List of Holy Roman Emperors

The following list of Holy Roman Emperors is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This page lists those considered Holy Roman Emperors from the time of Charlemagne until the abolition of the Empire in 1806. For the early rulers in this list, the title Holy Roman Emperor is anachronistic – Charlemagne, for instance, variously called himself imperator Romanorum ("emperor of the Romans") and imperator Romanum gubernans imperium ("emperor ruling the Roman Empire"), and many simply used the title imperator ("emperor"). However, most contemporaries and historians consider the rulers in this list to represent a historically continuous sequence.

Related Topics:
Charlemagne - 1806 - Holy Roman Emperor

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Charlemagne received his imperial title when crowned by Pope Leo III. Subsequently, a papal coronation was considered a prerequisite for becoming emperor. After the coronation of Otto I, the imperial title became a prerogative of the ruler of Germany; however, while not all German rulers were crowned, the numbering of the various rulers reflects the complete list of German monarchs, so there are gaps in the sequence of ordinals in a strictly imperial list. For instance, King Henry the Fowler was never crowned as emperor and is thus not on this list; nevertheless, his great-grandson, who was crowned, is referred to as Henry II, not Henry I.

Related Topics:
Pope Leo III - Otto I - Germany - Numbering - List of German monarchs - Henry the Fowler - Henry II

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This situation changed somewhat in the early modern period. In 1508, Maximilian I, after a failed move towards Rome, was granted permission by the pope to call himself imperator electus, or emperor-elect. His successor Charles V was crowned emperor by the Pope in 1530, but Ferdinand I and all his successors did not seek a papal coronation and remained emperors-elect. In common usage this title was elided to just imperator, and all emperors-elect are included in this list.

Related Topics:
1508 - Maximilian I - Charles V - 1530 - Ferdinand I

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~