Imperial Election (Merveilles des Morte)

The election of Henry VIII] as Roman-German Emperor by the prince electors in 1479 depicted on a contemporary engraving

The election of a Holy Roman Emperor was generally a two-stage process whereby, from at least the 13th century, the King of the Romans was elected by a small body of the greatest princes of the Empire, the prince-electors. This was then followed shortly thereafter by his coronation as Emperor, an appointment that was normally for life. In 1357, the Emperor Charles VII promulgated the Imperial Charter of 1357, which was an attempt at a the fundamental law by which all future kings and emperors would be elected. This process would be amended in 1479 by Emperor Henry VII, who created the framework for future elections and reforms to imperial decrees in general. After 1481, the Pope recognized election alone to be sufficient for the use of the Imperial title.

Background

The Königswahl was the election of royal candidates in the Holy Roman Empire and its predecessors as king by a specified elective body (the Gremium). Whilst the succession to the throne of the monarch in most cultures is governed by the rules of hereditary succession, the Holy Roman Empire would become an elective monarchy. There were elective monarchies in several Germanic successor states after the collapse of the Roman Empire during the Migration Period, the Early Middle Ages, as well as the Kingdom of Poland.

Prince-electors

From the 13th century, the right to elect kings in the Holy Roman Empire was granted to a limited number of imperial princies, the so called prince-electors. There are various theories over the emergence of their exclusive election right. The secular electoral seats were hereditary. However, spiritual electors (and other prince-(arch)bishops) were usually elected by the cathedral chapters as religious leaders, but simultaneously ruled as monarch (prince) of a territory of imperial immediacy (which usually comprised a part of their diocesan territory). Thus the prince-bishoprics were elective monarchies too. The same holds true for prince-abbeys, whose prince-abbesses or prince-abbots were elected by a college of clerics and imperially appointed as princely rulers in a pertaining territory.

With the Imperial Charter of 1357, nine electors chose the "King of the Romans" as the Emperor's designated heir was known. This would later be reformed in 1479, leading to a changing number of electors.

1357-1479

Ecclesiastical princes

•  Archbishop of Mainz
•  Archbishop of Cologne
•  Archbishop of Trier
• Archbishop of Bremen

Secular princes

•  County of Nassau
•  Kingdom of Bohemia
•  Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg
•  Duchy of (Lower)Bavaria
•  Landgraviate of Hesse

Observer princes (Note these nations did not receive a vote)

•  Pontificial state
•  Swiss Confederation
• File:Order of Bari V1.png Order of Bari

List of Elections

1479 election

Votes:

Electorate	Title	Origin of Authority	Voted?
Mainz	archbishopric	Ecclesiastical	X
Cologne	archbishopric	Ecclesiastical
Trier	archbishopric	Ecclesiastical	X
Bremen	archbishopric	Ecclesiastical	X
Nassau	County	Secular
Bohemia	Kingdom	secular	X
Saxony	Duchy	secular	X
Lower Bavaria	Duchy	secular	X
Hesse	Landgraviate	secular	X
Papacy	Kingdom	observer
Swisterland	Confederation	observer
Bari	Christian order	observer

Nominated states/ Candidates

Candidate	Votes
Henry III Premyslid (Bohemia)	7
Engelbert II La Mark (Saxony)
Hermann III (Hesse)
Rolf "Greyhands" Bayard

1493 election

Votes:

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Voted?
Ecclesiastic
Mainz	Adelbert of Saxony	Herman von Getz	X
Cologne
Trier
Bremen
Erfurt	Archbishop Simon Aufderbeck	N/A	X
Secular
Nassau	Suspended
Bohemia	Ottokar III		X
Saxony	Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg		X
Bavaria	Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria		X
Hesse	Agnes of Hesse	Sir Jan Jakob	X
Brandenburg	Charles "the Ghost of Lechfeld" Duke of Brandenburg	Bernard "Twice-Died"	X
Thuringia	Thin White Duke	Hugh von Jenagotha	X
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	Henry VIII	?	Unused
Premier Captain	Rolf Bayard	N/A	X
Cabinet Members	Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria		X
	Leopold von Habsburg
1492 Football Champions	Hohenzollern	Frederick von Hohenzollern	X

Nominated states/ Candidates:

Candidate	Votes
Henry von Jenagotha (Thuringia)	11
William II (France)
Edmund Alwin (Saxony)

1497 Plebiscite

Should Nassau's Elector Status be un-suspended?

Electorate	Elector	Representative	YES	NO	Abstain
Ecclesiastic
Mainz	Adelbert of Saxony	Herman von Getz
Cologne
Trier
Bremen
Erfurt	Archbishop Simon Aufderbeck	N/A	X
Secular
Nassau	Suspended
Bohemia	Ottokar III		X
Saxony	Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg		X
Bavaria	Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria
Hesse	Agnes of Hesse	Sir Jan Jakob	X
Brandenburg	Charles "the Ghost of Lechfeld" Duke of Brandenburg	Bernard "Twice-Died"	X
Thuringia	Thin White Duke	Hugh von Jenagotha	X
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	N/A
Premier Captain	Rolf Bayard	N/A	X
Cabinet Members	Hugh von Jenagotha		X
	Conrad “One-eye” Přemyslid		X

Candidate	Votes
Yes	8
No
Abstain

1498 Election

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Candidates
			1	2	3	4	5
Ecclesiastic
Mainz	Adelbert of Saxony	Herman von Getz	1
Cologne			1	2
Trier
Bremen			X
Erfurt	Archbishop Simon Aufderbeck	N/A	X
Secular
Nassau	Jezrahiah von Nassau		1	2	3
Bohemia	Ottokar IV		1	3			2
Saxony	Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg		1			3	2
Bavaria	Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria		1	2		3
Hesse	Agnes of Hesse	Sir Jan Jakob	1	2		3
Brandenburg	Charles "the Ghost of Lechfeld" Duke of Brandenburg	Bernard "Twice-Died"	X
Thuringia	Thin White Duke	Hugh von Jenagotha	2		1
Habsburg	Leopold von Habsburg
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	Henry IX	William von Jenagotha	X
Premier Captain	Jaromir Přemyslid	N/A	X
Cabinet Members	Ruprecht von Moers, Archbishop of Cologne
	Jantis "the Jackal" Jett

#	Candidate	1st Votes	2nd Votes	3rd Votes
1	Phillip of the Palatine	11	1
2	Ermanaric von Nassau		4	1
3	Hugh von Jenagotha	1		1
4	William II of France			3
5	Edmund Alwin de la Marck		2

1501 Election

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Candidates
			1	2	3	4	5	6
Ecclesiastic
Mainz	Bertrand of Villingen	Herman von Getz	1
Cologne			1			3		2
Trier			3				2	1
Bremen
Erfurt	Archbishop Simon Aufderbeck	N/A	2				1	3
Secular
Nassau	Jezrahiah von Nassau		2				1
Bohemia	Ottokar IV	Charles "the White"		3		2	1
Saxony	Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg		3			2	1
Bavaria	Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria		2				1
Hesse	Agnes of Hesse	Sir Jan Jakob	2				1
Brandenburg	Charles "the Ghost of Lechfeld" Duke of Brandenburg	Bernard "Twice-Died"		3		2	1
Thuringia	Thin White Duke	Hugh von Jenagotha	2			3	1
Habsburg	Peter von Habsburg		3				2	1
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	Philip von Wittlesbach
Premier Captain	Jaromir Přemyslid	N/A		1	3		2
Cabinet Members	Paracelsus					1	3	2
	Jaromir Přemyslid

#	Candidate	1st Votes	2nd Votes	3rd Votes
1	Jezrahiah von Nassau	2	5	3
2	Hugh von Jenagotha	1		2
3	William II of France			1
4	Edmund Alwin de la Marck		3	2
5	Frederick von Hohenzollern	8	3
6	Peter von Habsburg	2	1	1

1504 Election

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Candidates
			1	2	3	4	5	6
Ecclesiastic
Mainz	Bertrand of Villingen		X
Cologne	Ruprecht von Moers		X
Trier
Bremen
Erfurt	Archbishop Simon Aufderbeck	N/A	X
Secular
Nassau	Jezrahiah von Nassau		1		3	2
Bohemia	Ottokar IV	N/A	1			2	3
Saxony	Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg		1	3	2
Bavaria	Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria
Hesse	Agnes of Hesse	Sir Jan Jakob	1	3		2
Brandenburg	Charles "the Ghost of Lechfeld" Duke of Brandenburg	Bernard "Twice-Died"	1		2
Thuringia	Thin White Duke	Hugh von Jenagotha	1		2
Habsburg	Peter von Habsburg
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	Frederick IV von Hohenzollern	Wilhelm von Hohenzollern	X
Premier Captain	Jaromir Přemyslid	N/A	X
Cabinet Members	Jeannetto de Tassis
	Jaromir Přemyslid		X

#	Candidate	1st Votes	2nd Votes	3rd Votes
1	Ottokar IV Přemyslid	9
2	William II of France			2
3	Edmund Alwin de la Marck		3	1
4	Wilhelm von Hohenzollern		3
5	Peter von Habsburg			1

1522 Election

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Candidates
			1	2	3	4	5	6
Ecclesiastic
Mainz	Bertrand of Villingen
Cologne	Ruprecht von Moers		1				3	2
Trier			1				2	3
Bremen	Archbishop Hans Grueber		1		2	3
Erfurt	Archbishop Simon Aufderbeck	N/A
Secular
Nassau	Jezrahiah von Nassau		1	2	3
Bohemia	Jaromir	N/A	X
Saxony	Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg		X
Bavaria	George
Hesse	Agnes of Hesse	Sir Jan Jakob	1	2	3
Brandenburg	Charles "the Ghost of Lechfeld" Duke of Brandenburg		2	1	3
Thuringia
Habsburg
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	Ottokar I	Pavel "the Samaritan"	X
Premier Captain	Jantis "The Jackal" Jett	N/A	1		2			3
Cabinet Members	Hannes von Sudland
	Marek Ironside, Duke of Livonia		X

#	Candidate	1st Votes	2nd Votes	3rd Votes
1	Jaromir Přemyslid	9	1
2	Hugh von Jenagotha	1	2
3	Edmund Alwin de la Marck		1	4
4	Wilhelm von Hohenzollern			1
5	Peter von Habsburg		1	1
6	Bela of Austria		1	2

1524 Plebiscite

Should the Burgermeister of Hamburg-Lubeck be made an Imperial Elector?

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Options
			YES	NO	ABSTAIN
Ecclesiastic
Mainz	Bertrand of Villingen
Cologne	Ruprecht von Moers
Trier
Bremen	Archbishop Hans Grueber			X
Erfurt	Archbishop Simon Aufderbeck	N/A	X
Secular
Nassau	Jezrahiah von Nassau
Bohemia	Jaromir	N/A	X
Saxony	Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg		X
Bavaria	George
Hesse	Agnes of Hesse	Sir Jan Jakob
Brandenburg	Charles "the Ghost of Lechfeld" Duke of Brandenburg	X
Thuringia			X
Habsburg
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	N/A	N/A
Premier Captain	Jantis "The Jackal" Jett	N/A
Cabinet Members	Johannes of Brandenburg-Bohemia		X
	Walter Meyer
High Diet
Hamburg-Lübeck (Hansa)			X
Lotharingia					X
Bavaria
Pomerania (Hansa)			X
Bohemia			X
Austria
Modena
Switzerland
Livonia
Oldenburg
Brandenburg			X
Mecklenburg (Hansa)			X
Hesse
Messin Republic
Wurttemberg
Habsburg
C. Burgundy			X
C. Henneberg
C. Isenberg
L. Dagsburg
B. Minden
Strassburg
Imperial Council
Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxony			X
Karl von Voss
Francesco von Habsburg
Bernard "Twice-Died"			X
Leopold II von Habsburg
Ruprecht von Moers
Marek Ironside			X
Georg Burkhart
Georg von Hanover
Thomas Zobel
Johannes of Brandenburg-Bohemia			X
Jantis "the Jackal" Jett			X

1544 Election

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Candidates
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Ecclesiastic
Mainz			1		2				3
Cologne			2		1				3
Trier	Archbishop Philip von Wied			1				3		2
Bremen	Archbishop Hans Grueber		2	1	3
Secular
Nassau	Ermanaric II			2		1				3
Bohemia	Henry IV	N/A	1	2	3
Saxony	Wolfgang I						3	1		2
Bavaria	Otto VI					1		2		3
Hesse	Ermanaric II	Sir Jan Jakob		3		2	1
Brandenburg	John II		3	1						2
Thuringia	Gedeon I			3		1		2
Habsburg	Leopold II		2		1		3
Hamburg-Lubeck	Peter Burkhart		1	3	2
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	Jaromir I	Charles, Duke of Livonia			X
Premier Captain	Jantis "The Jackal" Jett	N/A	2						1
Cabinet Members	Peter Burkhart			X
	Charles "the White", Count of Saxe-Beizig		X

#	Candidate	1st Votes	2nd Votes	3rd Votes
1	Henry IV Přemyslid	3	4	1
2	Charles IV Přemyslid	3	2	3
3	Leopold II von Habsburg	3	2	2
4	Gedeon von Jenagotha	3	1
5	Sigismund II of Poland	1		2
6	Wolfgang de la Marck	1	2	1
7	Stephen IV of Austria	1		2
8	Ermanaric II of Hesse		3	2

1556 Plebiscite

Should the Archbishopric of Salzburg and the Count Palatine of the Rhine be made electors?

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Options
			YES	NO	ABSTAIN
Ecclesiastic
Mainz			X
Cologne			X
Trier				X
Bremen			X
Secular
Nassau				X
Bohemia			X
Saxony				X
Bavaria				X
Hesse				X
Brandenburg			X
Thuringia					X
Habsburg			X
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	N/A	N/A
Premier Captain	Zebulon Zobel		X
Cabinet Members	Lothar von Schönborn
	Zechariah Jung
High Diet
Hamburg-Lübeck (Hansa)
Duchy of Livonia
Archbishopric of Cologne
Pomerania (Hansa)
Bavaria
Austria
Modena
Switzerland
Arles-Burgundy
Danzig
Mecklenburg (Hansa)
Ansbach
Kleve
Dagsburg
Arnsberg
Salzburg
Hall
Speyer (City)
Ziegenhain
Bishopric of Minden
Bishopric of Wurzburg
Nuremberg
Imperial Council
Jan von Wartenberg
Daniel von Heusenstamm, Archbishop of Mainz
Cristoforo Madruzzo, Bishop of Trent
Lucas II, King of Arles-Burgundy
Kryštof Harant
Peter Vok of Rosenberg
Lothar von Schönborn
Jakob Burkhart, Bürgermeister of Lübeck
Frederick IV, Count Palatine of the Rhine
Lorenz von Ebern
Jan Lohelius, Archbishop of Prague
Zebulon Zobel

1561 Election

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Candidates
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Ecclesiastic
Mainz	Daniel Brendel von Homburg
Cologne	Gebhard I von Mansfeld-Vorderort
Trier	Archbishop Philip von Wied
Bremen	George of Brunswick-Luneburg
Salzburg	Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau
Secular
Nassau	Ermanaric II
Bohemia	Jaromir II	N/A
Saxony	Wolfgang I
Bavaria	Otto VI
Hesse	Ermanaric II
Brandenburg	John II
Thuringia	Gedeon I
Habsburg	Leopold III
Hamburg-Lubeck
Palatine	Frederick IV
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	Henry X
Premier Captain	Zebulon Zobel	N/A
Cabinet Members

#	Candidate	1st Votes	2nd Votes	3rd Votes
1	Charles II, Duke of Livonia
2	Wolfgang I, Duke of Saxony
3	Leopold III, Duke of Hapsburg
4	Jaromir II, King of Bohemia
5	John, King of Poland
6	Charles IV, King of France
7	Frederick IV, Count Palatine of the Rhine
8	Ermenric II, Duke of Hesse-Nassau

1595 Election

Electorate	Elector	Representative	Candidates
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Ecclesiastic
Mainz	Wolfgang von Dalberg
Cologne	Ferdinand of the Palatine
Trier
Bremen	John Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp
Salzburg	Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau
Secular
Nassau	Jepthah I
Bohemia	Jaromir III	N/A
Saxony	Henry V
Bavaria	Otto VI
Hesse	Jepthah I
Brandenburg	Elias I
Thuringia	Issicha I
Habsburg
Hamburg-Lubeck
Palatine	Frederick IV
Special
K. of Switzerland	Vacant
Late Emperor	Charles V
Premier Captain	Zebulon Zobel	N/A
Cabinet Members

#	Candidate	1st Votes	2nd Votes	3rd Votes
1	Leopold III, Duke of Habsburg
2	George II, King of Denmark (and England)
3	Henry II, King of France
4	Jaromir III, King of Bohemia
5	Henry V, Duke of Saxony
6	Elias I, Duke of Brandenburg
7	Frederick IV, Count Palatine of the Rhine
8	Issichar I, Duke of Thuringia

Footnotes