King of the Romans

The royal Throne of Charlemagne in

Aachen Cathedral

King of the Romans (Latin: Rex Romanorum; German: König der Römer) was a title used by
Syagrius, then by the German king following his election by the princes from the time of
Emperor Henry II (1014–1024) onward. The title was predominantly a claim to become Holy
Roman Emperor and was dependent upon coronation by the Pope.

The title originally referred to any elected king who had not yet been granted the Imperial
Regalia and title of "Emperor" at the hands of the Pope. Later it came to be used solely for
the heir apparent to the Imperial throne between his election (during the lifetime of a sitting
Emperor) and his succession upon the death of the Emperor.

Their actual title varied over time. During the Ottonian period it was King of the Franks
(German: König der Franken, Latin: Rex Francorum), from the late Salian period it was
Roman King (Römischer König) or King of the Romans (German: König der Römer, Lat.:
Rex Romanorum). In the Modern Period, the title King in Germania (German: König in
Germanien, Lat.: Germaniae Rex) came into use. Finally, modern German historiography
established the term Roman-German King (Römisch-deutscher König) to differentiate it
from the ancient Roman Emperor as well as from the modern German Emperor.

Ruling kings
History and usage
…
The territory of East Francia was not referred to as the Kingdom of Germany or Regnum
Teutonicum (Latinised from Old High German diutisc) by contemporary sources until the
11th century. During this time, the king's claim to coronation was increasingly contested by
the papacy culminating in the fierce Investiture Controversy. After the Salian heir apparent
Henry IV, a six-year-old minor, had been elected to rule the Empire in 1056 he adopted
Romanorum Rex as a title to emphasize his sacred entitlement to be crowned Emperor by
the Pope. Pope Gregory VII insisted on using the derogatory term Teutonicorum Rex ("King
of the Germans") in order to imply that Henry's authority was merely local and did not
extend over the whole Empire. Henry continued to regularly use the title Romanorum Rex
until he finally was crowned Emperor by Antipope Clement III in 1084. Henry's successors
imitated this practice, and were also called Romanorum Rex before and Romanorum
Imperator after their Roman coronations.

Medieval practice
…
Candidates for the kingship were at first the heads of the Germanic stem duchies. As these
units broke up, rulers of smaller principalities and even non-Germanic rulers were
considered for the position. The only requirements generally observed were that the
candidate be an adult male, a Catholic Christian, and not in holy orders. The kings were
elected by several Imperial Estates (secular princes as well as Prince-Bishops), often in the
imperial city of Frankfurt after 1147, a custom recorded in the Schwabenspiegel code in
about 1275.

Originally all noblemen present could vote by unanimous acclamation, but later a franchise
was granted to only the most eminent bishops and noblemen, and according to the Golden
Bull of 1356 issued by Emperor Charles IV only the seven Prince-electors had the right to
participate in a majority voting as determined by the 1338 Declaration of Rhense. They were
the Prince-Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne as well as the King of Bohemia, the
Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Saxon duke, and the Margrave of Brandenburg. After the
Investiture Controversy, Charles intended to strengthen the legal status of the Rex
Romanorum beyond Papal approbation. Consequently, among his successors only
Sigismund and Frederick III were still crowned Emperors in Rome and in 1530 Charles V was
the last king to receive the Imperial Crown at the hands of the Pope (in Bologna). The
Golden Bull remained effective as constitutional law until the Empire's dissolution in 1806.
After his election, the new king would be crowned as King of the Romans (Romanorum Rex),
usually at Charlemagne's throne in Aachen Cathedral by the Archbishop of Cologne.
Though the ceremony was no more than a symbolic validation of the election result, it was
solemnly celebrated. The details of Otto's coronation in 936 are described by the medieval
chronicler Widukind of Corvey in his Res gestae saxonicae. The kings received the Imperial
Crown from at least 1024, at the coronation of Conrad II. In 1198 the Hohenstaufen
candidate Philip of Swabia was crowned Rex Romanorum at Mainz Cathedral (as was King
Rupert centuries later), but he had another coronation in Aachen after he had prevailed
against his Welf rival Otto IV.

At some time after the ceremony, the king would, if possible, cross the Alps, to receive
coronation in Pavia or Milan with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy. Finally, he
would travel to Rome and be crowned Emperor by the Pope. Because it was rarely possible
for the elected King to proceed immediately to Rome for his crowning, several years might
elapse between election and coronation, and some Kings never completed the journey to
Rome at all. As a suitable title for the King between his election and his coronation as
Emperor, Romanorum Rex would stress the plenitude of his authority over the Empire and
his warrant to be future Emperor (Imperator futurus) without infringing upon the Papal
privilege.

Heraldry of Joseph II, the

last King of the Romans

Not all Kings of the Romans made this step, sometimes because of hostile relations with the
Pope, or because either the pressure of business at home or warfare in Germany or Italy
made it impossible for the King to make the journey. In such cases, the king might retain the
title "King of the Romans" for his entire reign.
Later developments
…
The title Romanorum Rex became functionally obsolete after 1508, when the Pope
permitted King Maximilian I to use the title of Electus Romanorum Imperator ("elected
Emperor of the Romans") after he failed in a good-faith attempt to journey to Rome. At this
time Maximilian also took the new title "King of the Germans" or "King in Germany"
(Germaniae rex, König in Germanien), but the latter was never used as a primary title.

The rulers of the Empire thereafter called themselves "Emperors" without going to Rome or
soliciting Papal approval, taking the title as soon as they were crowned in Germany or upon
the death of a sitting Emperor if they were elected as heir to the throne.

List
…
The regnal dates given are those between the election as king and either the election as
emperor, deposition or death.

Became Became
King Notes
King Emperor/died

crowned
Otto III 983 996
Emperor

crowned
Henry II 1002 1014
Emperor

crowned
Conrad II 1024 1027
Emperor

crowned
Henry III 1039 1046
Emperor

crowned
Henry IV 1056 1084
Emperor

25 May 15 Oct
Rudolf died Anti-king
1077 1080

6 Aug 28 Sept
Hermann died Anti-king
1081 1088

1105 1106 in opposition to Henry IV

Henry V crowned
1106 1111
 Emperor

crowned
Lothair III 1125 1133
Emperor

1127 1135 in opposition to Lothair

Conrad III
1138 1152 died

crowned
Frederick I 1152 1155
Emperor

crowned
Henry VI 1190 1197
Emperor

Philip 1198 1208 died

1198 1208 in opposition to Philip

Otto IV crowned
1208 1209
Emperor

crowned
Frederick II 1212 1220
Emperor

16
Henry 22 May
February died Anti-king
Raspe 1246
1247

28
William of
1247 January died Anti-king
Holland
1256

Conrad IV 1250 1254 died

Candidacy opposed by Saxony, Brandenburg

Richard of
1257 1272 died and Trier who supported Alfonso X of Castile.
Cornwall
Crowned in Aachen in 1257.

Rudolf I 1273 1291 died

deposed
Adolph 1292 1298
and killed

Albert I 1298 1308 died

crowned
Henry VII 1308 1312
Emperor

Frederick
the Fair 1314 1330 died jointly with Louis IV

crowned
1314 1328 jointly with Frederick the Fair
Louis IV Emperor

1347 died

1346 1347 opposed to Louis IV

Charles IV crowned
1347 1355
Emperor

Wenceslaus 1378 1400 deposed

Rupert 1400 1410 died

Jobst of
1410 1411 died opposed to Sigismund
Moravia

second
1410 1411 opposed to Jobst
election
Sigismund
crowned
1411 1433
Emperor

Albert II 1438 1439 died

crowned
Frederick III 1440 1452
Emperor

Introduced the title Rex in Germania.[1]

assumed
title of erwelter Romischer kayser, zu allen zeiten
Maximilian I 1493 1508
Emperor- merer des Reichs, in Germanien zu Hungern,
elect. Dalmatien, Croatien etc. kunig […][2]

crowned
Charles V 1519 1530
Emperor

After Charles V, Holy Roman Emperors assumed the title of "king of the Romans" at the
same time as being elected emperor. The titles of "Roman Emperor elect" (erwählter
Römischer Kaiser) and "king in Germany" (König in Germanien) continued to be used as
part of the full style of the emperors until 1806. When Francis II founded the Austrian
Empire in 1804, he used as his style for the last two years before the dissolution of the Holy
Roman Empire:
 "We, Francis II, by the grace of God elected Roman Emperor, at all times Increaser of the
Realm, hereditary Emperor of Austria, King in Germania, in Jerusalem, in Hungary, in
Bohemia [...].[3]

Heirs designate

Detail of the imperial coronation

mantle, drawing from 1857

The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the
succession simply because he was related to the current Emperor. However, the Emperor
could, and often did, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death.
This elected heir apparent bore the title "King of the Romans".[4]

The election was in the same form as that of the senior ruler, and theoretically meant that
both men were equal co-rulers of the Empire. In practice, however, the actual administration
of the Empire was always managed by the Emperor, with at most certain duties delegated to
the heir.

List
…
 Armor of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman
Emperor, created when he was still
King of the Romans in 1549.

The following were subordinate kings to another Holy Roman Emperor (usually, but not
always, their father) for the dates specified.

Date Date Reigning

Name Reason Relation
acceded relinquished Emperor

succeeded as King
Otto II 961 7 May 973 son Otto I
(Emperor 967)

succeeded as King
Henry III 1028 4 June 1039 son Conrad II
(Emperor 1046)

5 October succeeded as King

Henry IV 1053 son Henry III
1056 (Emperor 1084)

Conrad 1087 April 1098 deposed son Henry IV

6 January succeeded as King

Henry V 1105 son Henry IV
1099 (Emperor 1111)

Henry 30 March
1150 died son Conrad III
Berengar 1147

Henry VI 1169 10 June 1190 succeeded as King son Frederick

(Emperor 1191) I
 succeeded and abdicated
28 (via regency) 1197
Frederick II 1196 September elected King (with son Henry VI
1197 opposition) 1212
Emperor 1220

Frederick
Henry (VII) 1220 4 July 1235 deposed son
II

13
Frederick
Conrad IV 1237 December succeeded as King son
II
1250

29
10 June
Wenceslaus November succeeded as King son Charles IV
1376
1378

16 February 19 August succeeded as King Frederick

Maximilian I son
1486 1493 (Emperor 1508) III

5 January
Ferdinand I 3 May 1558 succeeded as Emperor brother Charles V
1531

28
Maximilian Ferdinand
November 25 July 1564 succeeded as Emperor son
II I
1562

27 October 12 October Maximilian

Rudolph II succeeded as Emperor son
1575 1576 II

22
Ferdinand 15 February Ferdinand
December succeeded as Emperor son
III 1637 II
1636

Ferdinand 31 May Ferdinand

9 July 1654 died son
IV 1653 III

23 January
Joseph I 5 May 1705 succeeded as Emperor son Leopold I
1690

27 March 18 August
Joseph II succeeded as Emperor son Francis I
1764 1765

First French Empire

 Napoleon II, 1811

When Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, had a son and heir, Napoleon II (1811–32), he
revived the title as King of Rome (Roi de Rome), styling his son as such at birth. The boy
was often known colloquially by this title throughout his short life. However, from 1818
onward, he was styled officially as the Duke of Reichstadt by Emperor Francis I of Austria.

See also

Syagrius, a Gallo-Roman leader called "king of the Romans" by Gregory of Tours

List of German monarchs, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and
Germany including those using titles other than "King of the Romans"

List of Holy Roman Emperors

Notes

h. Elisabeth Rothmund: Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672). Kulturpatriotismus und deutsche

weltliche Vokalmusik. "Zum Auffnehmen der Music, auch Vermehrung unserer Nation
Ruhm“, 2004, p. 79. H. Weisert: Der Reichstitel bis 1806. In: Archiv für
Diplomatik|Archiv für Diplomatik, Schriftgeschichte, Siegel- und Wappenkunde 4
(1994), 441–513 (p. 449).

i. Ernest Troger, Georg Zwanowetz (ed.): Neue Beiträge zur geschichtlichen

Landeskunde Tirols. Festschrift für Univ. Prof. Dr. Franz Huter anlässlich der
Vollendung des 70. Lebensjahres. Wagner, Innsbruck 1969, p. 269.

k. Wir, Franz der Zweyte, von Gottes Gnaden erwählter Römischer Kaiser, zu allen Zeiten
Mehrer des Reichs, erblicher Kaiser von Österreich, König in Germanien, zu Jerusalem,
zu Hungarn, zu Böheim, […] Franz Gall: Österreichische Wappenkunde. Handbuch der
Wappenwissenschaft. 2. Auflage. Böhlau, Wien 1992, p. 63.

m. A junior King of the Romans was normally chosen only when the senior ruler bore the
title of Emperor. Only on one occasion (1147-1150) was there both a ruling King of the
 Romans (King Conrad III) and a King of the Romans as heir (Henry Berengar). From the
16th century on, the senior ruler took the title of 'Emperor' from the time of his
accession or succession; King of the Romans accordingly came to refer solely to the
heir apparent.

References

This article needs additional citations for verification.

Learn more

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Holy Roman Emperors.

This article uses material translated from the corresponding article in the German-language
Wikipedia, which, in turn, cites a source that contains further references:

H. Beumann: Rex Romanorum, in: Lexikon des Mittelalters (Dictionary of the Middle Ages,
9 vols., Munich-Zürich 1980-98), vol. 7, col. 777 f.