Holy Roman Empire

Lore & Background

After Frederick II's deposition 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 meaningful support for Innocent's crusade. In Germany, particularly in Swabia, most of Franconia, and the south, Hohenstaufen power remained formidable. Henry Raspe was killed in 1247 and succeeded as anti-king by William of Holland (d. 1256). Throughout 1249–1250 Conrad IV steadily defeated William, whose power never extended beyond a tenuous hold north of the Rhine. 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 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 who never set foot on German soil. After Richard's death in 1273, Rudolf I of Germany, a minor pro-Staufen count, was elected—the first Habsburg 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 never crowned emperor, starting a line of so-called count-kings lasting until the establishment of a de facto hereditary monarchy by the Habsburgs in the 15th century.

In Their Own Story

Albert was assassinated in 1308. Almost immediately, King Philip IV of France began aggressively seeking support for his brother, Charles of Valois, to be elected the next King of the Romans. Philip thought he had the backing of the French Pope Clement V (established at Avignon in 1309) and lavishly spread French money to bribe German electors. Charles of Valois had the backing of Henry, Archbishop of Cologne, a French supporter, but many were not keen to see an expansion of French power, least of all Clement V. The principal rival to Charles appeared to be Rudolf, the Count Palatine. Instead, Henry VII, of the House of Luxembourg, was elected with six votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308. Though a vassal of King Philip, Henry was bound by few national ties, making him a suitable compromise candidate among electors who had lived without a crowned emperor for decades. Henry of Luxembourg's brother, Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier, won over a number of electors in exchange for substantial concessions. 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 re-emerged after Henry's untimely death in 1314. Louis IV was opposed by Frederick the Fair, and later by Charles IV, who in turn was briefly opposed 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.

Reader's Guide

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 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 like the Thuringian Counts' War, resulting in a general state of near-anarchy 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. Rulers must navigate the college of electors, secure the blessing of the Church, and manage the fierce independence of territorial magnates. Without careful management, the realm risks fracturing under internal dissent.

Did You Know?

• The longest interregnum without an emperor lasted 62 years, from 1250 to 1312.
• Henry VII was crowned emperor by Pope Clement V on 29 June 1312 in Rome, ending the Great Interregnum.
• Conrad IV died of malaria near Rome in 1254 while consolidating his Sicilian inheritance.
• Rudolf I of Germany, elected in 1273, was the first Habsburg to hold a royal title but was never crowned emperor.
• The term 'Great Interregnum' is occasionally used for the period between Frederick II's death in 1250 and Rudolf I's accession in 1273.