Imperial Guard (Merveilles des Morte)

The Imperial Guard, also known as the Aachen Guard, are the imperial bodyguard of the Holy Roman Emperor and the highest order of knights in the Holy Roman Empire. They are sworn to protect the Emperor and the imperial family, as well as the government of the Holy Roman Empire, with their own lives, to obey the commands of the Emperor, and to keep his secrets.

The Imperial Guard was founded in 1479 by Emperor Henry VIII. It consists of nine knights from across the Empire, with the most senior of which serving as the Premier Captain. The Imperial Guard are encouraged to take no lands and father no children, instead focusing on their mission as knights, although in practice many members have married and fathered children, or held titles of nobility lower than that of a Count.

List of Imperial Guards

Member			Home Region	Succeeded	Tenure	Coat of Arms	Appointed by
1		Rolf "Greyhands" Bayard (1441-1495)	Unknown	Inaugural	1479 – 1495 (Killed in Action)	File:Greyhands Coa.svg	Henry VIII (1418-1493)
2		Jaromir Přemyslid (1447-1511)	Kingdom of Bohemia	Inaugural	1479 – 1495 (Became Captain)	File:Jaromir CoA MDM.svg
3		Sebastian Belli (1447-Present)	Kingdom of Arles	Inaugural	1479 – 1483 (Resigned)	File:No coa.svg
4	File:Hans Holbein d. J. 059 Cropped.png	William von Jenagotha (1450-1484)	Duchy of Thuringia	Inaugural	1479 – 1484 (Killed in Action)
5		Conrad “One-eye” Přemyslid (1447-1510)	Kingdom of Bohemia	Inaugural	1479 – 1510 (Killed in Action)	File:One-Eye CoA MDM.svg
6		Amalius (1456-1495)	Brandenburg-Bohemia	Inaugural	1479 – 1495 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
7		Eberhard (1454-1495)	File:Coat of arms of Württemberg (lesser).svg County of Württemberg	Inaugural	1479 – 1495 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
8		Jaanai "the Younger" (1464-Present)	Unknown	Inaugural	1479 – 1525 (Retired)	File:Jaanai CoA MDM.svg
9		Ernest "the Bastard" (1464-1483)	Duchy of Saxony	Inaugural	1479 – 1483 (Murdered)	File:No coa.svg
10		Jantis "the Jackal" Jett (1458-1545)	Kingdom of Bohemia	Sebastian Belli	1483 – 1511 (Became Captain)	File:No coa.svg
11		Ernest Frederick (1440-1511)	Unknown	William of Thuringia	1483 – 1511 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
12		Jan Jakob (1456-Present)	Duchy of Hesse	Ernest "the Bastard"	1483 – 1530 (Retired)	File:No coa.svg
2		Jaromir Přemyslid (1447-1511)	Kingdom of Bohemia	Rolf Bayard (As Captain)	1479 – 1511 (Killed in Action)	File:Jaromir CoA MDM.svg	Henry IX (1472-1549)
13		Henry von Bibra (1475-1551)	Duchy of Thuringia	Jaromir Přemyslid	1495 – 1551 (Natural causes)	File:No coa.svg
14		Gerhard von Coburg (1472-1522)	Duchy of Thuringia	Amalius	1495 – 1545 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
15		Walter Meyer (1472-1450)	C. Pal. of the Rhine	Eberhard	1498 – 1547 (Resigned)	File:No coa.svg	File:Philipp-of-the-rhein-count-palatine-lucas-cranach-the-elder.jpg Philip II (1448–1501)
16		Ferdinand Kolumbus (1488-Present)	Hanseatic League	Conrad “One-eye” Přemyslid	1510 – 1545 (Became Captain)	File:No coa.svg	Ottokar I (1444-1522)
10		Jantis "the Jackal" Jett (1458-1545)	Kingdom of Bohemia	Jaromir Přemyslid (As Captain)	1483 – 1545 (Resigned)	File:No coa.svg
17		James Courtenay (1479-1551)	County of Bayreuth	Ernest Frederick	1513 – 1551 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
18		Ludvík Přemyslid (1500-1554)	Kingdom of Bohemia	Jaanai the Younger	1525 – 1552 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg	Jaromir I (1472-1549)
19		Charles von Habsburg (1506-1552)	Duchy of Habsburg	Jan Jakob	1530 – 1550 (Resigned)	File:No coa.svg
20		Eduard von Battenberg (1510-1564)	Duchy of Hesse	Jantis Jett	1535 – Present (Incumbent)
16		Ferdinand Kolumbus (1488-1553)	Hanseatic League	Jantis "the Jackal" Jett (As Captain)	1510 – 1553 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg	Henry X (1492-1563)
21		Zebulon Zobel (1527-Present)	Duchy of Habsburg	Ferdinand Kolumbus	1545 – 1553 (Became Captain)	File:No coa.svg
22		Edmund Gerard (1513-1552)	County of Bayreuth	Gerhard von Coburg	1545 – 1552 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
22		Saumon Meise (c. 1520s-1618)	Oldenburg Commune	Walter Meyer	1547 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
23		Augustus von Jenagotha (1529-1600)	Rätian Union	Henry von Bibra	1551 – 1596 (Resigned)	File:No coa.svg
24		Henry Bayard (1532-Present)	Howen	Charles von Habsburg	1550 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
25		Zechariah Jung (1515-1570)	Unknown	James Courtenay	1551 – 1570 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
26		Damien Vallier (1530-Present)	Kingdom of Arles	Edmund Gerard	1552 – 1601 (Resigned)	File:No coa.svg
21		Zebulon Zobel (1527-Present)	Duchy of Habsburg	Ferdinand Kolumbus (As Captain)	1545 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
27		Maximilian von Sickingen (1513-1582)	Swabian League	Zebulon Zobel	1553 – 1582 (Resigned)	File:No coa.svg
28		John von Wittelsbach (1530-Present)	Bavaria	Ludvík Přemyslid	1554 – 1596 (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
29		Johann von Tiefen (1539-1598)	Livonia	Eduard von Battenberg	1564 – 1598 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg	Charles V (1527-1596)
30		Stephen "the Stranger" (1544-Present)	Austria	Zechariah Jung	1570 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
31		Philip "the Late" (1550-Present)	Electoral Palatinate	Maximilian von Sickingen	1582 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
32		Rudolf von Habsburg (1574-1603)	Duchy of Habsburg	Augustus von Jenagotha	1596 – 1603 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg	Frederick V (1565-Present)
32		Frederick von Oldenburg (1572-Present)	Duchy of Oldenburg	John von Wittelsbach	1596 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
33		Daniel "the Giant" (1577-Present)	Electoral Palatinate	Johann von Tiefen	1598 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
34		Huldrych Jaunch (1570-Present)	File:Early Swiss cross2.svg Swiss Confederacy	Damien Vallier	1601 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
35		Urian Euer (1580-Present)	United Kingdom	Rudolf von Habsburg	1603 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg

Jungist Imperial Guard

Member			Home Region	Succeeded	Tenure	Coat of Arms	Appointed by
1		John von Wittelsbach (1530-1597)	Bavaria	Inaugural	1596 – 1597 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg	Joktan (1545-1613)
2		Konrad of Hesse (1551-1598)	Duchy of Hesse	Inaugural	1596 – 1598 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
3		Thomas "the Toothless" (1578-1601)	Duchy of Hesse	Inaugural	1596 – 1601 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
4		"Faceless" Harold (1572-Present)	Hanseatic League (Hanover)	Inaugural	1596 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
5		Gustav von Battenberg (1578-1600)	Duchy of Hesse	Inaugural	1596 – 1600 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
6		Jack "the Hunter (1572-1601)	Rätian Union (Nordhausen)	Inaugural	1596 – 1601 (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
7		Maximilian Hoat (1572-Present)	Hanseatic League (Lüneburg)	Inaugural	1596 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
8		Sebastian "the Hook" (1575-Present)	Wetzlar	Inaugural	1596 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
9		Roger "the Red Flag" (1552-Present)	Rätian Union (Saxony)	Inaugural	1596 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
10		Wilhelm von Knyphausen (1566-1613)	Duchy of Hesse	John von Wittelsbach	1597 – 1601 (Resigned)	File:No coa.svg
11		William "the Kid" (1578-Present)	File:Coat of arms of Württemberg (lesser).svg County of Württemberg	Konrad of Hesse	1598 – Present (Killed in Action)	File:No coa.svg
12		Walter von Isenburg (1570-Present)	Isenburg-Grenzau	Gustav von Battenberg	1600 – 1601 (Resigned)	File:No coa.svg
13		Simon "Sphinx" (1572-Present)	Ulm	Thomas "the Toothless"	1601 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
14		Damien Vallier (1530-Present)	Kingdom of Arles	Wilhelm von Knyphausen	1601 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
15		Philipp von Bimbach (1570-Present)	Denmark-Norway	Thomas "the Toothless"	1601 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg	File:8542-Portrait-of-Frederik-Hendrik.jpg George I (1557-Present)
16		Wilhelm Marstrand (1574-Present)	Denmark-Norway	Walter von Isenburg	1601 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg
17		Jørgen Ulfeldt (1579-Present)	Denmark-Norway	Jack "the Hunter"	1601 – Present (Incumbent)	File:No coa.svg

Footnotes