Prince-elector

The prince-electors or electoral princes of the Holy Roman Empire — German: Kurfürst ({{Audio|De-Kurfürst-pronunciation.ogg|listen}} - singular), Kurfürsten (plural) — were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Emperors of Germany. During and after the 15th century they often merely formalised the elective monarchy into what was in fact a dynastic succession. Formally, they elected a King of the Romans, who became Holy Roman Emperor only when crowned by the pope. Charles V was the last to be actually crowned; all of his successors were merely "Emperors-Elect". Electors were among the princes of the Empire, but they had several privileges (in addition to electoral ones) which were disallowed to their non-electoral brethren.

Composition

The German practice of electing monarchs began when ancient Germanic tribes formed ad hoc coalitions and elected the leaders thereof. Elections were irregularly held by the Franks, whose successor states include France and Germany. The French monarchy eventually became hereditary, but the German monarchy continued to remain elective. While all men originally exercised the right to vote in such elections, suffrage eventually came to be limited to the leading men of the realm. In the election of Lothar II in 1125, a small number of eminent nobles chose the monarch and then submitted him to the remaining magnates for their approbation. Soon, the right to choose the monarch was settled on an exclusive group of princes, and the procedure of seeking the approval of the remaining nobles was abandoned. The college of electors was mentioned in 1152 and again in 1198. A letter of Pope Urban IV suggests that by "immemorial custom", seven princes — the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne, along with the Dukes of the Franks, Swabians, Saxons, and Bavarians — had the right to elect the Emperor. The three Archbishops aforementioned oversaw some of the richest and most powerful sees in Europe, while the four Dukes controlled ancient Frankish territory and held important hereditary offices.

Related Topics:
Monarch - Franks - France - Germany - Lothar II - 1125 - Noble - 1152 - 1198 - Pope Urban IV - Mainz - Trier - Cologne - See

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By the thirteenth century, the Frankish and Swabian ducal lines became extinct; their electoral claims passed to the Count Palatine of the Rhine and the Margrave of Brandenburg. The Palatinate and Bavaria were originally held by the same individual, but in 1253, they were divided between two members of the Wittelsbach dynasty. The other electors refused to allow two princes from the same dynasty to have electoral rights, so a heated rivalry between the Count Palatine and the Duke of Bavaria arose. Meanwhile, the King of Bohemia, who held the ancient imperial office of Arch-Cupbearer, asserted his right to participate in elections, but was challenged on the grounds that his kingdom was not German. The Golden Bull of 1356 finally resolved the disputes; under it, the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne, as well as the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine, the Duke of Saxony, and the Margrave of Brandenburg held the right to elect the King.

Related Topics:
1253 - Wittelsbach - Golden Bull of 1356

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The college's composition remained unchanged until the 17th century. In 1621, the Elector Palatine, Frederick V, came under the imperial ban after participating in the Bohemian Revolt (a part of the Thirty Years' War). The Elector Palatine's seat was conferred on the Duke of Bavaria, the head of a junior branch of his family. Originally, the Duke held the electorate personally, but it was later made hereditary along with the duchy. When the Thirty Years' War concluded with the Treaty of Münster (also called the Peace of Westphalia) in 1648, a new electorate was created for the Count Palatine of the Rhine. Since the Elector of Bavaria retained his seat, the number of electors increased to eight.

Related Topics:
1621 - Frederick V - Thirty Years' War - Treaty of Münster - 1648

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In 1692, as a result of the inheritance of the Palatinate by a Catholic branch of the Wittelsbach family, which threatened to upset the religious balance of the College of Electors, the number of electors was increased to nine, with a seat being granted to the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who became known as the Electors of Hanover (the Reichstag officially confirmed the creation in 1708). In 1706, the Elector of Bavaria and Archbishop of Cologne were banned during the War of the Spanish Succession, but both were restored in 1714 after the Peace of Baden. In 1777, the number of electors was reduced to eight when the Elector Palatine inherited Bavaria.

Related Topics:
1692 - 1708 - 1706 - War of the Spanish Succession - 1714 - Peace of Baden - 1777

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Many changes to the composition of the college were necessitated by Napoleon's aggression during the early 19th century. The Treaty of Lunéville (1801), which ceded territory on the Rhine's left bank to France, led to the abolition of the archbishoprics of Trier and Cologne, and the transfer of the remaining spiritual Elector from Mainz to Regensburg. In 1803, electorates were created for the Duke of Württemberg, the Margrave of Baden, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and the Duke of Salzburg, bringing the total number of electors to ten. When Austria annexed Salzburg under the Treaty of Pressburg (1805), the Duke of Salzburg moved to the Principality of Würzburg and retained his electorate. None of the new electors, however, had an opportunity to cast votes, as the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, and the new electorates were never confirmed by the Emperor.

Related Topics:
Napoleon - Treaty of Lunéville - 1801 - Rhine - France - Regensburg - 1803 - Württemberg - Margrave of Baden - Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel - Duke of Salzburg - Austria - Treaty of Pressburg - 1805 - Principality of Würzburg - 1806

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