List of Roman-German rulers

This list of the Roman-German rulers contains the kings of the East Franconian Empire since the Treaty of Verdun and the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, which has been known as this since the 13th century . The addition Deutscher Nation (Latin Nationis Germanicæ ) was used from the late 15th century.

Also listed are the various opposing kings who, for various reasons, were unable to gain full power in the empire, but nevertheless played an essential role. Their names appear in italics . Those emperors who were not at the same time Roman-German king are not listed . It should be noted that only the term Roman emperor was used. German developed later or as an auxiliary addendum.

Carolingian

→ Main article : Carolingians

Carolingians is the house name of the ruling dynasty of the West Germanic Franks , who had the royal dignity in the Franconian Empire from 751. Its most famous representative was Charlemagne , from whom the later Carolingian rulers descended. Charlemagne founded a new Roman Empire when he was in Rome on December 25th, 800 by Pope Leo III. was anointed and crowned emperor .

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Ludwig II the German	817 appointed by Ludwig the Pious as sub-king of Bavaria , which he ruled independently from 826 , East Franconian king 843–876		Son of Louis the Pious , after the Battle of Fontenoy and the Strasbourg oaths Treaty of Verdun : partition of the Frankish empire , invasions of Slavs and Vikings , conflict with western France
	Karlmann	King in the partial kingdom of Bavaria 865 / 876–880 , King of Italy 877–879		Son of Ludwig the German
	Ludwig III. the younger one	King in Franconia-Saxony 865 / 876–882, in Bavaria 880–882		Son of Ludwig the German, Battle of Andernach
	Charles III the thick	King in the partial kingdom of Alemannia 865 / 876–882 , King of Italy 879–887, East Franconian King 876–887 , West Franconian King 885–887, Roman Emperor 881–888	Imperial coronation in Rome by Pope John VIII.	Son of Ludwig the German, reunited the Frankish Empire for a short time as emperor (885-887)
	Arnolf of Carinthia	Margrave of Carinthia from 880, Duke of Bavaria and East Franconian King from 887 , King of Italy and Roman Emperor 896–899	Imperial coronation in Rome by Pope Formosus	Son of Karlmann, last Carolingian emperor, victor over the Normans, pact with the Hungarians, Italian campaigns and conflicts with the rulers there, de facto renunciation of the West Franconian Empire
	Ludwig IV the child	East Franconian King 900–911	Forchheim, East Franconia	Son of Arnulf of Carinthia, last Carolingian king

Conradines

→ Main article : Konradiner

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Konrad I.	Duke of Franconia 906–918, East Franconian king 911–918	King's rising in Forchheim	First non-Carolingian German king, conflicts with the dukes

Ottonen (Liudolfinger)

→ Main article : Liudolfinger

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Heinrich I.	Duke of Saxony 912–936, King of East Franconia 919–936	King's rising in Fritzlar	Reclamation of Lorraine, castle building during armistice with the Hungarians, significant victory over the Hungarians (933)
	Arnulf the Evil	907–937 Duke of Bavaria, 919–921 possibly anti-king		Fights against Hungarians and dukes, Italian march
	Otto I the Great	Duke of Saxony and King of East Franconia from 936 , King of Italy from 951, Roman Emperor 962–973	Elevation of the king in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome by Pope John XII.	Son of Heinrich I, victory over the Hungarians in the battle of the Lechfeld near Augsburg (955), uprisings by the nobles, king of Italy and first Roman emperor of the Ottonians, conquest of territories in the East Elbe
	Otto II.	Roman king from 961, Roman emperor 973–983	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome by Pope John XIII.	Son of Otto I, loss of the East Elbe territories and devastating defeat in 982 at Crotone when trying to drive the Byzantines and Saracens out of southern Italy
	Otto III.	Roman and Italian king from 983, Roman emperor 996–1002 983-991 Regent Theophanu 991–995 Regent Adelheid of Burgundy 997–999 regent and governor in the realm of Mathilde	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome by Pope Gregory V.	Son of Otto II, idea of ​​the renewal of the Roman Empire ( Renovatio imperii Romanorum )
	Henry II	Duke of Bavaria 995–1004 and 1009–1017, Roman king from 1002 , King of Italy from 1004, Roman emperor 1014–1024	Coronation of the king in Mainz, coronation of the emperor in Rome by Pope Benedict VIII.	Great-grandson of Heinrich I, campaigns to Bohemia, foundation of the Bamberg diocese in 1007, canonized in 1146

Salier

→ Main article : Salier

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Konrad II.	Duke of Franconia 1015, Roman King from 1024 , King of Italy 1026, Roman Emperor 1027–1039 , King of Burgundy 1033	Royal coronation in Mainz, imperial coronation in Rome by Pope Johannes XIX.	Inheritance of Burgundy, Italian trains
	Henry III.	Hz. Of Bavaria 1027–1042 and 1047–1049, Roman king from 1028 , 1038–1056 king of Burgundy, 1038–1045 Hz. Of Swabia, 1039–1047 administrator of the Hzm. Carinthia, 1039 Hz. Von Franken, Roman Emperor 1046–1056	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome by Pope Clemens II.	Son of Conrad II, trains in Italy, successful church politics
	Henry IV.	Duke of Bavaria 1053/54 and 1077–1096, Roman king from 1056, Roman emperor 1084–1105 1056-62 Regentess Agnes of Poitou 1062–65 Imperial Administrator Anno II. 1063–65 Imperial Administrator Adalbert von Bremen	Coronation of the king in Aachen, coronation of the emperor in Rome by (anti-) Pope Clemens III.	Son of Henry III, investiture dispute , banishment by Pope Gregory VII in 1076, visit to Canossa in January 1077, conflict with opposing kings
	Konrad (III.)	1076–1088 Duke of Franconia and Lower Lorraine, King of Italy 1093–1098, Co-King 1087–1098	Royal coronation in Aachen	Son of Henry IV, affiliation with the Pope
	Rudolf of Rheinfelden	Duke of Swabia 1057-1080, Gegenkönig 1077-1080	Royal coronation in Mainz	Gegenkönig, soon largely restricted to Saxony, death in the battle of the White Elster (Thuringia) in 1080
	Hermann of Luxemburg, Count of Salm	Against King 1081-1088	Consecrated in Goslar	Largely powerless rival king in Saxony
	Henry V.	Roman co-king from 1099 , Roman emperor 1111–1125	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome by Pope Paschal II.	Son of Henry IV, anti-king and rebellion, settlement in the investiture dispute with Pope Calixt II ( Worms Concordat in 1122)

Supplinburger

→ Main article : Supplinburger

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Lothar III.	Duke of Saxony 1106–1137, Roman king from 1125 , King of Italy from 1128, Roman emperor 1133–1137	Coronations of kings in Aachen and Monza (Italy), coronation of emperors in Rome (Lateran) by Pope Innocent II.	Conflict with Hohenstaufen, Italian policy

Staufer

→ Main article : Staufer

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Conrad III.	1105–1138 Duke of Franconia, 1127–1135 anti -king , Italian, Burgundian and Roman king 1138–1152	Royal coronation in Aachen	Unsuccessful crusade, conflict with Guelphs
	Heinrich (VI.)	1138–1150 Duke of Franconia, co-king 1147–1150	Royal coronation in Aachen	Son of Conrad III, Battle of Flochberg
	Friedrich I. Barbarossa	Duke of Swabia 1147–1152, Roman king from 1152, Roman emperor 1155–1190	Coronation of kings in Aachen and Arles, coronation of emperors in Rome by Pope Hadrian IV.	Nephew of Conrad III, conflict with Henry the Lion , Italian campaigns and the third crusade: 1162 imperial troops destroy Milan (second Italian campaign) 1164 Transfer of the relics of the Magi to Cologne (third Italian expedition) 1176 defeat in the battle of Legnano against the Lombards (fifth Italian campaign) 1190 Frederick I drowns in Asia Minor (third crusade)
	Henry VI.	Roman King from 1169 , King of Italy from 1186, Roman Emperor 1191–1197 , King of Sicily from 1194	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome by Pope Celestine III.	Son of Frederick I, immigrated to Italy, marriage to Constanze of Sicily , heiress of the southern Italian Norman Empire
	Philip of Swabia	1196 Duke of Swabia, Roman King 1198–1208	Royal coronation in Mainz and Aachen	Son of Frederick I, conflict with the Guelphs, regicide at Bamberg (June 1208)

Guelphs

→ Main article : Guelphs

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Otto IV of Braunschweig	Roman king from 1198, Roman emperor 1209–1218	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome by Pope Innocent III.	Third son of Henry the Lion, unsuccessful move to Sicily, banished by Pope Innocent III in 1211.

Staufer

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Friedrich II.	1198 King of Sicily, elected future Emperor (1211), legal Roman King since 1212 , Duke of Swabia 1212–1217, Roman Emperor 1220–1250 , King of Jerusalem in 1225	Coronation of kings in Mainz and Aachen, coronation of emperors in Rome by Pope Honorius III.	Son of Henry VI, King of Jerusalem
	Henry (VII.)	1212–1216 King of Sicily, 1217–1235 Duke of Swabia, Roman co-king since 1220 , deposed by his father in 1235	Royal coronation in Aachen	Son of Frederick II, revolt against his father
	Heinrich Raspe	1227 guardian of Landgrave Hermann II of Thuringia, joint government from 1238, sole government from 1241, counter-king 1246–1247	Veitshöchheim near Würzburg	Conflict with Hohenstaufen
	Conrad IV.	1235–1254 Duke of Swabia, King of Rome , King of Sicily and Jerusalem 1250–1254	Election place Vienna 1237	Son of Frederick II, politics in Italy, conflict with the anti-king

interregnum

→ Main article : Interregnum (HRR)

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	William of Holland	1234–1256 Count of Holland, counter-king 1248–1254 , Roman king 1254–1256	Royal coronation in Aachen	Feuds, conflict with Hohenstaufen
	Richard of Cornwall	Roman king 1257–1272	Royal coronation in Aachen	Was seldom in the empire
	Alfonso of Castile	1252–1284 King of Castile, counter-king 1257–1275		Never step on the floor of the HRR

Habsburgs and Nassau

→ Main articles : Habsburg  and House of Nassau

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Rudolf I of Habsburg	1239 Count of Habsburg, 1276–1286 Duke of Carinthia and Carniola, 1278–1282 Duke of Austria and Styria, Roman-German. King 1273–1291	Royal coronation in Aachen	Victory over Ottokar II of Bohemia
	Adolf of Nassau	Roman-German King 1292–1298 , 1294 / 95–1298 Margrave of Meißen and Landgrave of Thuringia	Royal coronation in Aachen	First king deposed without a Pope
	Albrecht I of Habsburg	1282–1308 Duke of Austria and Styria, Roman-German King 1298–1308	Royal coronation in Aachen	Successful home power policy

Luxembourgers and Wittelsbachers

→ Main article : House of Luxemburg  and Wittelsbach

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Henry VII , Luxembourger	1288 Count of Luxembourg, Roman-German King from 1308 , Lombard king from 1311, Roman emperor 1312–1313	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome (Lateran)	Italian train
	Ludwig IV., The Bavarian , Wittelsbacher	1294–1302 under the tutelage of his brother Rudolf I, then co-regent in Upper Bavaria and the Palatinate near Rhine, Roman-German King from 1314 , Lombard King from 1327, Roman Emperor 1328–1347 , Duke 1340–1347 throughout Bavaria	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome	Conflict with Habsburg and Pope ( Kurverein von Rhense ), domestic power policy
	Frederick the Handsome , Habsburg	1308–1330 Duke of Austria and Styria as Friedrich I, Gegenkönig 1314–1330	Royal coronation in Bonn	Conflict and agreement with Wittelsbach
	Charles IV of Luxembourg	1346 Gegenkönig , 1347 Roman-German King , King of Bohemia and Count of Luxembourg, 1355 King of Lombardy, Roman Emperor 1355–1378 , 1365 King of Burgundy	Coronation to the counter-king in Bonn in 1346 , renewed royal coronation in 1349 in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome (Lateran basilica)	House power politics, golden bull
	Günther von Schwarzburg	1349 anti-king		Powerless counter-king
	Wenceslaus of Luxembourg	1373–1378 Elector and Margrave of Brandenburg, 1378–1419 King of Bohemia, Roman-German. King 1378–1400 , 1383–1388 Duke of Luxembourg	Royal coronation in Aachen	Dismissed for inaction
	Ruprecht von der Pfalz , Wittelsbacher	1398 Elector and Count Palatine near Rhine, Roman-German King 1400-1410	First royal coronation in Cologne in 1401	No royal coronation in Aachen, but where he ascended the throne of Charlemagne on November 14, 1407
	Jobst from Moravia , Luxembourger	1375 Margrave of Moravia, 1388 Elector and Margrave of Brandenburg, Duke of Luxembourg, Roman-German King 1410-1411		Elected in 1410, died shortly afterwards and in fact could not take office
	Sigismund of Luxembourg	1378–1388 and 1411–1415 Elector and Margrave of Brandenburg, 1387 King of Hungary and Croatia , Roman-German. King from 1411 , King of Bohemia in 1420, King of Lombardy in 1431, Emperor of Rome 1433–1437	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome	Awarded Brandenburg, Hussite Wars, Council of Constance and overcoming the Western schism

Habsburgs

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Albrecht II.	1404 under guardian and from 1411 Duke of Austria, 1438 King of Bohemia, 1438 King of Hungary and Croatia , Roman-German King 1438–1439	Elected in Frankfurt am Main
	Friedrich III.	1424 Duke of Inner Austria, 1458–1461 Archduke of Lower Austria, 1463–1485 and 1490–1493 Archduke of Austria, Roman-German King Friedrich IV. From 1440 , King of Lombardy and Roman Emperor Friedrich III. 1452-1493	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Rome	Marriage and succession contracts, longest reign (around 53 years)
	Maximilian I.	Roman-German King from 1486 , Archduke of Austria in 1493, elected Roman Emperor 1508–1519	Coronation of the king in Aachen, acceptance of the imperial title in Trento	Imperial reform , Italian wars
	Charles V	1506 Burgundian inheritance, 1516 King of Spain, 1519–1521 Archduke of Austria, Roman-German. King from 1519 , King of Lombardy, elected Roman Emperor 1520–1530, Roman Emperor crowned by the Pope 1530–1556	Royal coronation in Aachen, imperial coronation in Bologna (last coronation of an emperor by the Pope)	Wars against France and Turks, time of the Reformation
	Ferdinand I.	1521 Archduke of Austria, 1526 King of Bohemia and Hungary (coronation 1527), 1527 King of Croatia , Roman-German King from 1531, Roman Emperor 1558–1564	Royal coronation in Aachen	Peace of Passau and Augsburg
	Maximilian II	1562 King of Bohemia, Roman-German King from 1562 , 1563 King of Hungary and Croatia, 1564 Archduke of Austria, Roman Emperor 1564–1576	Frankfurt am Main (King)	Tends towards Protestant teaching
	Rudolf II.	1572–1608 King of Hungary and Croatia, 1575–1611 King of Bohemia, Roman-German King from 1575 , Archduke 1576–1608, Roman Emperor 1576–1612	Regensburg (King)	Religiously tolerant and art-minded emperor, inactive in recent years
	Matthias	1608 King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, 1611 King of Bohemia and Roman-German King and Emperor 1612–1619	Frankfurt am Main	Beginning of the Thirty Years War
	Ferdinand II.	1596 Duke of Inner Austria, 1617–1619 and from 1621 King of Bohemia, 1618 King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria and Roman-German. King and Emperor (1619–1637)	Frankfurt am Main	Thirty Years War, operator of the Counter Reformation
	Ferdinand III.	1625 King of Hungary and Croatia, 1627 King of Bohemia, Roman-German King from 1636 , Archduke of Austria and Roman Emperor 1637–1657	Regensburg (King)	End of the Thirty Years War
	Ferdinand IV.	1646 King of Bohemia, 1647 King of Hungary and Croatia, Roman-German King 1653–1654	regensburg	Only carried the title of king, his father Emperor Ferdinand III. ruled
	Leopold I.	1655 King of Hungary and Croatia, 1656 King of Bohemia, 1657 Archduke of Austria, Roman-German King and Emperor 1658–1705	Frankfurt am Main	Wars against Turks and France
	Joseph I.	1687 King of Hungary and Croatia, Roman-German King from 1690 , Archduke of Austria, King of Bohemia and Roman Emperor 1705–1711	Augsburg (King),	War of the Spanish Succession
	Charles VI	Elected King of Spain 1706–1714, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Roman-German. King and Emperor 1711–1740	Frankfurt am Main	Pragmatic sanction , Turkish war

interregnum

→ Main article : Pragmatic sanction

Wittelsbacher

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Charles VII	1726 Elector and Duke of Bavaria, 1741–1743 King of Bohemia, Roman-German King and Emperor 1742–1745	Frankfurt am Main	War of the Austrian Succession

Habsburg-Lorraine

→ Main article : Habsburg-Lothringen

	Surname	Reign chronicle	Coronation place	Remarks
	Franz I.	1729–1736 Duke of Lorraine, 1737 Grand Duke of Tuscany, 1740–1741 co-regent in the Austrian and Hungarian hereditary lands, Roman-German. King and Emperor 1745–1765	Frankfurt am Main	In the Archduchy of Austria only co-regent of Maria Theresa , who defended the female Habsburg succession ( pragmatic sanction ), but as a woman could not receive the imperial dignity of the HRR; Seven Years War
	Joseph II	Roman-German King from 1764, Roman Emperor 1765–1790 , co-regent from 1765, sole government from 1780 as King of Bohemia, Croatia and Hungary, Archduke of Austria	Frankfurt am Main	Josephinism
	Leopold II.	1765–1790 Grand Duke of Tuscany, King of Bohemia, Croatia and Hungary, Archduke of Austria, Roman-German. King and Emperor 1790–1792	Frankfurt am Main	Reichenbacher Convention , Pillnitz Declaration
	Francis II	King of Bohemia, Croatia and Hungary, Archduke of Austria from 1792, Roman-German King and Emperor 1792–1806 , from 1804 also Emperor of Austria; from 1806 with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation as Franz I. only Emperor of Austria	Frankfurt am Main	Coalition wars, abdicates after the founding of the Rhine Confederation at Napoleon's pressure

Ordinal numbers

Counting problems arise in the following cases:

• The fellow kings Konrad, son of Heinrich IV., Heinrich, son of Conrad III. and Heinrich, son of Frederick II, were not counted. The counting of Ludwig of Bavaria as IV refers to the empire, as king he would have been Ludwig V.
• The ordinal numbers of the listed persons begin with some Franconian rulers who ruled before 843, beginning with Charlemagne, and therefore do not belong in this list.
• Lothar III. is counted with the ordinal number III. There was previously as Emperor Lothar I of the Franconian Empire ; his son Lothar II was only the Frankish king of Lorraine, but is counted as No. II. But there was also a Lothar II of Italy , in whose successor Lothar III. also stood.
• The counter kings unless they later came to power, not counted (with the exception of Frederick the Fair , which at the King Frederick IV survey. Yet , in his imperial coronation as Frederick III. Not been counted).

See also

• List of Roman emperors in antiquity (27 BC – 641)
• List of Byzantine emperors (306–1453)
• List of Frankish rulers (420–843)
• List of Roman Emperors (800–924)
• Reichsdeputationshauptschluss , Basis for the last important law of the Holy Roman Empire (February 25, 1803)
• Emperor of Austria (1804-1918)
• List of heads of state of the German Empire ( German Emperor ), (1871–1918)
• List of heads of government of the North German Confederation and the German Empire (1867–1945)
• List of elections for the Roman-German kings (1376–1792)
• List of the wives of the Roman-German rulers
• Tombs of the Roman-German rulers

literature

• Bernd Schneidmüller : The emperors of the Middle Ages. From Charlemagne to Maximilian I. Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-53598-4 .
• Bernd Schneidmüller, Stefan Weinfurter (ed.): The German rulers of the Middle Ages. Historical portraits from Heinrich I to Maximilian I (919–1519) Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-50958-4 .

Web links

Commons : Gallery of the Rulers of the Holy Roman Empire  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ↑ Joachim Ehlers : The emergence of the German Empire . 4th edition, Munich 2012, p. 97 (with documents): Addition of German nation to the Roman Empire title 1474, Roman Empire Teutscher Nation 1486 and 1512 completely Holy Roman Empire Teutscher Nation . In modern research literature, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation is used not for the medieval but for the modern empire.
2. ↑ Bernd Schneidmüller: The emperors of the Middle Ages. From Charlemagne to Maximilian I. Munich 2006, p. 98.
3. ↑ Oliver Auge : Ruprecht (III.) Von der Pfalz. In: New German Biography. Volume 22. Berlin 2005, pp. 283–285, here p. 284.