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European Kingdoms

Central Europe

 

Non-Dynastic Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire
AD 1273 - 1437

The Holy Roman empire had a tortuous and complex history, with origins in the Merovingian Frankish empire. The early eighth century AD saw the rise of the Carolingians under Charles, later known as Charles 'the Great', or Charlemagne. He was able to reverse Frankish fortunes to found a vast European empire.

He completed his conquest of much of the Germanic-speaking lands by defeating the mighty Saxons. In AD 800 he was crowned 'Roman Emperor' by Pope Leo III, his empire laying the foundations of future monarchies in Western Europe and Central Europe. Following his death during the governance of the Frankish Roman emperors, the Treaty of Verdun in AD 843 confirmed the empire's official division. With the accession of the Saxon king of Germany, Otto I, the power of the Germanic Roman empire was confirmed.

Five stem duchies also emerged at the same time in German lands, all of which were powerful divisions of the old territory of East Francia. These were Bavaria, Franconia, Saxony, Swabia, and Thuringia, the most powerful of which would often act as king-maker within the empire. By the twelfth century these were in trouble, with internal tensions beginning to tear them apart.

In the early eleventh century AD, Franconia had become the territorial heartland of the line of 'Franconian Emperors', many of whom had their power base here. Then the Hohenstaufen dynasty gained power in Swabia. They swiftly became one of the most powerful families, holding onto the duchy for most of the remainder of its existence and supplying a dynasty of 'Hohenstaufen Emperors'.

The reign of the Hohenstaufen Frederick II between 1215-1250 caused no little controversy however. Due to his agents acting in the papal states, Pope Innocent was forced to leave Rome in disguise and make his way to Lyon in France. There he gathered together as many bishops as he could to hold the First Council of Lyon.

The emperor was excommunicated (again) and was declared deposed, relieving his subjects of their allegiance to him. This act sent shockwaves throughout Europe, and Innocent's life was only spared from retribution by the emperor's death.

A burst of rivalry then took place, with Conrad IV of Swabia emerging on top, albeit still being opposed by William II of Holland. Also active in Jerusalem and the kingdom of Naples & Sicily, Conrad quickly contracted and then died of malaria. His young son, Conradin, was recognised by his supporters as the new emperor but they failed to secure the throne for him.

An interregnum followed between 1254-1273 in which no sole emperor could be recognised. The chaos this generated tipped Germany into a period of collapse, with no central authority to hold it together. The collapse involved the break-up of stem duchies such as Swabia and Franconia, and the formation of several new states from the ruins, such as the landgraviate of Hesse. The once-mighty state of Saxony had already been forcibly divided in 1180.

Saxony

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Noble Strategies in an Early Modern Small State: The Mahuet of Lorraine, Charles T Lipp, from The History of the Franks, Volume II, Gregory of Tours (O M Dalton, Trans, 1967), from From Roman Provinces to Medieval Kingdoms, Thomas F X Noble, from Popular Revolt, Dynastic Politics, and Aristocratic Factionalism in the Early Middle Ages: The Saxon Stellinga Reconsidered, Eric J Goldberg (Speculum, Vol 70, No 3, Jul 1995), from Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians 751-987, R McKitterick (1983), and from External Links: the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, and from Encyclopaedia.com, and Cranach Digital Archive (in German and English), and Special Collections (University of Arizona).)

1257 - 1272

[Richard of Cornwall]

Elected candidate to succeed the Hohenstaufens.

1257

Richard of Cornwall, son of King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême, count of Poitou and earl of Cornwall, is one of the wealthiest men in Europe. Although he is elected king of Germany by four of the seven electors, he is opposed by the other 'official' candidate, Alfonso X of Castile. He is crowned on 17 May 1257 but the title holds little significance at this time.

King John
King John of England was also John, lord of Ireland, holding both titles in personal union during his less than happy reign between 1199 and 1216

1257 - 1284

[Alfonso X of Castile]

King of Castile. Elected candidate. Never acceded throne.

1260 - 1274

The Livonian Knights and Teutonic Knights are defeated severely, at the Battle of Durbe in Livonia by the Samogitians. As a result, numerous rebellions break out all across the Baltics, including a general uprising throughout Prussia.

The Prussians win several battles against the hard-pressed Teutonic Knights and, by 1264, the situation is critical. Reinforcements arrive from Germany which enable the knights to launch a fresh offensive. They manage to end the rebellion by 1274.

1263

The Hessians have selected Henry of Brabant as their first landgrave, but following a heavy defeat at Besenstedt (near Wettin) in October 1263, his mother, Sophie of Brabant, has to admit failure in securing the remainder of Thuringia for her son.

That passes to the March of Meissen, and through this it eventually becomes part of the electorate Saxony when the Wettins gain the ducal title (1423). Hesse is separated from Thuringia and is eventually recognised as the independent landgraviate of Hesse.

Duchess Sophia of Brabant
Duchess Sophia led the fight to secure the various Hessian lands as a unified landgraviate for her son, Henry of Brabant, otherwise known as Henry 'the Child' due to his young age

c.1267

Part of the territory of Swabia, an obscure and unimportant part in the mountainous west of the duchy, is given over to the newly formed county of Vaduz. The Schellenbergs under Marquard now govern this important route into Italy.

1273 - 1291

Rudolph I of Habsburg

Uncrowned. Duke of Austria, Carinthia, & Swabia. In Bohemia.

1278

Feeling in the German nobility is against the idea of a successful, conquering Czech king, so they support Rudolf so that he is able to wrest the duchy of Austria from Ottokar, and kill the Przemysl king in battle on the Moravia Field, on the right bank of the River Morava in Austria.

1292 - 1298

Adolf / Adolph of Nassau

Uncrowned. Count of Nassau-Weilburg.

1292 - 1298

Henry I 'the Child', landgrave of Hesse, gains the title 'Prince of the Empire' from Emperor Adolf. Unfortunately, Adolf is killed at the Battle of Göllheim, near Speyer, in 1298 whilst fighting his rival, Albert of Habsburg in Austria. Unusually for the dukes of Lorraine, the soon-to-be Duke Thiébaut II is present at the battle on the side of Albert.

Alte Schloss, Giessen, Hesse
Hesse gained Giessen as part of the settlement of 1265, and construction of the Alte Schloss (the old castle) began in 1350 with the building surviving to the present day

1298 - 1308

Albert I 'One-Eye' of Habsburg

Uncrowned. Duke of Austria. Assassinated.

1306 - 1307

[Rudolph III of Habsburg]

Uncrowned. Duke of Austria. King of Bohemia-Moravia.

1307 - 1308

[Heinrich VI of Kaernten / Tirol]

Uncrowned. King of Bohemia-Moravia.

1308

Thanks to Albert's failure to address the problem of adequate compensation for the loss of Styria in 1283 by his brother, Rudolph II, the king is assassinated by Rudolph's son, John. John is named 'Parricide', and continues to hold his inherited claim on Swabia.

1308 - 1313

Henry VII of Luxemburg

Procured title for his son, who became King John of Bohemia.

1313

With the death of John 'Parricide', any claim to the former Swabian duchy dies with him. Large areas of its territory have already gone to the established county of Württemberg and the margraviate of Baden. Territory which formerly had belonged to the Alemanni people also later forms parts of Austria (Vorarlberg), France (Alsace), and Switzerland, as well as the Bavarian Swabia region of Bavaria.

1314 - 1347

Louis IV Wittelsbach of Bavaria

m Margaret of Holland (1324). Senator of Rome (1328).

1314 - 1322

When Louis IV (Louis the Bavarian) is elected German king in 1314, a minority faction elects Frederick 'the Fair' of Habsburg as emperor. Louis defeats Frederick in 1322 at the Battle of Mühldorf (in which Frederick's supporter, Duke Ferry IV of Lorraine, is also captured).

Louis IV Wittelsbach
A vigorous king of Bavaria and Holy Roman emperor, Louis IV also became king of Italy in 1327 despite many objections and opposition figures, with his strength of will and character being proof of his desire and eligibility to rule

The Pope refuses to recognise or crown him, so Louis has himself crowned emperor by representatives of the Roman people. This coronation is part of an agreement which has been reached with Frederick whereby the latter is crowned king of the Romans to administer Germany as regent while Louis will fulfil his role from Italy.

1325 - 1330

Frederick 'the Fair' of Habsburg

Frederick IV of Austria. Withdrew from regency. Went home.

1328

Following the refusal of Pope John XXII to recognise him, Louis IV invades Italy and sets up Nicholas V as the first anti-pope of the 'Great Schism'.

1330

Odo IV of the duchy of Burgundy has already married Joan III, countess of Burgundy, daughter of Philip V of France and also king of Navarre (in 1318). Now his wife inherits from her mother full control of the 'Free County of Burgundy', that pocket of Burgundian territory which largely lies on the east bank of the Saône.

Formed in 982, it had gained a parcel of the duchy's own territory in 1004 and for three hundred years has largely been controlled by the Holy Roman empire.

1343

The St George's Night Uprising in Estonia sees a revolt defeated by the Livonian Knights, using a mixture of treachery and battle. However, they are unable to prevent some disasters, such as the loss of Pöide Castle on Ösel-Wiek, and the probable massacre of its entire garrison. Three years later, the Danish king sells North Estonia to the knights. All of Estonia is now ruled by a German nobility class.

St George's Night Uprising
The oppressed Estonian peasants began the St George's Night Uprising in 1343, which was brutally put down by the Livonian Order, resulting in the Order being able to take control of all of the major Danish strongholds in the duchy of Estonia

1346 - 1347

Pope Clement VI declares Louis IV to have been deposed and instead secures the election of Charles IV as Holy Roman emperor. Louis successfully resists his rival until he dies in a hunting accident.

1347 - 1378

Charles IV of Luxemburg

Grandson, Henry VII. King of Bohemia, Elector of Brandenburg.

1347 - 1349

[Günther XXI of Schwarzburg]

Rival. Son of Henry VII of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg.

1348

One of the first acts of Charles IV is to found the University of Prague. This is soon challenged by Archduke Rudolph IV of Austria when he founds the University of Vienna as a rival. Rudolph dedicates much of his efforts as archduke to increasing the prestige of Vienna, making it a major European capital.

1355 - 1356

Emperor Charles IV issues his Golden Bull at the end of 1355. It lays down the redrafted laws for the Holy Roman empire, one of which stipulates the role of primogeniture, ensuring that only the eldest son or the valid next in line succeeds to a title and its territory.

Emperor Charles IV releases his Golden Bull
Towards the end of 1355 and in early 1356 Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV agreed with his prince electors a new treatise which regulated the emperor's position and the right of succession amongst all the princes

1356 - 1359

The title of archduke is 'granted' to Austria in 1359, even though it has to be invented and proclaimed by the first archduke, Rudolph IV. The bluff is propagated to make up for the loss to the Habsburgs of the imperial title and their failure to receive an electoral vote in the Golden Bull of 1356.

Instead, Rudolph creates the Privilegium Maius, a document which has no authority behind it but which raises the dukes of Austria to archdukes, a new title, and one which grants them the same level of status as the seven prince-electors of the Holy Roman empire.

1378 - 1400

Wenzel / Wenceslas of Luxemburg

Son, Charles IV. King Bohemia, Hungary, Elector Brandenburg.

1395

Gian Galeazzo Visconti purchases a diploma for one hundred thousand florins from Wenceslas of Luxemburg. This diploma confirms Gian Visconti as duke of Milan and count of Pavia.

1400 - 1410

Rupert of the Palatinate

Uncrowned.

1410 - 1437

Sigismund of Luxemburg

Son of Charles IV. King of Bohemia, Elector of Brandenburg.

Sigismund marries Mary of Anjou, queen of Hungary. In 1415 the electorate of Brandenburg is purchased from the Holy Roman empire by the Hohenzollern family of southern Germany.

Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, king of Hungary and Bohemia
Elector Sigismund of Brandenburg, and king of Hungary, Croatia, and Luxembourg, managed to add Bohemia to that list during an illustrious career, before becoming Holy Roman emperor in 1410

1410 - 1411

[Jobst of Moravia]

Rival. Elector of Brandenburg. Duke of Luxembourg.

1437

The death of Sigismund of Luxembourg, king of Bohemia,elector of Brandenburg, and king of Hungary through his wife, leaves the succession open to Albert V of Austria. His rule, plus that of his numerous successors, heralds the start and continuation of the ' Habsburg Emperors'.

 
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