Kings of the Romans & Holy Roman Emperors

Famously described by Voltaire as ‘Neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire’ it was, in fact, a conglomeration of states in the landmass now largely in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and parts of Eastern Europe that elected an ‘Emperor’ as their titular overlord. The first ‘Holy Roman Emperor’ had been Charlemagne, King of the Franks, who wished to resurrect himself as the heir to the Western Roman Empire: crowned by the Pope on Christmas Day 800, he ruled a vast swathe of territory that included most of France, as well as the other lands mentioned.

By 1356, the mechanics of election and the Imperial constitution had been laid down in the Golden Bull of the Emperor Charles (Karl) IV. In principle, seven electors were to elect a ‘King of the Romans’ who would then be crowned by the Pope, which ceremony would elevate him to Emperor. The electors (whose states were then to become indivisible were: the Archchancellors of Trier, Mainz and Cologne, the Cupbearer of Bohemia, the Count of the Palatinate (a confusing agglomeration of territories) the Marshal of Saxony and the Chamberlain of Brandenburg. The latter four were then known as the Electors of Bohemia, the Palatine, Saxony and Brandenburg. A majority vote was sufficient.

By the late 15^th century, it had been held by the Hapsburg Archdukes of Austria for some fifty years. They continued to be elected to the title (not without attempts, notably in 1519, by other Kings to be granted it) until the title was abolished in 1806. Although both Maximilian I and his successor, Charles V, attempted to establish a central Imperial authority, this was never a realistic goal and the Empire remained a loose federation of states. Charles V was the last emperor to be crowned by the Pope – in 1530 at Bologna.

Charles V was followed by his brother, Ferdinand I, who was also King of Hungary and Bohemia (not without dispute). Ferdinand’s son, Maximilian II, toyed with Protestantism, but never openly converted, and was unable to achieve his ambition of reunifying the Church. The Empire was assailed from the east with the advance of the Ottoman Empire. Maximilian was succeeded by his two sons, Rudolf II, during whose reign the long struggle with the Ottomans continued, then by Matthias, who also sought religious compromise between the different Christian factions.

The next Emperor, Ferdinand II, was uninterested in religious tolerance, and his attempts to suppress Bohemian Protestantism were a major factor in the Thirty Years’ War, the longest, and, proportionate to population, probably most destructive, war in European history.