Holy Roman Emperor

Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
Flag of the Holy Roman Empire Otto I the first Emperor First emperor Otto ILast emperor Francis IIStyle Holy Roman Emperor Appointer Electors' CouncilEmperorship started 962Emperorship ended August 6, 1806

Coats of arms of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor from 1564 to 1576. The Emperors used the double-headed eagle as a symbol of their authority The Holy Roman Empire in the 14th century. (The colours indicate the main dynasties competing for the crown.

The Holy Roman Emperor (German: Römischer Kaiser or Römisch-Deutscher Kaiser, Latin: Romanorum Imperator) was the elected monarch ruling over the many varying numbers of states making up the Holy Roman Empire— a Central European feudal state in existence from the Early Middle Ages (962) into the Early Modern period until its dissolution during the Napoleonic Wars (1806). The Empire, whose Emperor was crowned as King of the Romans was based upon the Germanic territories of the Emperor Charlemange, and held by tradition to be his successors ruling its successor state. The last Emperor, Francis II of Austria and technically the Emperor-elect (candidates were initially elected by the Prince-Electors as King of the Germans)—as most were from the time of the Investiture Controversy in the 1070s–1080s, though styled as Emperors, most not having been crowned by the Roman Catholic Pope —dissolved the empire least the upstart conqueror Napoleon, be able to become emperor through controlling puppets that were the empires Prince-Electors.

1 Establishment of the Holy Roman Empire
2 Conflict with the Papacy
3 Succession
4 List of Emperors
5 Coronation
6 See also
7 References

By convention the first Emperor was taken to be the Saxon king Otto the Great, crowned as Emperor by Pope John XII on February 2, 962, although the Empire itself (as well as the style Holy Roman Emperor) did not come into use until some time later. Some have asserted that the first Emperor was Charlemagne (crowned in 800), but that claim was only made afterwards. Holy Roman Emperors were crowned by the Popes up until the 16th century, and the last Emperor, Francis II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empire's final dissolution.

The Roman of the Emperor's title was a reflection of the translatio imperii (transfer of rule) principle that regarded the (Germanic) Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, a title left unclaimed in the West after the death of Julius Nepos in 480.

Establishment of the Holy Roman Empire

From the time of Otto the Great onward, much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia became the Holy Roman Empire. The various German princes elected one of their peers as King of the Germans, after which he would be crowned as emperor by the Pope. The last emperor to be crowned by the pope was Charles V; all emperors after him were technically emperors-elect, but were universally referred to as Emperor.

Conflict with the Papacy

The title of Emperor (Imperator) carried with it an important role as protector of the Catholic Church, and women were ineligible to be crowned. As the papacy's power grew during the Middle Ages, Popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The most well-known and bitter conflict was that known as the Investiture Controversy fought during the 11th century between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII.

Succession

Successions to the kingship were controlled by a complicated mélange of factors. Elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of France, although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. Some scholars suggest that the task of the elections was really to solve conflicts only when the dynastic rule was unclear, yet, the process meant that the prime candidate had to make concessions, by which the voters were kept on side, which were known as Wahlkapitulationen (election capitulations). The Electoral council was set at seven princes (three archbishops and four secular princes) by the Golden Bull of 1356. It remained so until 1648, when the settlement of the Thirty Years' War required the addition of a new elector to maintain the precarious balance between Protestant and Catholic factions in the Empire. Another elector was added in 1690, and the whole college was reshuffled in 1803, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire.

After 1438, the Kings remained in the house of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine, with the brief exception of one Wittelsbach, Charles VII. In 1508, and permanently after 1556, the King no longer traveled to Rome for the crowning by the Pope.

List of Emperors

This list includes all emperors, whether or not they styled themselves Holy Roman Emperor, from Otto the Great on. There are some gaps in the tally. For example, Henry the Fowler was King of Germany but not Emperor; Emperor Henry II was numbered as his successor as German King. The Guideschi follow the numeration for the Duchy of Spoleto.

Ottonian (Saxon) Dynasty

Otto I the Great, 962–973
Otto II, 973–983
Otto III, 996–1002
Henry II the Saint, 1014–1024 (enumerated as successor of Henry I who was German King 919–936 but not Emperor.)

Salian (Frankish) Dynasty

Conrad II, 1027–1039 (enumerated as successor of Conrad I who was German King 911–918 but not Emperor)
Henry III, 1046–1056
Henry IV, 1084–1105
Henry V, 1111–1125[1]

Supplinburger dynasty

Lothair III, 1133–1137 (enumerated as successor of Lothair II, who was King of Lotharingia 855–869 but not Emperor)

Staufen (or Hohenstaufen) dynasty

Frederick I Barbarossa, 1155–1190
Henry VI, 1191–1197

House of Welf

Otto IV of Brunswick, 1209–1215 (d.1218)

Staufen (or Hohenstaufen) dynasty

Frederick II, 1211–1250

House of Luxembourg

Henry VII, 1312–1313

House of Wittelsbach

Louis IV the Bavarian, 1328–1347

House of Luxembourg

Charles IV, 1355–1378
Sigismund, 1433–1437

House of Habsburg

Frederick III, 1452–1493
Maximilian I, 1508–1519 (emperor-elect)
Charles V, 1530–1556 (emperor-elect 1519–1530)
Ferdinand I, 1558-1564 (emperor-elect)
Maximilian II, 1564–1576 (emperor-elect)
Rudolf II, 1576–1612 (emperor-elect; enumerated as successor of Rudolf I who was German King 1273–1291 but not Emperor)
Matthias, 1612–1619 (emperor-elect)
Ferdinand II, 1619–1637 (emperor-elect)
Ferdinand III, 1637–1657 (emperor-elect)
Leopold I, 1658–1705 (emperor-elect)
Joseph I, 1705–1711 (emperor-elect)
Charles VI, 1711–1740 (emperor-elect)

House of Wittelsbach

Charles VII Albert, 1742–1745 (emperor-elect)

House of Habsburg-Lorraine

Francis I, 1745–1765 (emperor-elect)
Joseph II, 1765–1790 (emperor-elect)
Leopold II, 1790–1792 (emperor-elect)
Francis II, 1792–1806 (emperor-elect)

Coronation

The Emperor was crowned in a special ceremony, traditionally performed by the Pope in Rome, using the Imperial Regalia. Without that coronation, no king, despite exercising all powers, could call himself Emperor. In 1508, Pope Julius II allowed Maximilian I to use the title of Emperor without coronation in Rome, though the title was qualified as Electus Romanorum Imperator ("elected Emperor of the Romans"). Maximilian's successors adopted the same titulature, usually when they became the sole ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Maximilian's first successor Charles V was the last to be crowned Emperor.

Emperor Coronation date Officiant Location Charles I25 December 800 Pope Leo IIIRome Louis I816 Pope Stephen VReims Lothair I5 April 823 Pope Paschal IRome Louis II850 Pope Leo IVRome Charles II29 December 875 Pope John VIIIRome Charles III12 February 881 Guy III of SpoletoMay 891 Pope Stephen V Lambert II of Spoleto30 April 892 Pope FormosusRavenna Arnulf of Carinthia22 February 896 Rome Louis III901 Pope Benedict IVRome BerengarDecember 915 Pope John XRome Otto I2 February, 962 Pope John XII Otto II25 December, 967 Pope John XIII Otto III21 May, 996 Pope Gregory V Henry II14 February, 1014 Pope Benedict VIII Conrad II26 March, 1027 Pope John XIX Henry III25 December, 1046 Pope Clement II Henry IV31 March, 1084 Antipope Clement III Henry V13 April, 1111 Pope Paschal II Henry V23 March, 1117 Antipope Gregory VIII Lothair III4 June, 1133 Pope Innocent II Basilica of St. John Lateran Frederick I18 June, 1155 Pope Adrian IV Henry VI14 April, 1191 Pope Celestine III Otto IV4 October, 1209 Pope Innocent III Frederick II22 November 1220 Pope Honorius III Henry VII29 June 1312 Cardinals Louis IV17 January 1328 Sciarra Colonna Charles IV5 April, 1355 Cardinal Sigismund31 May, 1433 Pope Eugenius IV Frederick III19 March, 1452 Pope Nicholas V Charles VFebruary 1530 Pope Clement VII Bologna, Italy

References

^ Barraclough, Geoffrey (1984). The Origins of Modern Germany. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393301532.

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