian expansion in the east and was about to side with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in its war against Russia and Austria, Leopold abandoned his alliance with the Russian czarina, Catherine II. He concluded a separate peace treaty at Sistova (1791) with Turkey by which the pre-war borders were substantially restored. Leopold's troops marched into the Austrian Netherlands and suppressed the Belgian insurrection in 1790. Although he hoped to avoid war with revolutionary France, Leopold instigated (1791) the Declaration of Pillnitz, by which the emperor and the king of Prussia stated that if all other European powers would join them, they were prepared to restore Louis XVI to his lawful powers by force. Contrary to his expectations, this declaration was a basic cause of the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars a few weeks after Leopold's death. Leopold was succeeded by his son, Francis II. Leopold II is generally considered a ruler of outstanding diplomatic and administrative abilities.
Francis II . 1792-1806.
Francis II, 1768–1835, King of Bohemia and of Hungary (1792–1835). He succeeded his father, Leopold II, shortly before the outbreak of war with France. Francis's armies were eventually defeated by Napoleon Bonaparte; by the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797) Francis ceded the left bank of the Rhine to France but obtained Venetia and Dalmatia. In 1798 he joined the Second Coalition against France, was again defeated, and in the Treaty of Lunéville (1801), Francis abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor, on the 6th of August, 1806. thus formally breaking his Imperial Oaths, becomes Emperor of Austria from 1804-1835. *Start of the long dormant Interregnum. *6th of August, 1806*. After the Austrian rout at Austerlitz, Francis assumed the title Emperor of Austria in 1804. In 1809 he again declared war on Napoleon, now Emperor Napoleon I, who was embroiled in difficulties in Spain. Francis's brother, Archduke Charles, defeated Napoleon at Aspern, but was crushed at Wagram. Napoleon entered Vienna and imposed on Francis the Peace of Schönbrunn, in which Austria was forced to give up Galicia, Istria, and part of Dalmatia, and to join Napoleon's Continental System. In 1810, Francis's daughter, Marie Louise, married Napoleon. This marriage was engineered by Metternich, who from 1809 dominated Austrian politics. In Aug., 1813, Francis joined Russia, Prussia, and England in their war against Napoleon. He presided (1814–15) over the Congress of Vienna in which Austria, through Metternich's diplomacy, emerged as the leading power in Europe. Francis was a chief architect of the Holy Alliance. The events of his early reign shaped his later reactionary views, and he instituted severe repressive measures throughout the empire.
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Charles VIII, 2009- , By the Grace of God,
Holy Roman Emperor Elect, Always August,
King in Germany, King of Jerusalem,
King of Bohemia, King of Burgundy,
King of Lombardy, King of Dalmatia,
Supreme Defender of The Faith. 1999-elected-2009
* End of the long dormant Interregnum *
* de jure Emperor 1st of September, 1999 *
* Emperor Elect 1st of January 2009 *
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( Above )
Map The Holy Roman Empire of The German Nation
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THE STATISTCAL SURVEY OF
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
BEFORE THE NAPOLEONIC WARS
__________________________________________________
(A)THE IMPERIAL ELECTORAL STATES OF THE EMPIRE
(1) Austria within the Reich (Austrian Circle and Swabian possesions, Bohemia and Burgundian Circle), 3534 Q.M.; 9,126,404 inhabitants.
Austrian Territory outside the Reich (Hungary, Illyria, Transylvania, Bukovina, East and West Galicia, Lombardy), 8105 Q.M.; 14,051,000 inhabitants.
Towns with 20,000 inhabitants and over: Vienna (226,000) Milan (119,000), Brussels (80,000), Prague (75,000), Antwerp (60,000), Ofen and Pest (35,000), Graz, Trieste (30,000), Dobreczyn (25,000), Laibbach, Lemberg (20,000).
(2)Prussia within the Reich, 1646 Q.M.; 2,756,600 inhabitants.
Prussia Territory outside the Reich (Kingdom of Prussia,
Polish acquisitions, Silesia, Neufchatel), 3685 Q.M.;
4,890,000 inhabitants.Towns with 20,000 and over: Berlin (143,000), Warsaw (67,000),Konigsberg (60,000), Breslau (57,600), Danzig (36,000), Potsdam (26,700), Magdeburg (26,300), Halle (20,000).
(3) Bavaria with the Palatinate (Kurpfalz), 1028 Q.M., 2,204,700 inhabitants. Towns: Munich (50,000), Mannheim (23,000). of the rest only Dusseldorf (18,000), Elberfeld (14,000), and Heidelberg (11,000) had a population of over 10,000.
(4) Saxony, 708 Q.M.; 2,104,320 inhabitants.
Towns: Dresden (50,000), Leipzig (33,000). Four more towns had a population of 10,000 or slightly over, Naumburg, Zittau, Chemnitz, Freiberg.
(5) Brunswick with Luneburg, 514 Q.M.; 787,200 inhabitants.
Town: Hanover (15,500). no other town had 10,000 inhabitants.
(6) Mainz (Kur-Mainz), 171 Q.M.; 224,734 inhabitants.
Town: Mainz (30,000).
(7) Treves (Kur-Trier), 110 Q.M.; 280,000 inhabitants.
(8) Cologne (Kur-Koln), 130 Q.M.; 198,000 inhabitants.
(B) SPIRITUAL MEMBERS OF THE COLLEGE OF PRINCES
OF THE EMPIRE
(Area in Q.M. in Brackets.)
Archbishopric of Salzburg (180), Bishoprics of Munster (230), Liege (105), Wurzburg (90), Trient (70), Bamberg (65), Osnabruck (56), Paderborn (55), Augsburg (54), Hildesheim (54), Fulda (37), Speyer (28), Eichstadt (22), Basel (20), Brixen (17), Passau (15), Strassburg (13), Freisingen (13),
Regensburg (6), Constance (5), Worms (5), Lubeck (1), Order of Hoch-und Deutschmeister (6), Prince-Abbots lands of Kempton (16), Berchtesgaden (10), Corvey (6), Ellwangen (5). the Estimated total polulation of these spiritual lands: was over two and a quarter millions.
(C) LAY PRINCES OF THE EMPIRE
(1) Old Dynasties.
Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 240 Q.M.; 240,000 inhabitants, (Schwerin, 10,000).
Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 60 Q.M.; 60,000 inhabitants.
Hessen-Cassel, 156 Q.M.; 434,499 inhabitants. (Cassel 18,560; Hanau, 11,000).
Hessen-Darmstadt, 104 Q.M.; 655,685 inhabitants. (Darmstadt, 9,500; Pirmasens, 9,000).
Hessen-Homburg, 2 Q.M.; 7,000 inhabitants.
Holstein, 175 Q.M.; 320,000 inhabitants. (Altona, 20,000).
Wurttemberg, 150 Q.M.; 608,667 inhabitants. (Stuttgart, 18,000).
Sachsen-Weimar und Eisenach, 36 Q.M.; 106,400 inhabitants. (Weimar,7500).
Sachsen-Gotha und Altenburg, 55 Q.M.; 165,000 inhabitants. (Gotha, 11,430).
Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld, 18 Q.M.; 56,953 inhabitants.
Sachsen-Meiningen, 16 Q.M.; 51,000 inhabitants.
Sachsen-Hildburghausen, 11 Q.M.; 31,800 inhabitants.
Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel, 94 Q.M.; 166,340 inhabitants. (Brunswick, 26,000).
Schwedisch-oder Vorpommern, 70 Q.M.; 104,748 inhabitants. (Stralsund, 11,000).
Baden, 64 Q.M.; 194,118 inhabitants. (Carlsruhe, 9,000).
Anhalt-Dessau, 20 Q.M.; 37,700 inhabitants.
Anhalt-Bernburg, 16 Q.M.; 30,000 inhabitants.
Anhalt-Cothen, 16 Q.M.; 30,000 inhabitants.
Oldenburg, 45 Q.M.; 95,000 inhabitants.
Arenberg, 55-56 Q.M.; 42,000 inhabitants.
(2) New Dynasties.
Seventeen are mentioned, ranging from Nassau-Orange-Deiz, with 48 Q.M. and 97,000 inhabitants, to Lichtenstein, with 3 Q.M. and 6000 inhabitants. Total area of these Principalities, about 200 Q.M.; population about 560,000.
(D) IMPERIAL COUNTS OF THE EMPIRE (REICHSGRAFEN)
(1) Wetterauisches Grafencollegium; thirty-one members, with about 125 Q.m. of land in all.
(2) Schwabisches Grafencollegium; thirteen members, with about 95 Q.M.
(3) Frankisches Grafencollegium; twenty-one members, with about 90 Q.M.
(4) Westphalisches Grafencollegium; thirty members. (total area unascertainable).
(E) REICHSSTIFTER
(1) Twenty-seven Swabian Prelates.
(2) Fifteen Prelates of the Rhine, with territory ranging from 6 Q.M. to half Q.M.
(F) IMPERIAL FREE TOWNS OF THE EMPIRE (REICHSSTADTE)
(1) Rheinische Bank (fourteen towns). (Population, in thousands, in brackets). Hamburg (150), Cologne, Frankfort-on-Main (50), Lubeck (42), Bremen (40), Aix-la-chapelle (27), Muhlhausen (13), Nordhausen (10), Gosler (9), Wetzlar (8), Dortmund, Worms (6), Speyer (5), Friedberg (3).
(2) Schwabische Bank (thirty-six towns). (Population, in thousands, in brackets). Nurnberg (70 in Republic, 30 in town), Ulm (37), Augsburg (36), Rothenburg (26), Ratisbon (Regensburg) (21), Schwabisch-Hall (16), Schwabisch-Gmund (14), Esslingen, Memmingen (11), Heilbronn, Reutlingen (10), Biberach (9), Nordlingen (7), Kaufbeuren (6-8), Dinkelsbuhl (6-5), Uberlingen (6-3), Lindau, Weissenburg (6); and the following, in order of size, with less than 500: Windsheim, Ravensburg, Schweinfurt, Kempten, Zell-am-Hammersbach, Wangen, Gengenbach, Offenburg, Giengen, Pfullendorf, Weil, Wimpfen, Leutkirchen, Bopfingen, Buchhorn, Isny, Buchau (1).
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THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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The word imperium appears in official documents of Otto I, but it denotes the imperial power, not the territory.After Henry II's death some Italian magnates offered the crown of Italy to the son of the duke of Aquitaine, and swore to help him acquire the "imperium" of the Romans; here, the word meant the title itself. One has to wait until Conrad II to find Romanum imperium used to designate the lands ruled by the emperor (documents of 1034 and 1038). Curiously, the expression Romana res publica is used with the same meaning contemporaneously. The use of the phrase Romanum imperium remains rare under Henry II (in 1049, 1053) and successors until Frederic I. It is however, occasionally used in non-official documents, such a letters, chronicles, even Papal encyclicals (in 1076). At the same time, one finds the expression Romanum regnum (Roman realm) in an official document of 1041. In 1045, the signature of the emperor is described as signum regis invictissimi Henrici tertii, Burgundiorum primi, Romanorum secundi. Correspondingly, the title Rex Romanorum makes its apparition in 1040, and is officially adopted in the Intitulatio in 1041 and in the monogram in 1043. The use of Romanum imperium becomes considerably more frequent under Frederic I Barbarossa (in 1152, 1155, 1157-9,1162), In 1157, one finds a concurrent use of sacrum imperium et diva res publica (holy empire and holy commonwealth). The phrase sacrum imperium is found again in 1161, 1164, 1174, 1184-6. In 1159, one finds sacratissimum imperium, a phrase occasionally encountered until Otto IV. The two expressions Romanum imperium and sacrum imperium are used concurrently in official documents for a century, but one does not find the two together until 1254: sacrum Romanum imperium. From that date, the new phrase never falls out of use although the shorter formulas continue to be used commonly. Official documents in the German language show the phrase heiliges Reich or Römisches Reich frequently in documents of Ludwig of Bavaria, but heiliges Römisches Reich is rare; it first appears in 1340. It becomes common with Charles IV (1347). The last transformation of the official name of the Empire took place in the late 15th c. A Reformation issued at the Reichstag of Frankfurt in 1442 speaks of dem heiligen Römischen Reich und Deutschen Landern. A similar phrase appears at the Reichstag of 1471: des heiligen Römischen Reichs und der widrigen Teutschen Nation (in Latin: sacri Romani imperii ac celeberrimae nationis Germanicae), and in the Landsfriede of Nürnberg of 1487: dem heiligen Reiche und deutscher Nation, the Landsfriede of 1486: das Römische Reich Teutscher Nation, the Worms diet of 1497: das heilige Reich Teutscher Nation, and the Köln diet of 1512: des heiligen Römischen Reichs Teutscher Nation. The phrase entered the Wahlkapitulation of 1519, by which the emperor promised to reside within dem heiligen Römischen Reiche Teutscher Nation. From the late 16th c. to the 18th c. jurists debated the meaning of the phrase. Other early 16th c. documents suggest that it originally may have meant the German part of the Empire, with deutsche Nation in opposition to fremde Nation. Interestingly, the debate in the 17th c. was whether the phrase meant that Germany happened to be an empire, or whether the Empire happened to be located mainly in Germany. Increasingly, jurists and writers used the phrase imperium Romano-Germanicum. Significantly, the final acts of the Holy Roman Empire, namely the Reichsdeputationshauptschluß of 1803, the note of the French ambassador of August 1, 1806 and the abdication of Francis II, all use the phrase Deutsches Reich (confederation germanique) rather than the formal title.
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THE HISTORY OF THE IMPERIAL TITLES OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR
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This subject is a great deal wider and intricate than people may understand so here is a brief statement concerning the aforementioned subject, for the practice of the Germanic Emperors varied so greatly concerning their Imperial Titles and Styles. (I). Titles of the Emperors, Charles the Great styled himself 'Carolus serenissimus Augustus, a Deo coronatus, magnus et pacificus imperator, Romanum(or Romanorum) gubernans imperium, qui et per misericordiam Dei rex Francorum et Langobardorum'. Subsequent Carolingian Emperors were usually entitled simply 'Imperator Augustus'. Somtimes 'rex Francorum et Langobardorum' was added. Conrad I, and Henry I, (the Fowler) were only German Kings. A Saxon Emperor was, before his coronation at Rome, 'rex', or 'rex Francorium Orientalium', or 'Francorum atque Saxonum rex;' after it, simply 'Imperator Augustus'. Otto III, is usually said to have introduced the form 'Romanorum Imperator Augustus,' but some authorities state that it occurs in the documents of the time of Lewis I. Henry II and his successors, not daring to take the Title of Emperor till they were crowned at Rome (in conformity with with the superstitious notion which had begun with Charles the Bald), but anxious to Claim the Sovereignty of Rome, as indissolubly attached to the German Crown, began to call themselves 'reges Romanorum'. The Title did not, however, become common or regular till the time of Henry IV, in whose proclamations (issued before his Roman Coronation) it occurs constantly. From the eleventh century till th sixteenth, the invariable practice was for the Monarch to be called 'Romanorum rex semper Augustus', till his formal Coronation at Rome by the Pope; after it, 'Romanorum Imperator semper Augustus'. In the year 1508, Maximilian I, being refused a passage to Rome by the Venetians, obtained a Papal Bull from Pope Julius II permitting him to call himself 'Imperator Electus'(erwahlter Kaiser). This Imperial Title Ferinand I (brother of Emperor Charles V) and all succeeding Holy Roman Emperors take immediately upon their Imperial German Coronation, and it is still their strict legal designation and Title. It was Maximilian who added the Title of 'Germania rex', which had never been known before , although the phrase 'rex Germanorum' maybe found employed once or twice in early times. The Titles of 'Rex Teutonicorum,' and 'regnum Teutonicum,' occur often in the tenth and eleventh centuries. A great many Titles of less consequence were added from time to time, the Emperor Charles the Fifth had over seventy-five Titles alone, some of course belonging to his vast Hereditary possessions inside and outside the Empire. The Imperial Title of King of the Romans (Romischer Konig)came into formal use in the reign of Henry II, when the German Monarch began to entitle himself 'Romanorum rex'. Now it was not uncommon in the middle ages for the heir-apparent to a throne to be Crowned during his fathers lifetime, that at the death of the latter he might step at once into his place. This plan was specially useful in an elective monarchy, such as Germany was after the twelfth century, for it avoided the delays and dangers of an election while the throne was vacant. But it seemed against the order of nature to have two Emperors at once, and as the sovereigns authority in Germany depended not on the Roman but on the German coronation, the practice came to be that each Emperor during his own life procured, if he could, the election of his successor, who was crowned at Aachen, in later times at Frankfort, and took the title of 'King of the Romans'. During the presence of the Emperor in Germany he exercised no more authority than a Prince of Wales does in England, but on the Emperors death he succeeded at once, without any second election or coronation, and assumed after the time of Ferdinand I, the title of 'Emperor Elect'. Before Ferdinands time, he would have been expected to go to Rome to be crowned there. While the Hapsburgs held the sceptre, each monarch generally contrived in this way to have his son or some other near relative chosen to succeed him. But many were foiled in their attempts to do so; and, in some cases, an election was held after the Emperors death, according to the rules laid down in the Golden Bull. The First person who thus became King of Romans in the lifetime of an Emperor seems to have been Henry VI, son of Frederick I.
The Qualifications of The Holy Roman Emperor,the Emperor had to be a worthy man, aged 18 or more, reside in the Empire, be of noble birth (all four grandparents had to be noble, according to the Schwabenspiegel), and of lay status (this was not explicitly stated). No law required that he be Catholic, and, although the text in a number of laws assumes that the emperor is Catholic, jurists saw no obstacle to the choice of a Protestant prince. Nor did he have to be German, as the examples of Alfonso of Castile and Charles V showed. By the 17th century, however, it seemed wise for any candidate to possess an estate within the boundaries of the Empire: when the French weighed in 1648 whether to let Alsace remain within the Empire, it was because it might allow the king of France to be a candidate for the throne. Similarly, in 1737 the duke of Lorraine was allowed to retain the county of Falkenstein so as not to jeopardize his future candidacy.
The office was not hereditary, but elective. However, from 1453 to 1740, a Habsburg was always Emperor. The last Habsburg Charles VI died leaving only daughters, and the Elector of Bavaria was elected as Charles VII in 1742, but he died in 1745 and Charles VI's son-in-law Francis of Lorraine was elected emperor in 1745. The reign began with the swearing of the Wahlkapitulation, or electoral capitulation, a kind of contract between the Emperor and the Empire. Even a minor could take the oath (as did the 12-year old Joseph I in 1690), although he also promised to renew his oath upon assuming power. This oath preceded the coronation, led by the archbishop of Mainz. The imperial cities took an oath of loyalty at the time of coronation, but not the states of the empire, since each took such an oath at the time they inherited their fief. The reign ended by death, abdication (Charles V in 1555) or deposition of the emperor. The latter could be declared by the Reichstag, although earlier texts (Schwabenspiegel and Sachsenspiegel, as well as the Golden Bull c5, §3) speak of a jurisdiction of the Count Palatine of the Rhine over the emperor, which was never formally abolished.
When a successor was elected during the lifetime of the Emperor, he bore the title of King of the Romans (Rex Romanorum, römischer König). The election of a successor in the lifetime of the empire was practised up to Frederic II's sons Heinrich in 1220 and Konrad in 1237. It was then abandoned except for Wenceslas in 1376. The Habsburgs resumed it, with Charles V's brother Ferdinand's election in 1531, followed by Maximilian II in 1562, Ferdinand III in 1636, Ferdinand IV in 1653 [who died before his father], and Joseph I in 1690. The King of the Romans bore his arms on a shield on the breast of a single-headed eagle sable (as opposed to the double-headed eagle of the Emperor). He had royal rank and came immediately after the Emperor in precedence. He succeeded the emperor immediately, without need for another coronation or Wahlkapitulation, since he had already been crowned and sworn a capitulation at the time of his election. He also ruled the empire in case the emperor was incapacitated (as did Joseph I in the last days of his father's reign), but stayed out of the government of the empire otherwise, according to the oath he took upon election. If no king of the Romans existed, and if either the Emperor was incapacitated or under age (sede pleana), or there was no emperor (sede vacante, case of an interregnum), the imperial authority was held jointly by two Imperial Vicars (Reichsvikarien), although exercised in the name of the emperor in the first case. By virtue of the Golden Bull, these were the Elector Palatine and the Elector of Saxony, and each had special authority over a part of the empire, depending on which type of law was in force: the Elector Palatine in regions of Franconian law (Franconia, Swabia, the Rhine, southern Germany), while the Elector of Saxony in regions of Saxon law (Saxony, Westphalia, northern Germany, Hannover). The boundaries between the two areas (particularly in Hesse, Julich, Cleve, Berg, Liége, Ostfriesland) were disputed until 1750, and some regions (Bohemia, Austria) did not recognize any vicar. In Italy, the titular vicar was the duke of Savoy. In 1623 the Elector Palatine lost his electorship to Bavaria, and in 1648 a new electorship was created for him. Thereafter Bavaria and Pfalz were in dispute as to who was vicar. In the 1659 interregnum both claimed to be vicars and issued documents on that authority, but the arch-chancellor and the other vicar recognized Bavaria, as did emperor Leopold after his election. In 1724 a family pact between the two branches of the Wittelsbach family set forth joint exercise of the vicariate, but this was not accepted by the Reichstag. In 1745 the two branches agreed to alternate, with Bavaria starting first in the 1745 interregnum. This was accepted by Francis I after his election and by the electors, and later confirmed in 1752 by the Reichstag. In 1777 the Bavarian branch became extinct and the agreement moot. The Imperial vicars exercised the powers of the Emperor that were not explicitly reserved to his person, and in doing so were bound by the terms of the deceased emperor's capitulation. They handled all matters of grace: legitimations, emancipations, privileges, ennoblements and titles, etc. They exercised the Emperor's judicial powers, they collected taxes in his name, nominated to ecclesiastical benefices, and invested vassals with imperial fiefs, whether inherited or newly conceded (except for principalities and Fahnlehen). The emperor was formally obliged to ratify the acts of the vicars after his election, although there are instances of such acts being repealed by the Reichshofrat. The vicariate ended once the new emperor had sworn to uphold his electoral capitulation.
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THE HOUSEHOLD OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR
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The Emperor was entitled to have a Household, a real one as well as one "for show" composed of the High Offices of the Empire (Erzämter, archiofficia). The four High Offices appear under the Ottonian dynasty: at the coronation of Otto I in 936, each of the Stammherzöge held one of the functions. The Golden Bull of 1356 assigned them to the lay electors (in fact, some electors may have become so because they were High Officers). After a new electorate was created for the count Palatine, a new office of Arch-Treasurer was created for him, in 1652. In 1706, after Bavaria was banned, the elector palatine resumed his office of Arch-Steward, and the office of Arch-Treasurer passed in 1710 to the newly created elector of Hanover. In 1714, Bavaria was reinstated, and the elector palatine resumed the office of Treasurer, but Hanover continued to use the title and augmentation of arms until the merger of the Bavarian and Palatine electorates in 1777 allowed Hanover to exercise the office. New offices were planned but never chosen for the electors created in 1803. In the exercise of these functions outside of the coronations, the lay electors were represented by the holders of corresponding hereditary offices (Erbämter), and some were themselves represented in everyday activities by holders of hereditary offices.
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THE IMPERIAL POWERS AND SOVEREIGN RIGHTS OF THE EMPEROR
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The powers of the Emperor were exercised in a broad range of areas, but restricted everywhere: Executive:he enforced the laws and rulings of the empire, although most of this was delegated to the Reichskreise; he appointed imperial officers; Legislative: he could propose, approve and promulgate laws; in particular, he had the right to withhold approval; but he could not levy taxes without approval Judiciary: he was the ultimate judge in Germany, although he could only exercise this power through legally appointed courts, and had no right to intervene in the Reichskammergericht, but had in certain cases the final word in the Reichshofrat; he had the right of pardon, as well as the right to confer exemptions and privileges (i.e., exceptions to the application of imperial laws International: he alone represented the Empire abroad, although his ability to make war, peace and alliances was very limited; Feudal: he was overlord of all imperial fiefs.The Imperial Rights of Jura reservata, The Emperor had certain powers that flowed from his position as sovereign of the empire, from his plenitudo potestatis. Over time, this "plenitude of power" became restricted. By the 17th c., the powers of the emperor which were specifically his were called jura reservata or reserved rights; they were opposed to the powers of the Reichstag on one hand, the powers of the individual territories on the other. The reserved rights were divided into the unrestricted (jura reservata illimita) and restricted (jura reservata limita) depending on whether the Reichstag was involved or not. They were also divided into exclusive (jura reservata exclusiva) or concurrent (jura reservata communia), depending on whether the individual territories also enjoyed those rights or not. Examples of such imperial powers include: jura reservata illimita + exclusiva: ennoblement and conferral of titles, foundation of universities. jura reservata limita: imposition of tolls, leasing of mints. jura reservata communia: grant legal majority, legitimize children, appoint notaries, grant arms. The emperor delegated the exercise of these rights to officials called counts palatin (Hofpfalzgrafen). Such delegated powers were called comitiva, and distinguished into the comitiva minor (power to grant majority, legitimize, appoint notaries, grant arms) and comitiva major (ennoblement and power to delegate the comitiva minor). The comitiva minor was commonly bestowed to rulers of territories or titular counts, as well as attached to certain positions (such as provosts of universities). The comitiva major was rarely bestowed, and it was hereditary in the houses of Pfalz and Schwarzburg.
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THE ELECTIONS AND CORONATIONS OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR
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The electors elected the king of Germany or king of the Romans who, once crowned, became the Emperor. Under the Habsburgs, it had become usual for the Emperor to have his oldest son crowned as king of the Romans. At the peace of Westphalia, France and Sweden tried to have the right to elect the king of the Romans transferred to the Reichstag, without success. Finally, the electoral capitulation of 1711 included the stipulation that an election would take place only in case of extended absence, advanced age, permanent incapacity of the Emperor, or other urgent necessity. It was up to the electors to decide to hold an election. They were obligated to give the emperor prior notification, but could proceed without his approval. The electors were free to elect whom they wished, and the Emperor, in his capitulation, promised not to interfere with this freedom or use any form of coercion. They could, nevertheless, pledge their vote: when Brunswick (later Hanover) was given an electorate in 1692, it promised in return never to vote for anyone else but the eldest-born archduke of Austria. (In the election of 1742, there were none, and the elector of Hanover was free to cast his vote). A spiritual elector could vote even before having been invested by the Pope and received the pallium, as long as he had been invested by the Emperor. Conversely, an archbishop deprived of his electorate but not of his see could not be replaced as elector and his vote was forfeited (as happened to Cologne in 1711). A minor's vote was cast by his tutor.
The electors were summoned by the archbishop of Mainz, or else by the archbishop of Trier, normally within a month of the death of the Emperor. The electors met in Frankfurt, as prescribed by the Golden Bull (when they didn't, the city protested and it was granted reversals reserving its rights for the future) normally within three months of notification. The Grand Marshal was responsible for the logistics and protection of the electors and their suites. Electors appeared in person, entrusted their vote to another elector, or more often sent an electoral embassy, even if they were present (as the king of Bohemia in 1657 and 1690, or the elector of Mainz in 1741). The ministers presented their credentials to the archbishop of Mainz, who presided over the deliberations, in particular the drafting of the electoral capitulation. When the moment to vote came, the Grand Marshal ordered all princes, noblemen, ambassadors, representatives etc. not part of an electoral suite out of the city. The electors proceeded on horseback from the city hall to the cathedral, and convened in the electoral chapel, and swore to choose the worthiest man, and to accept the majority vote. The elector of Mainz proceeded to collect the votes, starting with Trier and ending with Saxony, and then himself. Electors could vote for themselves, as the king of Bohemia frequently did (although formally, a majority voted for him and he then consented).
The candidate receiving more than half of the votes was elected. In modern times the votes were unanimous. However, some elections were contentious. The election of 1519 was one. As early as 1516, while Maximilian was not clear about his own intentions for his successor, the king of France François I had begun collecting votes, and by 1518 secured the votes of Trier, Mainz, Brandenburg and the Palatinate. Then Maximilian decided to have his grandson Charles elected before his own death, and soon had the commitment of Brandneburg, Cologne, Mainz and the Palatinate, with the vote of Bohemia (the minor king Louis II) cast by his guardians Maximilian and the king of Poland. With Maximilian's death all bets were off and negotiations began anew. Here, the order of voting mattered, and allowed electors to make conditional promises: thus, Joachim of Brandenburg (who voted 6th) could promise to vote for François if two electors had voted for him and if he knew that his brother the archbishop of Mainz (who voted last) would also vote for him. In the end, Charles secured enough votes to win the election, in part through payments to the electors (330,000 florins in lump-sum payments and a total of 30,000 florins in annual pensions promised to four electors). What happened on June 27 (when the voting began and broke off after an hour) and June 28 is unclear; there is a possibility that Frederick the Wise of Saxony was elected but declined. In the end, all electors voted for Charles, although the elector of Brandenburg made a notarized statement beforehand that his vote was not free. (see Henry J. Cohn, 'Did Bribes Induce the German Electors to Choose Charles V as Emperor in 1519.Another contested election was that of 1741. Karl VI had died in 1740, the last male Habsburg: there was no obvious successor for the first time in over two hundred years. In 1741 the electors decided to exclude the ambassadors of Karl's daughter Maria Theresia, queen of Bohemia, not because she was a woman but because of the pending dispute over that crown (the elector of Bavaria had just seized Prague and had himself crowned king of Bohemia in December 1741). She protested against the legality of the election until the treaty of April 22, 1745 with Bavaria, by which she posthumously recognized Karl VII as emperor. At the election of 1745, she voted, but the electors Palatine and of Brandenburg abstained, although the elector of Brandenburg later recognized the validity of the election on Dec. 25, 1745. Once elected, the candidate was asked by the archbishop of Mainz if he accepted the election capitulation drafted by the electors (until 1708, the ambassadors of the king of Bohemia were shown the draft beforehand in an adjacent room). If he did, he was immediately proclaimed in the cathedral. In the elect's absence his ambassador or representative took the oath, but the imperial government remained in the hands of the vicars until the elect had taken the oath himself. The procedures for electing a king of the Romans were identical, except that the king-elect swore not to intervene in the affairs of the Empire. The Golden Bull prescribed that the German coronation take place in Aachen, although in modern times it usually took place in the same city as the election. According to an agreement of 16 June 1657, included in the Wahlkapitulation of 1658, the ceremony was performed either by the archbishop of Cologne or the archbishop of Mainz, according to whose province was the location of the coronation (Frankfurt was in the province of Mainz); and if it took place outside of either province (for example, Regensburg, in the province of Salzburg) then Cologne and Mainz alternated.
The insignia used in the coronation consisted of the crown, the silver scepter, two rings, a gold orb, the sword of Charlemagne and the sword of Saint Mauritius, various clothes, an illuminated Gospel, a sabre of Charlemagne, and a number of relics (the tablecloth of the Last Supper, the cloth with which Christ washed the feet of the Apostles, a thorn of his crown, a piece of the Cross, the spear that pierced his side, a piece of his crib, the arm of Saint Ann, a tooth of John the Baptist, the blood of Saint Stephen). These insignia and relics were kept in Aachen and Nürnberg and sent to the coronation. The emperor was crowned by either the archbishop of Mainz or that of Trier, depending on the diocese in which the ceremony took place (in 1742, the archbishop of Cologne, brother of Emperor Karl VII, officiated with the consent of the archbishop of Mainz). All three spiritual electors laid together the crown on the emperor's head. After the election the emperor was made a canon of the cathedral of Aachen. He then proceeded to the city hall for the banquet.
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THE EXTERNAL BOUNDARIES OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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The external boundaries of the Empire varied over time. In particular, the western boundary shifted many times eastward, as French kings encroached on the Empire as they enlarged their domains. Thus Provence (1246), Dauphiné (1335), the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, Verdun (1558), Alsace (1648), Franche-Comté (1678), Lorraine (1736), the west bank of the Rhine (1801) were incorporated into France after being ceded by the Emperors. There were losses elsewhere: the Swiss cantons, practically independent of their Habsburg overlords since the Middle Ages, were formally set free at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
The Empire itself consisted of Imperial lands (Reichsländer) properly speaking, and neighbouring lands. The latter category included Lorraine, Burgundy, and Lombardy. Bohemia was part of the Imperial lands because its king was an elector, but its status as a kingdom was unique within the empire. When the elector of Brandenburg became king of Prussia, he was so only in his lands lying outside of the Empire.
The exact status of Northern Italy within the Empire became rather confused over time. By the 18th century, what remained formally were a collection of imperial fiefs of various sizes: 13 in Lombardy (including the duchies of Milan, Mantua, Monferrat, the principality of Mirandola, the Gonzaga territories), 19 in Liguria, 20 in the region of Bologna (including the duchies of Modena and Ferrara), 10 in Tuscany (the grand-duchy of Tuscany, Piombino, Soramo, Comacchio) and 11 in Tirnisani.
Independently of the above classification, territories can also be classified into feudal and allodial. A feudal territory was held from the Emperor as a fief, that is, by virtue of a certain type of contract. In exchange for enjoyment of the territory, the vassal owed certain duties, and was subject to certain restrictions and oversight of the Emperor. An allodial territory was a territory for which no feudal contract existed. It was subject to the emperor as sovereign but not to the emperor as overlord. A territory was presumed to be allodial unless shown otherwise. The term "free", also applied to certain counties, indicated that the territory was allodial. Major ecclesiastical territories were typically allodial.
Under Maximilian I the imperial states had been organized in Imperial Circles (Reichskreise). The original 6 Circles of 1500 (Swabia, Bavaria, Franconia, upper Saxony, lower Saxony, Westphalia) were increased in 1512 to 10 (Austria, Rhine, Saxony, Burgundy). The role of the circles was to serve as administrative units in the enforcement of imperial law and order. Each was headed by a prince as Kreisoberst, and regional assemblies called Kreistage were held (which could include territories that were not imperial states).
Other Territories of the Empire:
The Circles did not include all territories of the Empire: notably, Bohemia (pop: 2.9m, area 982 sq mi), Moravia (Mähren; pop: 1.2m, 468 sq mi), Lusatia (0.45m, 180 sq mi) and a number of others totalling 0.25m and 200 sq mi.
Immediate and Mediate Status:
Whether or not an individual, an institution or an area was directly subject to the emperor's authority defined the status of "immediate" and "mediate" subject of the Empire (reichsunmittelbar, reichsmittelbar). This distinction has nothing to do with being noble or commoner: for example, a number of high officials in the imperial courts and the chancery were immediate, whether noble or not. The status of immediate subject was also distinct from that of state of the Empire: there were many immediate territories that were not states of the Empire, and there could be states that were not immediate. Examples of tiny immediate territories include the villages of Goschheim and Seenfald near Schweinfurt, the four villages of Kahldorf, Petersbach, Biburg, and Wangen, some farms in Upper Swabia, etc. The status of immediate subject of the emperor could be held by an institution, such as the Schoppenstuhl in Aachen.
Knights of the Empire:
The Knights of the Empire (Reichsrittern) were nobles whose direct overlord was the Emperor, remnants of the medieval Edelfrei and Ministerialen who never achieved status of upper nobility. To protect their rights, they organized themselves into three unions (Partheien) in the late 15th century and into a single Corpus in 1577, and fought hard to win recognition. Their immediate status was recognized at the Peace of Westphalia. They never gained access to
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THE IMPERIAL CITIES OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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The Imperial Cities (Reichsstädte) contained 51 cities, grouped in the Bench of the Rhine (14 cities) and the Bench of Swabia (37 cities). Their position in the Reichstag was not always clear; in particular, their ability to cast decisive votes, which was nevertheless confirmed in 1648. They had no say on certain matters: the admission of new States of the Empire, the investiture of imperial fiefs (as long as they were not affected), imperial wars (after 1803, when they gained the neutrality they had long requested). The presiding city was the one in which the Reichstag was held, which was always Regensburg after 1663. In 1803, 45 cities were mediatized, leaving 6 cities: Augsburg, Lübeck, Nürnberg, Frankfurt, Bremen, Hamburg. Augsburg and Nürnberg were absorbed by Bavaria in 1806. Frankfurt became a grand-duchy in 1810 but re-emerged with a minicipal government in 1813. Frankfurt was the seat of the Bund's assembly from 1816 to 1866; it was annexed by Prussia in that year. Lübeck was annexed to Schleswig-Holstein under the Nazis in 1937. At present, Bremen and Hamburg still exist as autonomous Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany, the last remnants of the Imperial cities.
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THE IMPERIAL COURTS OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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The Courts of the Empire: High Courts ( Reichskammergericht )
The Reichskammergericht (Camerae Imperialis Judicium), Imperial Chamber Court, was created at the Worms Reichstag of 1495. Its initial purpose was to sit in judgment of violations of the Landfrieden of 1495, but over time became the main court of the Empire and the guarantor of imperial law. The Court consisted initially of a Judge assisted by 16 assessors (a number increased to 50 in 1648 and reduced to 25 in 1729). The Judge, two Presidents and one assessor were appointed by the Emperor, the other assessors by the electors and by the circles of the States of the Empire. The Judge was noble, or rank no less than a baron. Half of the assessors were noblemen, the others were doctors of law. The Judge, one President and 13 assessors were catholics, the other President and 12 assessors were protestants (Augsburg confession). The members, once appointed, were reichsunmittelbar and could not be removed except by the Court itself. The court also had 12 advocates and 30 procurators to process cases. Cases were examined by "senates" of 8 or 9 members, with equal numbers of protestants and catholics. When the senate was split evenly, additional members were appointed, or the case was sent to the full Court. In religious matters, members voted by religion (a procedure called itio in partes). If votes remained evenly split, the matter was sent to the Reichstag. On some procedural matters the Court could make interim rulings that had force of law until an imperial law was published.
The Court was competent in suits against immediate members of the empire, either in first or second instance; in civil matters involving mediate members of the empire, as appeals court from local courts (except when there was privilegium de non appellando, as for territories of electors); appeals on denials of justice; it could also confirm treaties, testaments, guardianships among immediate members. It had no jurisdiction over spiritual matters (including validity of marriages), cases involving major fiefs or matters of imperial grace, criminal cases involving immediate members. The court had exclusive jurisdiction over judicial matters involving its own members. One could ask the Court to review its own rulings, or refer the matter to a Reichskammergerichtsvisitation, a commission appointed by the Reichstag to periodically review the Court's activities (initially annual, these visitations became scarcer after the 16th c.). Ultimately, it was always possible to appeal to the Reichstag itself.
Maximilian I had only reluctantly agreed to the formation of the Reichskammergericht. To help him in his direct administration of justice, he established in 1518 a Reichshofrath (Consulium imperiale aulicum), Imperial Court or Aulic Council, which became accepted as equal to the Reichskammergericht in 1648. Contrary to the Court, this body was a creature of the Emperor. It had a president, a vice-president, and 16 councillors, all appointed by the Emperor. The imperial vice-chancellor, appointed by the arch-chancellor (the elector of Mainz) was also a member ex officio, and presided in the absence of the president. (The vice-chancellor and the president were the only Imperial Ministers). Members of the Council had to be German nationals, and the president and vice-president had to be noblemen of the empire (prince, count or baron). Members could not be removed except by a ruling of the Council itself, but the death of the emperor automatically brought the dissolution of the council and the imperial chancery.
The Council had two functions: as Council of State, to which certain matters of state had to be referred (the Emperor was free, however, to surround himself with other advisors in ad-hoc councils, such as a war council or a secret council); as a high court whose jurisdiction overlapped with that of the Court.
The Council had essentially the same jurisdiction as the Court, and it was up to the plaintiff to choose where to file his suit. There were other matters in which only the Council was competent; and there were matters where the Court's jurisdiction was acknowledged but which were routinely handled by the Council. Such was the case of criminal cases involving immediate members, and cases involving imperial favors or concessions. All matters were decided by the whole Council. In case of split votes, the president could break the tie, or he could choose to refer the matter to the Emperor. In religious matters, an even split automatically referred the matter to the Reichstag. Appeals were handled the same way as for the Court, except that the right of visitations, in principle held by the arch-chancellor (elector of Mainz) were never exercised.
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THE ELECTORS OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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The Electors:
The Emperor was chosen by the Elector princes (Kurfürsten). This institution emerges sometime in the first half of the 13th c., as a consequence of the crisis of 1198. It appears in the Sachsenspiegel, a compilation of German feudal law written between 1220 and 1235. Its composition seems to have been set fairly early, by the 1230s at the latest. Initially the electors nominated a candidate, subject to ratification by the magnates, but fairly quickly their choice became final. Its formal regulation came with the Golden Bull of 1356, although changes were made occasionally. by the late 15th c., the electors were understood to form a distinct college.
The composition was set as follows: Three spiritual or cleric electors: Bishop of Mainz , Bishop of Trier , Bishop of Köln .
Four temporal or lay electors: King of Bohemia , Count Palatine of the Rhine , Elector of Saxony , Margrave of Brandenburg .
The Council was presided by the Archbishop of Mainz , who had precedence over all electors.
The status of the king of Bohemia was controversial for a long time, because he was not (necessarily) German; on the other hand, he was the Butler of the Empire, and one theory founded the right to elect the Emperor on holding one of the four high offices. One view was that the king of Bohemia's vote was meant to be the deciding vote in case of an even split of the other six. The Sachsenspiegel did not include him as an elector, but the Schwabenspiegel did. It took the Golden Bull of 1356 to settle the matter definitively. The king of Bohemia did not attend the elections after Wenceslas in the 14th c., and in the 17th century was not present for the deliberations, until 7 Sep 1708, when Bohemia was admitted again as a full member of the Electoral college. Changes to the list of electors were made in the 17th and 18th c.
The Princes:
The second college of the Reichstag was composed of the princes, counts, lords and prelates who ranked as states of the Empire (Reichsstände). Not all were members of the college, or even directly represented. The composition of the assembly varied before it was formally organized; after 1489, however, no further increases were possible without a majority vote, and the membership list was formally set in 1582. The Council did not operate on a one-man one-vote principle. Accordingly, there were individual votes (Virilstimmen) and collective votes (Curiatstimmen).
The Council of Princes (Reichsfürstenrat) included both clerics and lay people.
Clerics, as in other European Estates such as the House of Lords in England or the Estates General, had a seat by virtue of the see or abbacy. Those prelates who did not have individual votes were grouped into two benches, the Bench of the Rhine and the Bench of Swabia, each with a collective vote.
The secular princes included the Princes (Fürsten) properly speaking (with titles of prince, grand-duke, duke, count palatine, margrave, landgrave) and the Counts and Lords (Grafen und Herren). The princes held individual votes (although sometimes held collectively by a family) while the counts and lords were grouped in Benches, each bench with one collective vote. The bench of Franconia was created in 1630-1641 from the bench of Swabia, and the bench of Westphalia was created in 1653 with part of the bench of Wetterau: thus, after 1653, there were four benches.
Until 1582, votes at the Reichstag were owned by individuals, and were often multiplied when inheritances were divided, or, more often, jointly held by several families. After 1582, votes were attached to a territory (in a few exceptional cases a vote was granted to an individual without territory), and were no longer multiplied, but could still be shared by various individuals (as result of an inheritance, typically).
By 1792, there were 100 votes in the Council of Princes, of which 55 were Catholic (although Osnabrück alternated between Catholic and Protestant since the peace of Westphalia). Of the 100 votes, 37 were clerics (35 individual votes and 2 collective votes), while 63 were lay (59 individual votes and 4 collective votes).
The peace of Lunéville of 1801 led to the elimination of 18 votes in territories ceded to France, almost all of them Catholic. Plans to redistribute votes floundered on the issue of maintaining the religious balance, and although a special committee of the Reichstag had reached and agreement in 1803, the Emperor had not yet ratified it by the time the Empire dissolved in 1806.
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THE SOURCES OF LAW FOR THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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Sources of law:
The fundamental documents on the constitution of the Empire were the following :
(1): THE CONSTITUTIONS OF FRANKFURT 1220:
Friedrichs Il. Vereinbarung mit den geistlichen Fürsten, 1220
(Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis)
... „1. Zum ersten versprechen wir, daß wir von nun an niemals beim Tode eines geistlichen Fürsten seinen Nachlaß für den Fiskus in Anspruch nehmen werden. Wir verbieten auch, daß irgendein Laie unter irgendeinem Vorwande sich denselben zueigne, sondern er soll dem Nachfolger anheimfallen, wenn der Vorgänger ohne Testament verschieden ist...
2. Neue Zölle oder Münzstätten werden wir in ihren Territorien ohne ihr Befragen oder gegen ihren Willen künftig nicht errichten; sondern die alten Zölle und Münzrechte, die den Kirchen derselben bewilligt sind, werden wir unverletzt und fest bewahren und beschützen.
3. Leute, die in irgendeiner Form der Dienstbarkeit zu ihnen stehen, werden wir, aus welchem Grunde auch immer sie sich ihrem Dienste entzogen haben, nicht zu ihrem Nachteil in unsere Städte aufnehmen...
5. ...Auf welche Weise aber auch immer, sei es auch durch den Tod des Belehnten, ein Lehen einem geistlichen Fürsten ledig geworden ist, so werden wir jenes aus eigner Macht, geschweige mit Gewalt, in keiner Weise angreifen, es sei denn, daß wir es mit seinem guten Willen und freien Zugeständnis werden erlangen können; sondern wir werden es mit Eifer für seine Benutzung zu verteidigen streben.
7. Und weil das weltliche Schwert eingesetzt ist zum Schutze des geistlichen Schwertes, soll dem Kirchenbann, wenn die Gebannten in ihm länger als sechs Wochen verharren, unsere Acht folgen, die nicht eher widerrufen werden soll, bis der Kirchenbann zurückgenommen ist.
8. So besonders und auf alle anderen Arten, nach gerechter und wirksamer Entscheidung, haben wir festiglich das wechselseitige Versprechen gegeben, ihnen zu nützen und sie zu schützen, und sie selbst hinwieder haben mit Treugelöbnis versprochen, daß sie gegen jeden Menschen, der unserem Urteile, das in solcher Sache ihnen selbst geleistet wird, gewaltsam sich widersetzt hat, uns nach ihren Kräften wirksam beistehen wollen.
9. Ferner setzen wir fest, daß keine Gebäude, nämlich Burgen und Städte, auf kirchlichem Besitze, sei es aus Anlaß der Vogtei, sei es unter irgendeinem andern Vorwande, errichtet werden, und falls solche wider Willen derer errichtet sind, denen der Grund gehört, kraft königlicher Vollmacht zerstört werden sollen.
10. Ferner verbieten wir in Nachahmung unsers Großvaters, des Kaisers Friedrich glücklichen Angedenkens, daß einer unserer Beamten in den Städten dieser Fürsten eine Gerichtsbarkeit in Zoll, Münze oder andern Sachen beanspruche, außer acht Tage vor unserm öffentlich angekündigten Hoftag und acht Tage nach seiner Beendigung, und auch in diesen Tagen sollen sie in keiner Weise übergreifen in die Gerichtsbarkeit der Fürsten und in die Gewohnheiten der Stadt..."
(2): THE CONSTITUTION OF 1338 , ( Frankfurt ) freeing the election of the emperor from papal control .
(3): THE GOLDEN BULL OF 1356 , on the electors :
The Golden Bull of the Emperor Charles IV 1356 A.D.
Eternal, omnipotent God, in whom the sole hope of the world is,
Of Heaven the Maker Thou, of earth, too, the lofty Creator:
Consider, we pray Thee, Thy people, and gently, from out Thy high dwelling
Look down lest they turn their steps to the place where Erinis is ruler;
There where Allecto commands, Megaera dietetic the measures
But rather by virtue of him, this emperor Charles whom Thou lovest
O most beneficent God, may'st Thou graciously please to ordain it
That, through the pleasant glades of forests ever in flower,
And through the realms of the bless'd, their pious leader may bring them
I nto the holy shades, where the heavenly waters will quicken
The seeds that were sown in the life, and where the ripe crops are made glorious
Cleansed in supernal founts from all of the thorns they have gathered.
Thus may the harvest be God's, and great may its worth be in
future Heaping a hundred fold the corn in the barns overflowing..
In the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity felicitously amen. Charles the Fourth, by favour of the divine mercy emperor of the Romans, always august, and king of Bohemia; as a perpetual memorial of this matter. Every kingdom divided against itself shall be desolated. For its princes have become the companions of thieves. Where fore God has mingled among them the spirit of dizziness that they may grope in midday as if in darkness; and He has removed their candlestick from out of His place, that they may be blind and leaders of the blind. And those who walk in darkness stumble; and the blind commit crimes in their hearts which come to pass in time of discord. Tell us, pride, how would's" thou have reigned over Lucifer if thou had'st not had discord to aid thee? Tell us hateful Satan, how would'st thou have cast Adam out of Paradise if thou had'st not divided him from his obedience ? Tell us, luxury, how would'st thou have destroyed Troy, if thou had'st not divided Helen from her husband? Tell us, wrath, how would'st thou have destroyed the Roman republic had'st thou not, by means of discord, spurred on Pompey and Caesar with raging swords to internal conflict ? Thou, indeed, oh envy, host, with impious wicked ness, spued with the ancient poison against the Christian empire which is fortified by God, like to the holy and indivisible Trinity, with the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, whose foundation is happily established above in the very kingdom of Christ. Thou hast done this, like a serpent, against the branches of the empire and its nearer members; so that, the columns being shaken, thou Slightest subject the whole edifice to ruin. Thou Last often spread discord among the seven electors of the holy empire, through whom, as through seven candlesticks throwing light in the unity of a septiform spirit, the holy empire ought to be illumined.
Inasmuch as we, through the office by which we possess the imperial dignity, are doubly-both as emperor and by the electoral right which we enjoy-bound to put an end to future danger of discords among the electors themselves, to whose number we, as king of Bohemia are known to belong: we have promulgated, decreed and recommended for ratification the subjoined laws for the purpose of cherishing unity among the electors, and of bringing about a unanimous election, and of closing all approach to the aforesaid detestable discord and to the various dangers which arise from it. This we have done in our solemn court at Nuremberg, in session with all the electoral princes, ecclesiastical and secular, and amid a numerous multitude of other princes, counts, barons, magnates, nobles and citizens; after mature deliberation, from the fulness of our imperial power; sitting on the throne of our imperial majesty, adorned with the imperial bands, insignia and diadem; in the year of our Lord 1356, in the 9th Indiction, on the 4th day before the Ides of January, in the 10th year of our reign as king, the 1st as emperor.
1. What sort of escort the electors should have, and by whom furnished.
(1) We decree, and, by the present imperial and ever valid edict, do sanction of certain knowledge and from the plenitude of the imperial power: that whenever, and so often as in future, necessity or occasion shall arise for the election of a king of the Romans and prospective emperor and the prince electors, according to ancient and laudable custom, are obliged to journey to such election,-each prince elector, if, and whenever, he is called upon to do this, shall be bound to escort any of his fellow prince electors or the envoys whom they shall send to this election through his lands, territories and districts, and even as much beyond them as he shall be able; and to lend them escort without guile on their way to the city in which such election is to be held, and also in returning from it This he shall do under pain of perjury and the loss, for that time only, of the vote which he was about to have in such election; which penalty, indeed, we decree that he or they who shall prove rebellious or negligent in furnishing the aforesaid escort shall, by the very act, incur.
(2) We furthermore decree, and we command all other princes holding fiefs from the holy Roman empire, whatever the service they have to perform,-also all counts barons, knights, noble and common followers, citizens and communities of castles, cities and districts of the holy empire: that at this same time-when, namely, an election is to take place of king of the Romans and prospective emperor-they shall, without guile, in the manner aforesaid, escort through their territories and as far beyond as they can, any prince elector demanding from them, or any one of them, help of this kind, or the envoys whom as has been explained before, he shall have sent to that election. But if any persons shall presume to run counter to this our decree they shall, by the act itself, incur the following penalties: all princes and counts, barons, noble knights and followers, and all nobles acting counter to it, shall be considered guilty of perjury and deprived of all the fiefs which they hold of the holy Roman empire and of any lords whatever, and also of all their possessions no matter from whom they hold them. All cities and guilds, moreover, presuming to act counter to the foregoing, shall similarly be considered guilty of perjury, and likewise shall be altogether deprived of all their rights, liberties, privileges and favours obtained from the holy empire, and both in their persons and in all their possessions shall incur the imperial bann and proscription. And any man on his own authority and without trial or the calling in of any magistrate, may henceforth with impunity attack those whom we, by the act itself, deprive, from now or from a past time on, of all their rights. And, in attacking them, he need fear no punishment on this account from the empire or any one else; inasmuch as they, rashly negligent in so great a matter, are convicted of acting faithlessly and perversely, as disobedient and perfidious persons and rebels against the state, and against the majesty and dignity of the holy empire, and even against their own honour and safety.
(3) We decree, moreover, and command, that the citizens and guilds of all cities shall be compelled to sell or cause to be sold to the aforesaid prince electors, or to any one of them who demands it, and to their envoys, when they are going to said city for the sake of holding said election, and even when they are returning from it: victuals at the common and current price for the needs of themselves or the said envoys and their followers. And in no way shall they act fraudulently with regard to the foregoing. We will that those who do otherwise shall, by the act itself, incur those penalties which we, in the foregoing, have seen fit to decree against citizens and guilds. Whoever, moreover, of the princes, counts, barons, knights, noble or common followers, citizens or guilds of cities shall presume to erect hostile barriers or to prepare ambushes for a prince elector going to hold the election of a king of the Romans or returning from it,-or to attack or disturb them or any one of them in their persons or in their property, or in the persons of said envoys sent by them or any one of them, whether they have sought escort or have not considered it worth while to demand it: we decree that he, together with all the accomplices of his iniquity, shall, by the act itself, have incurred the above penalties; in such wise, namely, that each person shall incur the penalty or penalties which, according to what precedes, we have thought best, relatively to the rank of those persons, to inflict..
(4) But if any prince elector should be at enmity with any one of his co-electors, and any contention, controversy, or dissension should be going on between them;-notwithstanding this, one shall be bound, under penalty of perjury and loss, for this one time, of his vote in the election, as has been stated above, to escort in said manner the other? Or the envoys of the other who shall be sent in said manner to such election.
(5) But if any princes, counts, barons, knights, noble or common followers, citizens, or guilds of cities, should bear ill-will to one or more of the prince electors, or any mutual discord, or war, or dissension should be going on between them: nevertheless, all opposition and fraud being laid aside, they ought to furnish such escort to this or to these prince electors, or to his or their envoys dispatched to or returning from such election, according as they each and all desire to avoid the said punishments declared by u s against them; punishments which those who act counter shall, we decree, by the act itself incur. Moreover, for the ampler security and certitude of all the above, we command and we will that all the prince electors and other princes, also the counts, barons, nobles, cities or guilds of the same, shall confirm all the aforesaid through their writings and through their oaths, and shall efficaciously bind themselves to fulfil them with good faith and without guile. But whoever shall refuse to give writings of this kind, shall, by the act itself, incur such punishment as we, by the above, have seen fit to inflict on each person according to his rank.
(6) But if any prince elector or other prince of whatever condition or standing, or any count, baron, or noble, or the successors or heirs of such, holding a fief or fiefs from the holy empire, be not willing to fulfill our imperial constitutions and laws above and below laid down, or shall presume to act counter to them: if such a one, indeed, be an elector prince, his co-electors shall, from that time on, exclude him from association with themselves, and he shall lose both his vote in the election and the position, dignity and privileges possessed by the other electors; nor shall he be invested with the fiefs which he shall have obtained from the holy empire. But any other prince or nobleman infringing, as we have said, these our laws, shall likewise not be invested with fiefs which he shall obtain from the holy empire or from any one otherwise, and shall, in addition, incur by the act itself all the aforesaid penalties concerning his person.
(7) Although, indeed, we have willed and decreed in general terms that all princes, counts, barons, nobles knights, followers, and also cities and guilds of the same are bound, as has been said, to furnish the aforesaid escort to any prince elector or his envoys: nevertheless we have thought best to designate for each one of them special escorts and conductors who will be best suited for them according to the nearness of their lands and districts as will directly be made clearer from what follows.
(8) For first the king of Bohemia, the arch-cupbearer of the holy empire, shall be escorted by the archbishop of Mainz, the bishops of Bamberg and Wurzburg, the burgraves of Nuremberg; likewise by those of Hohenlohe, of Wertheim, of Bruneck and of Hohenau; likewise by the cities of Nuremberg, Rothenburg, and Windesheim.
(9) Then the archbishop of Cologne, the arch-chancellor of the holy empire for Italy, shall be escorted-they being bound to furnish such escort-by the archbishops of Mainz and Treves, the count palatine of the Rhine, the landgrave of Hesse; likewise by the counts of Katzenellenbogen, of Nassau, of Dietz; likewise of Ysenburg, of Vesterburg, of Runkel, of Limburg and Falkenstein; likewise by the cities of Wetzlar, Gelnhausen and Friedberg.
(10) In like manner the archbishop of Treves, archchancellor of the holy empire for the Glallic provinces and for the kingdom of Arles, shall be escorted by the archbishop of Mainz, the count palatine of the Rhine; likewise the counts of Sponheim, of Veldenz. likewise the Raugraves and Wiltgraves of Nassau, of Ysenburg, of Westerburg, of Runkel, of Dietz, of Katzenellenbogen, of Eppenstein, of Falkenstein; likewise the city of Mainz.
(11) Then the count palatine of the Rhine, arch-steward of the holy empire, ought to be escorted by the archbishop of Mainz.
(12) But the duke of Saxony, the arch-marshall of the holy empire, shall, by right, be escorted by the king of Bohemia, the archbishops of Mainz and Madgeburg; likewise by the bishops of Bamberg and Wurzburg, the margrave of Meissen, the landgrave of Hesse; likewise the abbots of Fulda and Hersfeld, the burgraves of Nuremberg; likewise those of Hohenlohe, of Wertheim, of Bruneck, of Hohenau, of Falkenstein; likewise the cities of Erfurt, Mulhausen, Nuremberg, Rothenburg and Windesheim. And all of these last named shall likewise be bound to escort the margrave of Brandenburg, arch-chamberlain of the holy empire.
(13) We will, moreover, and do expressly decree that each prince elector who shall wish to have such escort shall make known this fact and the way by which he is to pass, and shall demand this escort in such good time that those who have been deputed to furnish such escort, and from whom it shall thus have been demanded, may be able to prepare themselves for this in good time and conveniently.
(14) We declare, moreover, that the foregoing decrees promulgated concerning the matter of escort shall, indeed, be so understood that each person named above-or perhaps not expressed-from whom, in the aforesaid case, escort may happen to be demanded, shall be bound to furnish it at least through his lands and territories, and as far beyond as he can, without fraud, under the penalties contained above.
(15) Moreover we decree, and also ordain, that he who shall be archbishop of Mainz at the time shall intimate this same election to the different princes, ecclesiastical and secular, his co-electors, by letters patent, through his envoys. In which letters, indeed, the day and the term shall be expressed within which those letters may probably reach each of those princes. And letters of this sort shall state that, within three successive months from the day expressed in the letters themselves, each and all of the prince electors ought to be settled at Frankfort on the Main, or to send their lawful envoys, at that time and to that place, with full and diverse power, and with their letters patent, signed with the great seal of each of them, to elect a king of the Romans and prospective emperor. How, moreover, and under what form such letters ought to be drawn up and what formality ought to be immutably observed with regard to them, and in what form and manner the prince electors should arrange what envoys are to be sent to such election, and the popover, mandate, or right of procuration that they are to have: all this will be found clearly and expressly written at the end of the present document. And we command and decree, through the plentitude of the imperial power, that the form there established be preserved unto all time.
(16) Moreover we ordain and decree that when the death of the emperor or king of the Romans shall come to be known for certain in the diocese of Mainz,-within one month of that time, counting continuously from the day of the notice of such death, the death itself and the summons of which we have spoken shall be announced by the archbishop of Mainz through his letters patent. But if this same archbishop should chance to be negligent or remiss in carrying out this and in sending the summons,-thereupon those same princes of their own accord shall, even without summons, by virtue of the fealty which they owe to the holy conspire, come together in the oft-mentioned city of Frankfort within three months after this, as is contained in the decree immediately preceding, being about to elect a king of the Humans and future emperor.
(17) Moreover any one prince elector of his envoys should, at the time of the aforesaid election, enter the said city of Frankfort with not more than two hundred mounted followers, among which number he may be allowed to bring in with himself only fifty armed men or fewer, but not more.
(18) But a prince elector, called and summoned to such election, and neither coming to it nor sending lawful envoys with letters patent, sealed with his greater seal and containing empowerment, full, free and of every kind, for the election of king of the Romans and prospective emperor; or one who comes, or perchance sends envoys, to the same, but who, afterwards, himself-or the aforesaid embassy- goes away from the place of election before a king of the Romans and prospective emperor has been elected, and does not formally substitute a lawful procurator and leave him there: shall forfeit for that time the vote or right which he had in that election and which he abandoned in such a manner.
(19) We command, moreover, and enjoin on the citizens of Frankfort, that they, by virtue of the oath which we decree they shall swear on the gospel concerning this, shall, with faithful zeal and anxious diligence, protect and defend all the prince electors in general and each one of them in particular from the invasion of the other, if any quarrel shall arise between them; and also from the invasion of any other person. And the same with regard to all the followers whom they or any one of them shall have brought into the said city among the said number of two hundred horsemen. Otherwise they shall incur the guilt of perjury, and shall also lose all their rights, liberties, privileges, favours and grants which they are known to hold from the holy empire, and shall, by the act itself, fall under the bann of the empire as to their persons and all their goods. And, from that time on, every man on his own authority and without judicial sentence may, with impunity, invade as traitors and as disloyal persons and as rebels against the empire, those citizens whom we, in such a case, from now or from a former time on deprive of all their rights: And such invaders need in no Lay fear any punishment from the holy empire or from any one else.
(20) The said citizens of Frankfort, moreover, throughout all that time when the oft-mentioned election is being treated of and carried on, shall not admit, or in any way permit any one, of whatever dignity, condition or standing he may be, to enter the aforesaid city: the prince electors and their envoys and the aforesaid procurators alone being excepted; each of whom shall be admitted, as has been said, with two hundred horsemen. But if, after the entry of these same prince electors, or while they are present, any one shall chance to be found in the said city, the citizens themselves shall, effectually and without delay, straightway bring about his exit, under penalty of all that has above been promulgated against them, and also by virtue of the oath concerning this that those same citizens of Frankfort must, by the terms of this present decree, swear upon the gospel, as has been explained in the foregoing.
2. Concerning the election of a king of the Romans.
(1) After, moreover, the oft-mentioned electors or their envoys shall have entered the city of Frankfort, they shall straightway on the following day at dawn, in the church of St. Bartholomew the apostle, in the presence of all of them cause a mass to be sung to the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit himself may illumine their hearts and infuse the light of his virtue into their senses; so that they, armed with his protection, may be able to elect a just, good and useful man as king of the Romans and future emperor, and as a safeguard for the people of Christ. After such mass has been performed all those electors or their envoys shall approach the altar on which that mass has been celebrated, and there the ecclesiastical prince electors, before the gospel of St. John: " In the beginning was the word," which must there be placed before them, shall place their hands with reverence upon their breasts. But the secular prince electors shall actually touch the said gospel with their hands. And all of them, with all their followers, shall stand there unarmed. And the archbishop of Mainz shall give to them the form of the oath, and he together with them, and they, or the envoys of the absent ones, together with him, shall take the oath in common as follows:
(2) " I, archbishop of Mainz, arch-chancellor of the holy empire throughout Germany, and prince elector, do swear on this holy gospel of God here actually placed before me, that I, through the faith which binds me to God and to the holy Roman empire, do intend by the help of God, to the utmost extent of my discretion and intelligence, and in accordance with the said faith, to elect one who will be suitable, as far as my discretion and discernment can tell for a temporal head of the Christian people,-that is, a king of the Romans and prospective emperor. And my voice and vote, or said election, I will give without any pact, payment, price, or promise, or whatever such things may be called. So help me God and all the saints."
(3) Such oath having been taken by the electors or their envoys in the aforesaid form and manner, they shall then proceed to the election. And from now on they shall not disperse from the said city of Frankfort until the majority of them shall have elected a temporal head for the world and for the Christian people; a king, namely, of the Romans and prospective emperor. But if they shall fail to do this within thirty days, counting continuously from the day when they took the aforesaid oath: when those thirty days are over, from that time on they shall live on bread and water, and by no means leave the aforesaid city unless first through them, or the majority of them, a ruler or temporal head of the faithful shall have been elected, as was said before.
(4) Moreover after they, or the majority of them, shall have made their choice in that place, such election shall in future be considered and looked upon as if it had been unanimously carried through by all of them, no one dissenting. And if any one of the electors or their aforesaid envoys should happen for a time to be detained and to be absent or late, provided he arrive before the said election has been consummated, we decree that he shall be admitted to the election in the stage at which it was at the actual time of his coming. And since by ancient approved and laudable custom what follows has always been observed inviolately, therefore we also do establish and decree by the plenitude of the imperial power that he who shall have, in the aforesaid manner, been elected king of the Romans, shall, directly after such election shall have been held, and before he shall attend to any other cases or matters by virtue of his imperial office, without delay or contradiction, confirm and approve, by his letters and seals, to each and all of the elector princes, ecclesiastical and secular, who are known to be the nearer members of the holy empire, all their privileges, charters, rights, liberties, ancient customs, and also their dignities and whatever they shall have obtained and possessed from the empire before the day of the election. And he shall renew to them all the above after he shall have been crowned with the imperial adornments. Moreover, the elected king shall make such confirmation to each prince elector in particular, first as king, then, renewing it, under his title as emperor; and, in there matters, he shall be bound by no means to impede either those same princes in general or any one of them in particular, but rather to promote them with his favour and without guile.
(5) In a case, finally, where three prince electors in person, or the envoys of the absent ones, shall elect as king of the Romans a fourth from among themselves or from among their whole number-an elector prince, namely, who is either present or absent:-we decree that the vote of that person who has been elected, if he shall be present, or of his envoys if he shall chance to be absent, shall have full vigour and shall increase the number of those electing, and shall constitute a majority like that of the other prince electors.
3. Concerning the seating of the bishops of Treves, Cologne and Maine.
In the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity felicitously amen. Charles the Fourth, by favour of the divine mercy emperor of the Romans, always august, and king of Bohemia. As a perpetual memorial of this matter. The splendour and glory of the holy Roman empire, and the imperial honour, and the cherished advantage of the state are fostered by the concordant will of the venerable and illustrious prince electors, who, being the chief columns as it were, sustain the holy edifice by the vigilant piety of circumspect prudence; by whose protection the right hand of the imperial power is strengthened. And the more they are bound together by an ampler benignity of mutual favour, so much more abundantly will the blessings of peace and tranquillity happily flow for the people of Christ. In order, therefore, that between the venerable archbishops of Mainz, Cologne and Treves, prince electors of the holy empire, all causes of strife and suspicion which might arise in future concerning the priority or dignity of their seats in the imperial and royal courts may be for all time removed, and that they, remaining in a quiet state of heart and soul, may be able, with concordant favour and the zeal of virtuous love, to meditate more conveniently concerning the affairs of the holy empire, to the consolation of the Christian people: we, having deliberated with all the prince electors, ecclesiastical as well as secular, do decree from the plenitude of the imperial power, by this law, in the form of an edict, to be forever valid,-that the aforesaid venerable archbishops can, may, and ought to sit as follows in all public transactions pertaining to the empire; namely, in courts, while conferring fiefs, when regaling themselves at table, and also in councils and in all other business on account of which they happen or shall happen to come together to treat of the honour or utility of the empire. Be of Treves, namely, shall sit directly opposite and facing the emperor. But at the right hand of the emperor of the Romans shall sit he of Mainz when in his own diocese and province; and also, outside of his province, throughout his whole arch-chancellorship of Germany, excepting alone the province of Cologne. And he of Cologne, finally, shall sit there when in his own diocese and province, and, outside of his province, throughout all Italy and Gaul. And we will that this form of seating, in the same order as is above expressed, be extended forever to the successors of the aforesaid archbishops of Cologne, Treves and Mainz; so that at no time shall any doubt whatever arise concerning these matters.
4. Concerning the prince electors in common.
We decree, moreover, that, as often as an imperial court shall henceforth chance to be held, in every assembly,-in council, namely, at table or in any place whatsoever where the emperor or king of the Romans shall happen to sit with the prince electors, on the right side of the emperor or king of the Romans there shall sit immediately after the archbishop of Mainz or the archbishop of Cologne-whichever, namely, shall happen at that time, according to the place or province, following the tenor of his privilege, to sit at the right hand of the emperor-first, the king of Bohemia, as he is a crowned and anointed prince, and secondly, the count palatine of the Rhine. But on the left side, immediately after whichever of the aforesaid archbishops shall happen to sit on the left, the duke of Saxony shall have the first, and, after him, the margrave of Brandenburg the second place.
But so often and whenever the holy empire shall hereafter happen to be vacant, the archbishop of Mainz shall Men have the right, which he is known from of old to have had, of convoking the other princes, his aforesaid companions in the said election. And when all of them, or those who can and will be present, are assembled together at the term of the election, it shall pertain to the said archbishop of Mainz and to no other to call for the votes of these his co-electors, one by one in the following order. First, indeed, he shall interrogate the archbishop of Treves, to whom we declare that the first vote belongs, and to whom, as we find, it hitherto has belonged. Secondly, the archbishop of Cologne, to whom belongs the dignity and also the duty of first imposing the royal diadem on the king of the Romans. Thirdly, the king of Bohemia, who, rightly and duly, on account of the prestige of his royal dignity, has the first place among the lay electors. Fourthly, the count palatine of the Rhine. Fifthly, the duke of Saxony. Sixthly, the margrave of Brandenburg. Of all these the said archbishop of Mainz shall call for the votes in the aforesaid order. This being done, the aforesaid princes his companions, shall, in their turn, jail on him to express his own intention and to make known to them his vote. Moreover, when an imperial court is held, the margrave of Brandenburg shall present the water for washing the hands of the emperor or king of the Romans. And the king of Bohemia shall be the first to offer drink; but, according to the tenor of the privileges of his kingdom, he shall not be bound to offer it with his royal crown on, except of his own free will. The count palatine of the Rhine, moreover, shall be obliged to offer food, and the duke of Saxony shall perform the office of marshal as has been the custom from of old.
5. Concerning the right of the Count palatine and also of the duke of Saxony.
Whenever, moreover, as has been said before, the throne of the holy empire shall happen to be vacant, the illustrious count palatine of the Rhine, arch-steward of the holy empire, the right hand of the future king of the Romans in the districts of the Rhine and of Swabia and in the limits of Franconia, ought, by reason of his principality or by privilege of the county palatine, to be the administrator of the empire itself, with the power of passing judgments, of presenting to ecclesiastical benefices, of collecting returns and revenues and investing with fiefs, of receiving oaths of fealty for and in the name of the holy empire. All of these acts, however, shall, in due time, be renewed by the king of the Romans who is afterwards elected, and the oaths shall be sworn to him anew. The fiefs of princes are alone excepted, and those which are commonly called banner-fiefs: the conferring of which, and the investing, we reserve especially for the emperor or king of the Romans alone. The count palatine must know, nevertheless, that every kind of alienation or obligation of imperial possessions, in the time of such administration, is expressly forbidden to him. And we will that the illustrious king of Saxony, arch-marshal of the holy empire, shall enjoy the same right of administration in those places where the Saxon jurisdiction prevails, under all the modes and conditions that have been expressed above.
And although the emperor or king of the Romans, in matters concerning which he is called to account, has to answer before the count palatine of the Rhine and prince elector-as is is said to have been introduced by custom:- nevertheless the count palatine shall not be able to exercise that right of judging otherwise than in the imperial court, where the emperor or king of the Romans shall be present.
6. Concerning the comparison of prince electors with other, ordinary princes.
We decree that, in holding an imperial court, whenever in future one shall chance to be held, the aforesaid prince electors, ecclesiastical and secular, shall immutably hold their positions on the right and on the left-according to the prescribed order and manner. And no other prince of whatever standing, dignity, pre-eminence or condition be may be, shall in any way be preferred to them or anyone of them, in any acts relating to that court; in going there, while sitting or while standing. And it is distinctly declared that especially the king of Bohemia shall, in the holding of such courts, in each and every place and act aforesaid, immutably precede any other king, with whatsoever special prerogative of dignity he may be adorned, no matter what the occasion or cause for which he may happen to come or to be present.
7. Concerning the successors of the princes.
Among those innumerable cares for the well-being of the holy empire over which we, by God's grace, do happily reign-cares which daily try our heart,-our thoughts are chiefly directed to this: that union, desirable and always healthful, may continually flourish among the prince electors of the holy empire, and that the hearts of those men may be preserved in the concord of sincere charity, by whose timely care the disturbances of the world are the more easily and quickly allayed, the less error creeps in among them, and the more purely charity is observed, obscurity being removed and the rights of each one being clearly defined. It is, indeed, commonly known far and wide, and clearly manifest, as it were, throughout the whole world, that those illustrious men the king of Bohemia and the count palatine of the Rhine, the duke of Saxony and the margrave of Brandenburg, have-the one by reason of his kingdom, the others of their principalities, -together with the ecclesiastical princes their co-electors, their right, vote and place in the election of the king of the Romans and prospective emperor. And, together with the spiritual princes, they are considered and are the true and lawful. prince electors of the holy empire. Lest, in future, among the sons of these same secular prince electors, matter for scandal and dissension should arise concerning the above right, vote and power, and the common welfare be thus jeopardized by dangerous delays, we, wishing by God's help to wholesomely obviate future dangers, do establish with imperial authority and decree, By the present ever-to-be-valid law, that when these same secular prince electors, or any of them, shall die, the right, vote and power of thus electing shall, freely and without the contradiction of any one, devolve on his first born, legitimate, lay son; but, if he be not living, on the son of this same first born son, if he be a layman. If, however, such first born son shall have departed from this world without leaving male legitimate lay heirs,-by virtue of the present imperial edict, the right, vote and aforesaid power of electing shall devolve upon the elder lay brother descended by the true paternal line, and thence upon his first born lay son. And such succession of the first born sons, and of the heirs of these same princes, to their right, vote and power, shall be observed in all future time; under such rule and condition, however, that if a prince elector, or his first born or eldest lay son, should happen to die leaving male, legitimate, lay heirs who are minors, then the eldest of the brothers of that elector, or of his first born son, shall be their tutor and administrator until the eldest of them shall have attained legitimate age. Which age we wish to have considered, and we decree that it shall be considered, eighteen full years in the case of prince electors; and, when they shall have attained this, the guardian shall straightway be obliged to resign to them completely, together with his office, the right, vote and power, and all that these involve. But if any such principality should happen to revert to the holy empire, the then emperor or king of the Romans should and may to dispose of it as of a possession which has lawfully devolved upon himself and the empire. Saving always the privileges, rights and customs of our kingdom of Bohemia concerning the election, through its subjects, of a king in case of a vacancy. For they have the right of electing the king of Bohemia; such election to be made according to the contents of those privileges obtained from the illustrious emperors or kings of the Romans, and according to long observed custom; to which privileges we wish to do no violence by an imperial edict of this kind. On the contrary we decree that, now and in all future time, they shall have undoubted power and validity as to all their import and as to their form.
8. Concerning the immunity of the king of Bohemia and his subjects.
Inasmuch as, through our predecessors the divine emperors and kings of the Romans, it was formerly graciously conceded and allowed to our progenitors and predecessors the illustrious kings of Bohemia, also to the kingdom of Bohemia and to the crown of that same kingdom; and was introduced, without hindrance of contradiction or interruption, into that kingdom at a time to which memory does not reach back, by a laudable custom preserved unshaken by length of time, and called for by the character of those who enjoy it; that no prince, baron, noble, knight, follower, burgher, citizen-in a word no person belonging to that kingdom and its dependencies wherever they may be, no matter what his standing, dignity, pre-eminence, or condition-might, or in all future time may, be cited, or dragged or summoned, at the instance of any plaintiff whatsoever, before any tribunal beyond that kingdom itself other than that of the king of Bohemia and of the judges of his royal court: therefore of certain knowledge, by the imperial authority and from the plenitude of imperial power, we renew and also confirm such privilege, custom and favour; and by this our imperial forever-to be-valid edict do decree that if, contrary to the said privilege, custom, or favour, any one of the foregoing-namely, any prince, baron, noble, knight, follower, citizen, burgher, or rustic, or any aforementioned person whatever-at any time be cited in any civil, criminal, or mixed case, or concerning any matter, before the tribunal of any one outside the said-kingdom of Bohemia, he shall not at all be bound to appear when summoned, or to answer before the court. But if it shall chance that, against any such person or persons not appearing, by any judge outside of that kingdom of Bohemia no matter what his authority, judicial proceedings are instituted, a trial is carried on, or one or more intermediate or final sentences are passed and promulgated: by the aforesaid authority, and also from the plentitude of the aforesaid imperial power, we declare utterly vain, and do annul such citations, commands, proceedings and sentences, also the carrying out of them and everything which may in any way be attempted or done in consequence of them or any one of them. And we expressly add and, by the same authority and from the fulness of the aforesaid power, do decree by an ever-to-be-valid imperial edict that, just as it has been continually observed from time immemorial in the aforesaid kingdom of Bohemia, so, henceforth, no prince, baron, noble, knight, follower, citizen, burgher, or rustic-in short no person or inhabitant of the oft-mentioned kingdom of Bohemia, whatever be his standing, pre-eminence, dignity, or condition-may be allowed to appeal to any other tribunal from any proceedings, provisional or final sentences, or ordinances of the king of Bohemia or of his judges, instituted or promulgated, or henceforth to be instituted or promulgated against him, in the royal court or before tribunals of the king, the kingdom or the aforesaid judges. Nor may he appeal against the putting into execution of the same Provocations or appeals of this kind, moreover, if any, contrary to this edict, should chance to be brought, shall of their own accord be invalid; and those appealing shall know that, by the act itself, they have incurred the penalty of loss of their case.
9. Concerning mines of gold, silver and other specie.
We establish by this ever-to-be-valid decree, and of certain knowledge do declare that our successors the kings of Bohemia, also each and all future prince electors, ecclesiastical and secular, may justly hold and lawfully possess- with all their rights without exception, according as such things can be, or usually have been possessed-all the gold and silver mines and mines of tin, copper, lead, iron and any other kind of metal, and also of salt: the king, those which have been found, and which shall at any future time be found, in the aforesaid kingdom and the lands and dependencies of that kingdom,-and the aforesaid electors in their principalities, lands, domains and dependencies. And they may also have the Jew taxes and enjoy the tolls which have been decreed and assigned to them in the past, and whatever our progenitors the kings of Bohemia of blessed memory, and these same prince electors and their progenitors and predecessors shall have legally possessed until now; as is known to have been observed by ancient custom, laudable and approved, and sanctioned by the lapse of a very long period of time.
10. Concerning money.
(1) We decree, moreover, that our successor, the king for the time being of Bohemia, shall have the same right which our predecessors the kings of Bohemia of blessed memory are known to have had, and in the continuous peaceful possession of which they remained: the right, namely, in every place and part of their kingdom, and of the lands subject to them, and of all their dependencies- wherever the king himself may have decreed and shall please-of coining gold and silver money and of circulating it in every way and manner observed up to this time in this same kingdom of Bohemia in such matters. (2) And, by this our imperial ever-to-be-valid decree and favour we establish, that all future kings of Bohemia forever shall have the right of buying or purchasing, or of receiving in gift or donation for any reason, or in bond, from any princes, magnates, counts or other persons, any lands, castles, possessions, estates or goods, under the usual conditions with regard to such lands, castles, possessions, estates or goods: that, namely, alods shall be bought or received as alods, freeholds as freeholds; that holdings in feudal dependency shall be bought as fiefs, and shall be held as such when bought. In such wise, however, that the kings of Bohemia shall themselves be bound to regard and to render to the holy empire its pristine and customary rights over these things (lands, etc.) which they shall, in this way, have bought or received, and have seen fit to add to the kingdom of Bohemia. (3) We will, moreover, that the present decree and favour, by virtue of this our present imperial law, be fully extended to all the elector princes, ecclesiastical as well as secular, and to their successors and lawful heirs, under all the foregoing forms and conditions.
11. Concerning the immunity of the prince electors.
We also decree that no counts, barons, nobles, feudal vassals, knights of castles, followers, citizens, burghers- indeed, no male or female subjects at all of the Cologne, Mainz and Treves churches, whatever their standing, condition or dignity-could in past times, or may or can in future be summoned at the instance of any plaintiff whatsoever, beyond the territory and boundaries and limits of these same churches and their dependencies, to any other tribunal or the court of any other person than the archbishops of Mainz, Treves and Cologne and their judges. And this we find was the observance in the past. But if contrary to our present edict, one or more of the aforesaid subjects of the Treves, Mainz or Cologne churches should chance to be summoned, at the instance of any one whatever, to the tribunal of any one beyond the territory, limits or bounds of the said churches or of any one of them, for any criminal, civil or mixed case, or in any matter at all: they shall not in the least be compelled to appear or respond. And we decree that the summons, and the proceedings, and the provisional and final sentences already sent or passed, or in future to be sent or passed against those not appearing, by such extraneous judges, -furthermore their ordinances, and the carrying out of the above measures, and all things which might come to pass, be attempted or be done through them or any one of them, shall be void of their own accord. And we expressly add that no count, baron, noble, feudal vassal, knight of a castle, citizen, peasant-no person, in short, subject to such churches or inhabiting the lands of the same, whatever be his standing, dignity or condition-shall be allowed to appeal to any other tribunal from the proceedings, the provisional and final sentences, or the ordinances-or the putting into effect of the same-of such archbishops and their churches, or of their temporal officials, when such proceedings, sentences or ordinances shall have been, or shall in future be held, passed or made against him in the court of the archbishops or of the aforesaid officials. Provided that justice has not been denied to those bringing plaint in the courts of the aforesaid archbishops and their officials. But appeals against this statute shall not, we decree, be received; we declare them null and void. In case of defect of justice, however, it is allowed to all the aforementioned persons to appeal, but only to the imperial court and tribunal or directly to the presence of the judge presiding at the time in the imperial court. And, even in case of such defect, those to whom justice has been denied may not appeal to any other judge, whether ordinary or delegated. And whatever shall Have been done contrary to the above shall be void of its own accord. And, by virtue of this our present imperial law, we will that this statute be fully extended, under all the preceding forms and conditions, to those illustrious men the count palatine of the Rhine, the duke of Saxony, the margrave of Brandenburg,-the secular or lay prince electors, their heirs, successors and subjects.
12. Concerning the coming together of the princes.
In view of the manifold cares of state with which our mind is constantly distracted, after much consideration our sublimity has found that it will be necessary for the prince electors of the holy empire to come together more frequently than has been their custom, to treat of the safety of that same empire and of the world. For they, the solid bases and immovable columns of the empire, according as they reside at long distances from each other, just so are able to report and confer concerning the impending defects of the districts known to them, and are not ignorant how, by the wise counsels of their providence, they may aid in the necessary reformation of the same. Hence it is that, in the solemn court held by our highness at Nuremberg together with the venerable ecclesiastical and illustrious secular prince electors, and many other princes and nobles, we, having deliberated with those same prince electors and followed their advice, have seen fit to ordain, together with the said prince electors, ecclesiastical as well as secular, for the common good and safety: that these same prince electors, once every year, when four weeks, counting continuously from the Easter feast of the Lord's resurrection, are past, shall personally congregate in some city of the holy empire; and that when next that date shall come round, namely, in the present year, a colloquium, or court, or assembly of this kind, shall be held by us and these same princes in our imperial city of Metz. And then, and henceforth on any day of an assembly of this kind, the place where they shall meet the following year shall be fixed upon by us with their counsel. And this our ordinance is to endure just so long as it may be our and their good pleasure. And, so long as it shall endure, we take them under our imperial safe conduct when going to, remaining at, and also returning from said court. Moreover, lest the transactions for the common safety and peace be retarded, as is sometimes the case, by the delay and hinderance of diversion or the excessive Frequenting of feasts, we have thought best to ordain, by concordant desire, that henceforth, while the said court or congregation shall last, no one may be allowed to give general entertainments for all the princes. Special ones, however, which do no impede the transaction of business, may be permitted in moderation.
13. Concerning the revocation of privileges.
Moreover we establish, and by this perpetual imperial edict do decree, that no privileges or charters concerning any rights, favours, immunities, customs or other things, conceded, of our own accord or otherwise, under any form of words, by us or our predecessors of blessed memory the divine emperors or kings of the Romans, or about to be conceded in future by us or our successors the Roman emperors and kings, to any persons of whatever standing, pre-eminence or dignity, or to the corporation of cities, towns, or any places: shall or may, in any way at all, derogate from the liberties, jurisdictions, rights, honours or dominions of the ecclesiastical and secular prince electors; even if in such privileges and charters of any persons, whatever their pre-eminence, dignity or standing, as has been said, or of corporations of this kind, it shall have been, or shall be in future, expressly cautioned that they shall not be revokable unless, concerning these very points and the whole tenor included in them, special mention word for word and in due order shall be made in such revocation. For such privileges and charters, if, and in as far as, they are considered to derogate in any way from the liberties, jurisdictions, rights, honours or dominions of the said prince electors, or any one of them, in so far we revoke them of certain knowledge and cancel them, and decree, from the plenitude of our imperial power, that they shall be considered and held to be revoked.
14. Concerning those from whom, as being unworthy, their feudal Possessions are taken away.
In very many places the vassals and feudatories of lords unseasonably renounce or resign, verbally and fraudulently, fiefs or benefices which they hold from those same lords. And, having made such resignation, they maliciously challenge those same lords, and declare enmity against them, subsequently inflicting grave harm upon them. And, under pretext of war or hostility, they again invade and occupy benefices and fiefs which they had thus renounced, and hold possession of them. Therefore we establish, by the present ever-to-be-valid decree, that such renunciation or resignation shall be considered as not having taken place, unless it shall have been freely and actual]v Elude by them in such way that possession of such benefices and fiefs shall be personally and actually given over to those same lords so fully that, at no future time, shall they, either through themselves or through others, by sending challenges, trouble those same lords as to the goods, fiefs or benefices resigned; nor shall they lend counsel, aid or favour to this end. He who acts otherwise, and in any way invades his lords as to benefices and fiefs, resigned or not resigned, or disturbs them, or brings harm upon them, or furnishes counsel, aid or favour to those doing this: shall, by the act itself, lose such fiefs and benefices, shall be dishonoured and shall underlie the bann of the empire; and no approach or return to such fiefs or benefices shall be open to him at any time in future, nor may the same be granted to him anew under any conditions; and a concession of them, or an investiture which takes place contrary to this, shall have no force. Finally, by virtue of this present edict, we decree I that he or they who, not having made such resignation as I we have described, acting Fraudulently against his or their lords, shall knowingly invade them-whether a challenge has previously been sent or has been omitted,-shall, by the act itself, incur all the aforesaid punishments.
15. Concerning conspiracies.
Furthermore we reprobate, condemn, and of certain knowledge declare void, all conspiracies, detestable and frowned upon by the sacred laws and conventicles, or unlawful assemblies in the cities and out of them, and associations between city and city, between person and person or between a person and a city, under pretext of clientship, or reception among the citizens, or of any other reason; furthermore the confederations and pacts-and the usage which has been introduced with regard to such things, which we consider to be corruption rather than any thing else-which cities or persons, of whatever dignity, condition or standing, shall have thus far made and shall presume to make in future, whether among themselves or with others, without the authority of the lords whose subjects or serving-men they are, those same lords being expressly excluded. And it is clear that such are prohibited and declared void by the sacred laws of the divine emperors our predecessors. Excepting alone those confederations and leagues which princes, cities and others are known to have formed among themselves for the sake of the general peace of the provinces and lands. Reserving these for our special declaration, we ordain that they shall remain in full vigour until we shall decide to ordain otherwise concerning them. And we decree that, henceforth, each individual person who, contrary to the tenor of the present decree, and of the ancient law issued re~arding this, shall presume to enter into such confederations, leagues, conspiracies and pacts, shall incur, besides the penalty of that law, a mark of infamy and a penalty of ten pounds of gold. But a city or community similarly breaking this our law shall, we decree, by the act itself incur the penalty of a hundred pounds of gold, and also the loss and privation of the imperial liberties and privileges; one half of such pecuniary penalty to go to the imperial fisc, the other to the territorial lord to whose detriment the conspiracies, etc., were formed.
16. Concerning pfalburgers.
Moreover since some citizens and subjects of princes, barons and other men-as frequent complaint has shown us,-seeking to cast off the yoke of their original subjection, nay, with bold daring despising it, manage, and frequently in the past have managed to be received among the citizens of other cities; and, nevertheless, actually residing in the lands, cities, towns and estates of the former lords whom they so fraudulently presume or have presumed to desert, succeed in enjoying the liberties of the cities to which they thus transfer themselves and in being protected by them-being what is usually called in common language in Germany "pfalburgers": therefore, since fraud and deceit ought not to shelter any one, from the plenitude of the imperial power and by the wholesome advice of all the ecclesiastical and secular prince electors, we establish of certain knowledge, and, by the present ever-to-be-valid law do decree, that in all territories, places, and provinces of the holy empire, from the present day on, the aforesaid citizens and subjects thus eluding those under whom they are, shall in no way possess the rights and liberties of those cities among whose citizens they contrive, or have contrived, by such fraudulent means to be received; unless, bodily and actually going over to such cities and there taking up their domicile, making a continued, true and not fictitious stay, they submit to their due burdens and municipal functions in the same. But if any, contrary to the tenor of our present law, have been, or shall in future be received as citizens, their reception shall lack all validity, and the persons received, of whatever condition, or standing they may be shall, in no case or matter whatever, in any way exercise or enjoy the rights and liberties of the cities into which they contrive to be received. Any rights, privileges, or observed customs, at whatever time obtained, to the contrary notwithstanding; all of which, in so far as they are contrary to our present law, we, by these presents, revoke of certain knowledge, decreeing from the plenitude of the aforesaid imperial power that they lack all force and validity. For in all the aforesaid respects, the rights of the princes, lords and other men who chance, and shall in future chance, to be thus deserted, over the persons and goods of any subjects deserting them in the oft-mentioned manner, shall always be regarded. We decree, moreover, that those who, against the ordering of our present law, shall presume, or shall in the past have presumed, to receive the oft-mentioned citizens and subjects of other men, if they do not altogether dismiss them within a month after the present intimation has been made to them, shall, for such transgression, as often as they shall hereafter commit it, incur a fine of a hundred marks of pure gold, of which one half shall be applied without fail to our imperial fisc, and the rest to the lords of those who have been received as citizens.
17. Concerning challenges of defiance.
We declare that those who, in future, feigning to have just cause of defiance against any persons, unseasonably challenge them in places where they do not have their domicile, or which they do not inhabit in common, cannot with honour inflict any harm through fire, Foliation or rapine, on the challenged ones. And, since fraud and deceit should not shelter any one, we establish by the present ever-to-be-valid decree that challenges of this kind, thus made, or in future to be made by any one against any lords or persons to whom they were previously bound by companionship, familiarity or any honest friendship, shall not be valid; nor is it lawful, under pretext of any kind of challenge, to invade any one through fire, spoliation or rapine, unless the challenge, three natural days before, shall have been intimated personally to the challenged man himself, or publicly in the place where he has been accustomed to reside, where full credibility can be given, through suitable witnesses, to such an intimation. Whoever shall presume otherwise to challenge any one and to invade him in the aforesaid manner, shall incur, by the very act, the same infamy as if no challenge had been made; and we decree that he be punished as a traitor by his judges, whoever they are, with the lawful punishments.
We prohibit also each and every unjust war and feud, and all unjust burnings, spoliations and rapines, unlawful and unusual tolls and escorts, and the exactions usually extorted for such escorts, under the penalties by which the sacred laws prescribe that the foregoing offenses, and any one of them, are to be punished.
18. Letter of intimation.
To you, illustrious and magnificent prince, lord margrave of Brandenburg, arch-chamberlain of the holy empire, our co-elector and most dear friend, we intimate by these presents the election of the king of the Romans, which is about to take place on account of rational causes. And, as a duty of our office, we duly summon you to said election, bidding you within three months, counting continuously, from such and such a day, yourself, or in the person of one or more envoys or procurators having sufficient mandates, to be careful and come to the rightful place, according to the form of the holy laws issued concerning this, ready to deliberate, negotiate and come to an agreement with the other princes, yours and our co-electors, concerning the election of a future king of the Romans and, by God's favour, future emperor. And be ready to remain there until the full consummation of such election, and otherwise to act and proceed as is found expressed in the sacred laws carefully promulgated concerning this. Otherwise, notwithstanding your or your envoys' absence, we, together with our other co-princes and co-electors, shall take final measures in the aforesaid matters, according as the authority of those same laws has sanctioned.
19. Formula of representation sent by that prince elector who shall decide to send his envoys to carry on an election.
We . . . such a one by the grace of God, etc., of the holy empire, etc., do make known to all men by the tenor of these presents, that since, from rational causes, an election of a king of the Romans is about to be made, we, desiring to watch with due care over the honour and condition of the holy empire, lest it be dangerously subjected to so grave harm, inasmuch as we have the great confidence, as it were of an undoubted presumption, in the faith and circumspect zeal of our beloved . . . and . . ., faithful subjects of ours: do make, constitute and ordain them and each one of them, completely, in every right, manner and form in which we can or may do it most efficaciously and effectually, our true and lawful procurators and special envoys-so fully that the condition of him who is acting at the time shall not be better than that of the other, but that what has been begun by one may be finished and lawfully terminated by the other. And we empower them to treat wherever they please with the others, our co-princes and co-electors, ecclesiastical as well as secular, and to agree, decide and settle upon some person fit and suitable to be elected king of the Romans, and to be present, treat and deliberate in the transactions to be carried on concerning the election of such a person, for us and in our place and name; also, in our stead and name, to nominate such a person, and to consent to him, and also to raise him to be king of the Romans, to elect him to the holy empire, and to take, upon our soul, with regard to the foregoing or any one of the foregoing, whatever oath shall be necessary, requisite or customary. And we empower them to substitute altogether, as well as to recall, one or more other procurators who shall perform each and every act, included in and concerning the foregoing matters, that may be needful, useful, or even in any way convenient, even to the consummation of such negotiations, nomination, deliberation and impending election. Even if the said matters, or any one of them, shall require a special mandate; even if they shall turn out to be greater or more especial than the above mentioned; provided that we could have performed them ourselves had we been present personally at the carrying on of such negotiations, deliberation, nomination and eventual election. And we consider, and wish to consider, and firmly promise that we always will consider satisfactory and valid any thing done, transacted or accomplished, or in any way ordained, in the aforesaid matters or in any one of them, by our aforesaid procurators or envoys, or their substitutes, or by those whom the latter shall substitute.
20. Concerning the Laity of the electoral principalities and of the rights connected with them.
Since each and all the principalities, by virtue of which the secular prince electors are known to hold their right and vote in the election of the king of the Romans and prospective emperor, are so joined and inseparably united with such right of election, also with the offices, dignities and other rights connected with each and every such principality and dependent from it, that the right, vote, office and dignity, and all other privileges belonging to each of these same principalities may not devolve upon any other than upon him who is recognized as possessing that principality itself, with all its lands, vassalages, fiefs and domains, and all its appurtenances: we decree, by the present ever-to-be valid imperial edict, that each of the said principalities, with the right and vote and duty of election, and with all other dignities, rights and appurtenances concerning the same, ought so to continue and to be, indivisibly and for all time, united and joined together, that the possessor of any principality ought also to rejoice in the quiet and free possession of its right, vote and office, and dignity, and all the appurtenances that go with it, and to be considered prince elector by all. And he himself, and no one else, ought at all times to be called in and admitted by the other prince electors, without any contradiction whatever, to the election and to all other transactions to be carried on for the honour or welfare of the holy empire. Nor, since they are and ought to be inseparable, may any one of the said rights, etc., be divided from the other, or at any time be separated, or be separately demanded back, in court or out of it, or distrained, or, even by a decision of the courts, be separated; nor shall any one obtain a hearing who claims one without the other. But if, through error or otherwise, any one shall have obtained a hearing, or proceedings, judgment, sentence or any thing of the kind shall have taken place, or shall chance in any way to have been attempted, contrary to this our present decree: all this, and all consequences of such proceedings, etc., and of any one of them, shall be void of their own accord.
21. Concerning the order of marching, as regards the archbishops.
Inasmuch as we saw fit above, at the beginning of our present decrees, fully to provide for the order of seating of the ecclesiastical prince electors in council, and at table and elsewhere, whenever, in future, an imperial court should chance to be held, or the prince electors to assemble together with the emperor or king of the Romans-as to which order of seating we have heard that in former times discussions often arose: so, also, do we find it expedient to fix, with regard to them, the order of marching and walking. Therefore, by this perpetual imperial edict, we decree that, as often as, in an assembly of the emperor or king of the Romans and of the aforesaid princes, the emperor or king of the Romans shall be walking, and it shall happen that the insignia are carried in front of him, the archbishop of Treves shall walk in a direct diametrical line in front of the emperor or l;ing, and those alone shall walk in the middle space between them, who shall happen to carry the imperial or royal insignia. When, however, the emperor or king shall advance without those same insignia, then that same archbishop shall precede the emperor or king in the aforesaid manner, but so that no one at all shall be in the middle between them; the other two archiepiscopal electors always keeping their places-as with regard to the seating above explained, so with regard to walking-according to the privilege of their provinces.
22. Concerning the order of proceeding of the prince electors, and by whom the insignia shall be carried.
In order to fix the order of proceeding, which we mentioned above, of the prince electors in the presence of the emperor or king of the Romans when he is walking, we decree that, so often as, while holding an imperial court, the prince electors shall, in the performance of any functions or solemnities, chance to walk in procession with the emperor or king of the Romans, and the imperial or royal insignia are to be carried: the duke of Saxony carrying the imperial or royal sword, shall directly precede the emperor or king, and shall place himself in the middle between him and the archbishop of Treves. But the count palatine, carrying the imperial orb, shall march in the same line on the right side, and the margrave of Brandenburg, bearing the sceptre, on the left side of the same duke of Saxony. But the king of Bohemia shall directly follow the emperor or king himself, no one intervening.
23. Concerning the benedictions of the archbishops in the presence of the emperor.
Furthermore, so often as it shall come to pass that the ceremony of the mass is celebrated in the presence of the emperor or king of the Romans and that the archbishops of Mainz, Treves and Cologne, or two of them, are present, -in the confession which is usually said before the mass, and in the presenting of the gospel to be kissed, and in the blessing to be said after the i' A gnus Dei," also in the benedictions to be said after the end of the mass, and also in those said before meals, and in the thanks to be offered after the food has been partaken of, the following order shall be observed among them, as we have seen fit to ordain by their own advice: namely, on the first day each and all of these shall be done by the first of the archbishops, on the second by the second, on the third, by the third. But we will that first, second and third shall be understood in this case, according as each one of them was consecrated at an earlier or later date. And, in order that they may mutually make advances to each other with worthy and becoming honour, and may give an example to others of mutual respect, he whose turn it is according to the aforesaid, shall, without regard to that fact, and with charitable intent, invite the other to officiate; and, not till he has done this, shall he proceed to perform the above, or any of the above functions.
24.
(1) If any one, together with princes, knights or pri. vases or also any plebeian persons, shall enter into an unhallowed conspiracy, or shall take the oath of such conspiracy, concerning the death of our and the holy Roman empire's venerable and illustrious prince electors, ecclesiastical as well as secular, or of any one of them-for they also are part of our body; and the laws have decided that the intention of a crime is to be punished with the same severity as the carrying out of it:-he, indeed, shall die by the sword as a traitor, all his goods being handed over to our fisc. (2) But his sons, to whom, by special imperial lenity, we grant their life-for those ought to perish by the same punishment as their father, whose portion is the example of a paternal, that is of a hereditary crime-shall be without share in any inheritance or suceession from the mother 'or grandparents, or even from relatives; they shall receive nothing from other people's wills, and shall be always poor and in want; the infamy of their father shall always follow them, and they shall never achieve any honour or be allowed to take any oath at all; in a word they shall be such that to them, grovelling in perpetual misery, death shall be a solace and life a punishment. (3) Finally we command that those shall be made notorious, and shall be without pardon who shall ever try to intervene with us for such persons. (4) But to the daughters, as many of them as there are, of such conspirators, we will that there shall go only the "falcidia"-the fourth part of the property of the mother if she die intestate; so that they may rather have the moderate alimony of a daughter, than the entire emolument or name of an heir;-for the sentence ought to be milder in the case of those who, as we trust, on account of the infirmity of their sex, are less likely to make daring attempts. (I) Deeds of gift, moreover, made out to either sons or daughters by the aforesaid persons, after the passing of this law, shall not be valid. (6) Dotations and donations of any possessions; likewise, in a word, all transfers which shall prove to have been made, by any fraud or by right, after the time when first the aforesaid people conceived the idea of entering into a conspiracy or union, shall, we decree, be of no account. (7) But the wives of the aforesaid conspirators, having recovered their dowry-if they shall be in a condition to reserve for their children that which they shall have received from their husbands under the name of a gift,-shall know that, from the time when their usufruct ceases, they are to leave to our fisc all that which, according to the usual law, was due to their children. (8) And the fourth part of such property shall be put aside for the daughters alone, not also for the sons. (9) That which we have provided concerning the aforesaid conspirators and their children, we also decree with like severity, concerning their followers, accomplices and aiders, and the children of these. (10) But if any one of these, at the beginning of the formation of a conspiracy, inflamed by zeal for the right kind of glory, shall himself betray the conspiracy, he shall be enriched by us with reward and honour; he, moreover, who shall have been active in the conspiracy, if, even late, he disclose secret plans which were, indeed, hitherto unknown,- t. shall nevertheless be deemed worthy of absolution and pardon. (11) We decree, moreover, that if anything be said to have been committed against the aforesaid prince electors, ecclesiastical or secular,-even after the death of the accused that charge can be instituted.' (12) Likewise in such a charge, which regards high treason against his prince electors, slaves shall be tortured even in a case concerning the life of their master. (13) We will, furthermore, and do decree by the present imperial edict, that even after the death of the guilty persons this charge can be instituted, and, if some one already convicted die, his memory shall be condemned and Lois goods taken away from his heirs. (14) For from the time when any one conceived so wicked a plot, from then on he has to some extent been punished mentally; but from the time when any one drew down upon himself such a charge, we decree that he may neither alienate nor release, nor may any debtor lawfully make payment to him. (15) For in this case we decree that slaves may be tortured in a matter involving the life of their master; that is, in the case of a damnable conspiracy against the prince electors, ecclesiastical and secular, as has been said before. (16) And if any one should die, on account of the uncertain person of his successor his goods shall be held, if he be proved to have died in a case of this kind.
25.
If it is fitting that other principalities be preserved in their entirety, in order that justice may be enforced and faithful subjects rejoice in peace and quiet: much more ought the magnificent principalities, dominions, honours and rights of the elector princes to be kept intact-for where greater danger is imminent a stronger remedy should be applied,-lest, if the columns fall, the support of the whole edifice be destroyed. We decree, therefore, and sanction, by this edict to be perpetually valid, that from now on unto all future time the distinguished and magnificent principalities, viz.: the kingdom of Bohemia, the county palatine of the Rhine, the duchy of Saxony and the margravate of Brandenburg, their lands, territories, homages or vassalages, and any other things pertaining to them, may not be cut, divided, or under any condition dismembered, but shall remain forever in their perfect entirety. The first born son shall succeed to them, and to him alone shall jurisdiction and dominion belong, unless he chance to be of unsound mind, or idiotic, or have some other marked and known defect on account of which he could not or should not rule over men. In which case, he being prevented from succeeding, we will that the second born, if there should be one in that family, or another elder brother or lay relative, the nearest on the father's side in a straight line of descent, shall have the succession. He, however, shall always show himself clement and gracious to the others, his brothers and sisters, according to the favour shown him by God, and according to his best judgment and the amount of his patrimony,-division, partition or dismemberment of the principality and its appurtenances being in every way forbidden to him.
On the day upon which a solemn imperial or royal court is to be held, the ecclesiastical and secular prince electors shall, about the first hour, come to the imperial or royal place of abode, and there the emperor or king shall be clothed in all the imperial insignia; and, mounting their horses, all shall go with the emperor or king to the place fitted up for the session, and each one of them shall go in the order and manner fully defined above in the law concerning the order of marching of those same prince electors. The arch-chancellor, moreover, in whose arch-chancellorship this takes place, shall carry, besides the silver staff, all the imperial or royal seals and signets. But the secular prince electors, according to what has above been explained, shall carry the sceptre, orb and sword. And immediately before the archbishop of Treves, marching in his proper place, shall be carried first the crown of Aix and second that of Milan: and this directly in front of the emperor already resplendent with the imperial adornments; and these crowns shall be carried by some lesser princes, to be chosen for this by the emperor according to his will. The empress, moreover, or queen of the Romans, clad in her imperial insignia, joined by her nobles and escorted by her maids of honour, shall proceed to the place of session after the king or emperor of the Romans, and also, at a sufficient interval of space, after the king of Bohemia, who immediately follows the emperor.
27. Concerning the offices of the prince electors in the solemn courts of the emperors or kings of the Romans.
We decree that whenever the emperor or king of the Romans shall hold his solemn courts, in which the prince electors ought to serve or to perform their offices, the following order shall be observed in these matters. First, then the emperor or king having placed himself on the royal seat or imperial throne, the duke of Saxony shall fulfil his office in this manner: before the building where the imperial or royal session is being held, shall be placed a heap of oats so high that it shall reach to the breast or girth of the horse on which the duke himself shall sit; and he shall have in his hand a silver staff and a silver measure, which, together, shall weigh 12 marks of silver; and, sitting upon his horse, he shall first fill that measure with oats, and shall offer it to the first slave who appears. This being done, fixing his staff in the oats, he shall retire; and his vice-marshal, namely, he of Pappenheim, approaching-or, in his absence,the marshal! of the court,- shall further distribute the oats. But when the emperor or king shall have gone into table, the ecclesiastical prince electors-namely the archbishops,-standing before the table with the other prelates, shall bless the same according to the order above prescribed; and, the benediction over, all those same archbishops if they are present, otherwise two or one, shall receive from the chancellor of the court the imperial or royal seals and signets, and he in whose arch chancellorship this court happens to be held advancing in the middle, and the other two joining him on either side, shall carry those seals and signets-all touching with their hands the staff on which they have been suspended-and shall reverently place them on the table before the emperor or king. The emperor or king, however, shall straightway restore the same to them, and he in whose arch-chancellorate this takes place, as has been said, shall carry the great seal appended to his neck until the end of the meal, and after that until, riding from the imperial or royal court, he shall come to his dwelling place. The staff, moreover, that we spoke of shall be of silver, equal in weight to twelve marks of slaver; of which silver, and of which price, each of those same archbishops shall pay one third; and that staff afterwards, together well the seals and signets, shall be assigned to the chancellor of the imperial court to be put to what use he pleases. But after he whose turn it has been, carrying the great seal, shall, as described, have returned from the imperial court to his dwelling place, he shall straightway send that seal to the said chancellor of the imperial court. This he shall do through one of his servants riding on such a horse as, according to what is becoming to his own dignity, and according to the love which he shall bear to the chancellor of the court, he shall be bound to present to that chancellor.
Then the margrave of Brandenburg, the arch-chamberlain, shall approach on horseback, having in his hands silver basins with water, of the weight of twelve marks of silver, and a beautiful towel; and, descending from his horse, he shall present the water to the lord emperor or king of the Romans to wash his hands. The count palatine of the Rhine shall likewise enter on horseback, having in his hands four silver dishes filled with food, of which each one shall be worth three marks; and, descending from his horse, he shall carry them and place them on the table before the emperor or king After this, likewise on horseback, shall come the king of Bohemia, the arch-cupbearer, carrying in his hands a silver cup. or goblet of the weight of twelve marks, covered, filled with a mixture of wine and water; and, descending from his horse, he shall offer that cup to the emperor or king of the Romans to drink from.
Moreover, as we learn it to have hitherto been observed so we decree, that, after their aforesaid offices have been performed by the secular prince electors, he of Falkenstein the sub-chamberlain, shall receive for himself the horse and basins of the margrave of Brandenburg; he of Northemburg, master of the kitchen, the horse and dishes of the count palatine; he of Limburg, the vice-cupbearer, the horse and cup of the king of Bohemia; he of Pappenhelm, the vice-marshal, the horse, staff and aforesaid measure of the duke of Saxony. That is, if these be present at such imperial or royal court, and if each one of them minister in his proper office. But if they, or any one of them, should see fit to absent themselves from the said court, then those who daily minister at the imperial or royal court shall, in place of the absent ones,-each one, namely, in place of that absent one with whom he has his name and office in common,-enjoy the fruits with regard to the aforesaid functions, inasmuch as they perform the duties.
28.
Moreover the imperial or royal table ought so to be arranged that it shall be elevated above the other tables in the hall by a height of six feet. And at it, on the day of a solemn court, shall sit no one at all except alone the emperor or king of the Romans. But the seat and table of the empress or queen shall be prepared to one side in the hall, so that that table shall be three feet lower than the imperial or royal table, and as many feet higher than the seats of the prince electors; which princes shall have their seats and tables at one and the same altitude among themselves. Within the imperial place of session tables shall be prepared for the seven prince electors, ecclesiastical and secular,-three, namely, on the right, and three others on the left, and the seventh directly opposite the face of the emperor or king, as has above been more clearly defined by us in the chapter concerning the seating and precedence of the prince electors; in such wise, also, that no one else, of whatever dignity or standing he may be, shall sit among them or at their table.
Moreover it shall not be allowed to any one of the aforesaid secular prince electors, when the duty of his office has been performed, to place himself at the table prepared for him so long as any one of his fellow prince electors has still to perform his office. But when one or more of them shall have finished their ministry, they shall pass to the tables prepared for them, and, standing before them, shall wait until the others have fulfilled the aforesaid duties; and then, at length, one and all shall place themselves at the same time before the tables prepared for them.
29.
We find, moreover, from the most renowned accounts and traditions of the ancients that, from time immemorial it has been continuously observed by those who have felicitously preceded us, that the election of the king of the Romans and future emperor should be held in the city of Frankfort, and the first coronation in Aix, and that his first imperial court should be celebrated in the town of Nuremberg. Wherefore on sure grounds, we declare that the said usages should also be observed in future, unless a lawful impediment should stand in the way of them or any one of them. Whenever, furthermore, any prince elector, ecclesiastical or secular, detained by a just impediment, and not able to come when summoned to the imperial court, shall send an envoy or procurator, of whatever dignity or standing,-that envoy, although, according to the mandate given him by his master, he ought to be admitted in the place of him who sends him, shall, nevertheless, not sit at the table or in the seat intended for him - who sent him. Moreover when those matters shall have been settled which were at that time to be disposed of in any imperial or royal court, the master of the court shall receive for himself the whole structure or wooden apparatus of the imperial or royal place of session, where the emperor or lying of the Romans shall have sat with the prince electors to hold his solemn court, or, as has been said, to confer fiefs on the princes.
30. Concerning the rights of the officials when princes receive their fiefs from the emperor or king of the Romans.
We decree by this imperial edict that the prince electors, ecclesiastical and secular, when they receive their fiefs or regalia from the emperor or king, shall not at all be bound to give or pay anything to anybody. For the money which is paid under such a pretext is due to the officials; but since, indeed, the prince electors themselves are at the head of all the offices of the imperial court, having also their substitutes in such offices, furnished for this by the Roman princes, and paid,-it would seem absurd if substituted officials, under cover of any excuse whatever, should demand presents from their superiors; unless, perchance, those same prince electors, freely and of their own will, should give them something.
On the other hand, the other princes of the empire, ecclesiastical or secular,-when, in the aforesaid manner, any one of them receives his fiefs from the emperor or king of the Romans,-shall give to the officials of the imperial or royal court 63 marks of silver and a quarter, unless any one of them can protect himself by an imperial or royal privilege or grant, and can prove that he has paid or is exempt from such, or also from any other, payments usually made when receiving such fiefs. Moreover the master of the imperial or royal court shall make division of the 631 marks as follows: first reserving, indeed, 10 marks for himself, he shall give to the chancellor of the imperial or royal court 10 marks; to the masters, notaries, copyists, 3 marks; and to the sealer, for wax and parchment, one quarter. This with the understanding that the chancellor and notaries shall not be bound to do more than to give the prince receiving the fief a testimonial to the effect that he has received it, or a simple charter of investiture.
Likewise, from the aforesaid money, the master of the court shall give to the cupbearer, him of I`imburg, 10 marks; to the master of the kitchen, him of Northemburg, 10 marks; to the vice-marshal!, him of Pappenheim, 10 marks; and to the chamberlain, him of Falkenstein, 10 marks: under the condition, however, that they and each one of them are present and perform their offices in solemn courts of this kind. But if they or any one of them shall have been absent, then the officials of the imperial or royal court who perform these same offices, shall carry off the reward and the perquisites of those whose absence they make good, individual for individual, according as they fill their place, and bear their name, and perform their task.
When, moreover, any prince, sitting on a horse or other beast, shall receive his fiefs from the emperor or king, that horse or beast, of whatever kind he be, shall be the due of the highest marshal-that is, of the duke of Saxony if he shall be present. otherwise of him of Pappenheim, his vice-marshal!; or, in his absence, of the marshal! of the imperial or royal court.
31.
Inasmuch as the majesty of the holy Roman empire has to wield the laws and the government of diverse nations distinct in customs, manner of life, and in language, it is considered fitting, and, in the judgment of all wise men, expedient, that the prince electors, the columns and sides of that empire, should be instructed in the varieties of the different dialects and languages: so that they who assist the imperial sublimity in relieving the wants of very many people, and who are constituted for the sake of keeping watch, should understand, and be understood by, as many as possible. Wherefore we decree that the sons, or heirs and successors of the illustrious prince electors, namely of the king of Bohemia, the count palatine of the Rhine, the duke of Saxony and the margrave of Brandenburg-since they are expected in all likelihood to have naturally acquired the German language, and to have been taught it from their infancy,-shall be instructed in the grammar of the Italian and Slavic tongues, beginning with the seventh Year of their age. so that, before the fourteenth year of their age, they may be learned in the same according to the grace granted them by God. For this is considered not only useful, but also, from the aforementioned causes, highly necessary, since those languages are wont to be very much employed in the service and for the needs of the holy empire, and in them the more arduous affairs of the empire are discussed. And, with regard to the above we lay down the following mode of procedure to be observed it shall be left to the option of the parents to send their sons, if they have any-or their relatives whom they consider as likely to succeed themselves in their principalities, -to places where they can be taught such languages, or, in their own homes, to give them teachers, instructors, and fellow youths skilled in the same, by whose conversation and teaching alike they may become versed in those languages.
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(4): THE EDICT OF PACIFICATION , (ewiger Landfriede)of 1495, on criminal justice :
Der Erlaß des Ewigen Landfriedens auf dem Reichstag zu Worms am 7.August 1495
1. Ende des Fehderechts in Deutschland. Von dem Tage der Verkündigung ab darf niemand, von was Würden, Stand und Wesen er sei, den Anderen befehden, bekriegen, berauben noch auch einige Schloß, Städt, Märkt absteigen oder ohne des Anderen Willen mit gewaltiger Tat freventlich einnehmen oder gefährlich mit Brand oder in anderem Wege beschädigen; auch niemand solchen Tätern Rat Hilfe oder in einer anderen Weise Beistand tun, auch sie wissentlich nicht beherbergen, äzen und tränken, sondern wer zu dem anderen zu sprechen vermeint, dersoll solches suchen und tun an den Enden und Gerichten, da die Sachen hiervor und jetzt in der Ordnung des Kammergerichts zu Austrag vertädinget seien.
2. Und darauf haben wir alle offene Fehde und Verwahrung durch das ganze Reich aufgehoben und abgetan.
3. Wer den Bestimmungen zuwiderhandelt, der soll „mit der Tat von Recht, zusammt anderen Pönen, in unsere und des heiligen Reichs Acht gefallen sein, die Wir auch hiermit in unsere und des heiligen Reichs Acht erkennen und erklären".
12. Und soll dieser Frieden und Gebot dem gemeinen unseren und des Reiches Recht und anderen Ordnungen und Geboten, vormals ausgegangen, nit abbrechen, sondern des mehreren und auf Stund jedermann nach dieser Verkündigung ihn zu halten schuldig sein.
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(5): THE ORDINANCES , ( Ordnungen ) of 1495 (revised 1555) and 1518 (revised 1654) on the courts of justice .
(6): THE CAPITULATIO CAESAREA , ( Wahlkapitulation ), issued at each election from 1519, consolidated in a perpetual edict in 1711.
(7): THE RELIGIOUS TREATIES , ( Passau 1552, Augsburg 1555 ) on religious toleration.
(8): THE CONCORDATS WITH THE HOLY SEE , Worms 1122 , Vienna 1448 :
Das Wormser Konkordat, 23. September 1122
a) Aus der Urkunde Heinrichs V. (Pactum Heinricianum):
„
Im Namen der Heiligen und unteilbaren Dreieinigkeit. Ich, Heinrich, von Gottes Gnaden erlauchter Kaiser der Römer, überlasse aus Liebe zu Gott und zur Heiligen Römischen Kirche und zu dem Herrn Papste Calixtus und um meines Seelenheils willen Gott und seinen heiligen Aposteln Petrus und Paulus und der Heiligen Katholischen Kirche jede Investitur mit Ring und Stab und gestatte, daß in allen Kirchen meines Königreiches und Kaiserreiches die Wahl auf kanonische Weise stattfinde und die Weihe frei sei. Die besitzungen und Regalien des Heiligen Petrus. die vom beginn dieses Streites bis auf den heutigen Tag, sei es zu meines Vaters oder auch zu meiner Zeit, genommen wurden, stelle ich, soweit ich sie habe, derselben Heiligen Römischen Kirche wieder zu die ich aber nicht besitze, werde ich getreulich zurückerstatten lassen, Auch die Besitzungen aller anderen Kirchen und Fürsten und anderer, Geistlicher wie Laien. um die in jenen Wirren die rechtmaßigen Besitzer gekommen sind, werde ich auf der Fürsten Rat und Gericht, soweit ich sie habe, zurückgeben; die ich aber nicht habe, zu deren Rückgabe werde ich getreulich helfen. Auch gebe ich wahren Frieden dem Herrn Papst Calixtus und der Heiligen Römischen Kirche und allen, die auf seiner Seite stehen oder gestanden haben. Und worin die Heilige Römische Kirche Hilfe verlangen wird, werde ich getreulich helfen und, worüber sie Klage vor mich bringt, ihr Recht verschaffen, wie es sich gebührt."
b) Aus der Urkunde CaIixts II. (Pactum CaIixtinum):
"Ich, Calixt, Bischof und Knecht der Knechte Gottes, gestatte Dir, meinem lieben Sohne Heinrich, von Gottes Gnaden erlauchter Kaiser der Römer, daß die Wahlen der Bischöfe und Äbte im deutschen Königreiche, soweit sie dazugehören, in Deiner Gegenwart stattfinden, aber ohne Simonie oder irgendwelche Gewalttätigkeit, so daß Du, wenn irgendwo zwischen den Parteien Zwietracht entstehen wird, auf des Metropoliten und der Mitbischöfe derselben Provinz Rat oder Entscheid dem verständigeren Teile Zustimmung und Hilfe gewährest. Der Gewählte aber soll von Dir durch das Zepter die Regalien empfangen, und was er daraus Dir rechtlich schuldet, soll er leisten. In den anderen Teilen des Reiches soll der Erwählte innerhalb von sechs Monaten nach der Weihe durch das Zepter die Regalien von Dir empfangen und die daraus fließenden Pflichten erfüllen; ausgenommen davon ist alles, was der Römischen Kirche gehört. Worüber Du mir aber Klage erheben und Hilfe verlangen wirst, da werde ich Dir nach meines Amtes Pflicht Beistand gewähren. Ich gebe wahren Frieden Dir und allen, welche auf Deiner Seite sind oder zur Zeit dieser Zwietracht gewesen sind."
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See Page Two: The Treaty of Westphalia 1648:
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"CHRISTUS VINCIT, CHRISTUS REGNAT,CHRISTUS IMPERIT,"
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