Holy Roman Empire

Lore & Background

The term Great Interregnum is occasionally used for the period between the death of Frederick II in 1250 and the accession of Rudolf I in 1273. After the deposition of Frederick II by Pope Innocent IV in 1245, Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia was set up as anti-king to Frederick's son Conrad IV (d. 1254). Frederick’s deposition was widely regarded as illegitimate, and no monarch in Europe offered any meaningful support for Innocent in his crusade against the emperor—whose immense status and legendary reputation as perhaps the greatest monarch of his day continued undiminished, especially in the vast Hohenstaufen core holdings. Henry Raspe was killed in 1247 and succeeded as anti-king by William of Holland (d. 1256). Throughout 1249–1250 Conrad IV had steadily defeated William, whose power never extended beyond a tenuous hold north of the Rhine, and extracted a truce from the major ecclesiastical princes. By Frederick II’s death in late 1250, the emperor controlled most of Italy and his son enjoyed a relatively solid base across southern and central Germany. However, Conrad IV died of malaria near Rome in 1254 while consolidating his Sicilian inheritance. Conrad’s death and the extreme youth of his son, Conradin, signaled an implosion in the Hohenstaufen dynastic power. After the 1257 imperial election, the crown was contested between Richard of Cornwall, supported by the Guelph party, and Alfonso X of Castile, recognized by the Hohenstaufen party but never set foot on German soil. After Richard's death in 1273, Rudolf I of Germany, a minor pro-Staufen count, was elected. He was the first of the Habsburgs to hold a royal title, but he was never crowned emperor. After Rudolf's death in 1291, Adolf and Albert were two further weak kings who were never crowned emperor, starting a line of so-called count-kings which lasted to the establishment of a de facto hereditary monarchy by the Habsburgs in the 15th century. Albert was assassinated in 1308. Instead, Henry VII, of the House of Luxembourg, was elected with six votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308. Henry VII was crowned king at Aachen on 6 January 1309, and emperor by Pope Clement V on 29 June 1312 in Rome, ending the interregnum. However, political instability in Germany re-emerged after Henry's untimely death in 1314. Louis IV was opposed by Frederick the Fair, and later by Charles IV, and Charles IV in turn (briefly) by Günther of Schwarzburg, ruling unopposed only from 1350. His successors Wenceslaus, Rupert and Jobst again were not crowned emperor. Sigismund (r. 1411–1437) was crowned emperor in 1433, but only with Frederick III (r. 1452–1493), the second emperor of the House of Habsburg, did the Holy Roman Emperor return to an unbroken succession of emperors ending (with the exception of Charles VII all of the House of Habsburg) until its dissolution in 1806.

In Their Own Story

The crisis of the interregnum established the college of prince-electors as the only source of legitimacy of the German king. At the same time, the lack of central government strengthened the communal movements, such as the Swabian League of Cities, the Hanseatic League and the Swiss Confederacy. It also encouraged increased feuding among the lesser nobility, leading to conflicts such as the Thuringian Counts' War, leading to a general state of near-anarchy in Germany where robber barons acted unopposed by the nominal system of justice. Germany was fractured into countless minor states fending for themselves, a condition that would persist into the modern period and, termed Kleinstaaterei, present an obstacle to the modern project of national unification.

Reader's Guide

The Holy Roman Empire is not a unified army but a coalition of semi-independent states. Its primary goal is often the maintenance of Imperial prestige and the suppression of vassal rebellion, though individual members frequently pursue their own agendas. Membership consists primarily of high-ranking nobles known as Electors, who possess the unique right to choose the Emperor. These include powerful Dukes, Archbishops, and Margraves whose loyalty is often bought with titles or concessions rather than earned through devotion. In the grand conflict of medieval Europe, the Empire serves as a massive buffer zone and a prize for ambitious rulers. Its internal instability makes it a frequent target for external aggression, particularly from France to the west or the Papacy's political maneuvers, while its sheer size ensures that any war within its borders can reshape the entire continent.

Did You Know?

• The term 'Great Interregnum' is occasionally used for the period between the death of Frederick II in 1250 and the accession of Rudolf I in 1273.
• Henry VII of Luxembourg was elected with six votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308, ending an interregnum, and was crowned emperor by Pope Clement V on 29 June 1312 in Rome.
• After the deposition of Frederick II by Pope Innocent IV in 1245, no monarch in Europe offered any meaningful support for Innocent in his crusade against the emperor.
• Conrad IV died of malaria near Rome in 1254 while consolidating his Sicilian inheritance.
• The crisis of the interregnum established the college of prince-electors as the only source of legitimacy of the German king.