Double kingship

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Under double kingship one understands the simultaneous legitimate reign of two kings - and differentiates it from the term counter-king , which represents an insult against the succession to the throne .

Sparta

In ancient Sparta of the classical and post-classical period (up to the 2nd century BC) there was a double kingship, the two kings of which were recruited from the families of the Agiads and Eurypontids . The kings were "lifelong generals", they represented the Spartan polis externally and were chief priests. As military leaders, the kings were under the supervision of or in contrast to the ephors . The kings had to answer to the popular assembly ( Apella ).

Important Spartan kings were: Leonidas , Pausanias (regent) , Agesilaos III. , Cleomenes III. , Agis IV. , Nabis .

Holy Roman Empire

To distinguish it from the anti-kingship , historical research in the German history of the (late) Middle Ages establishes a double kingship when two kings emerged from a conflicting election (of the electors ). There were a total of four such election decisions that did not produce a clear result in practice.

German throne dispute 1197: Philip of Swabia and Otto IV.

After the death of Henry VI. In 1197 the German controversy for the throne led to a double election. On March 8, 1198, the Electors, who were attached to the Hohenstaufen party, elected Philip of Swabia , a brother of Heinrich VI., To be king; on June 9, 1198, the Welf opposing party elected Otto of Braunschweig as Otto IV. To ruler. In fact, until the assassination of Philip in 1208, there were two elected kings in the empire due to a private feud that was independent of the dispute over the throne.

Double election 1256/57 and Interregnum until 1273: Alfonso X and Richard of Cornwall

In 1256, the former anti-king of Frederick II , Wilhelm von Holland , who had also been generally recognized since 1254, died. Relatives of the double kings of 1198 now continued the dispute between the families, although this time it was more about safeguarding foreign interests in a completely weakened empire. After some cities proclaimed King Alfonso X of Castile, a grandson of Philip of Swabia, shortly after Wilhelm's death , tensions arose with the English King Henry III. , which in 1257 led to a double election between Alfonso and Richard of Cornwall , a younger brother of the English king and cousin Otto IV. The King of Bohemia gave his vote to both parties, so that now both candidates were elected with 4 votes each. However, since Alfons never set foot on Reichsboden and Richard only sporadically defended his claim to the throne on site, the consequence of this double election was an era with practically no royal power exercised. This went down in history as the Kingsless Period or Interregnum and only ended with the death of Richard in 1272, the election of Rudolf I of Habsburg as king in 1273 and the subsequent resignation of Alfonso X.

Double election 1314–1322, Trausnitzer atonement, double kingship until 1330: Ludwig IV and Friedrich the Beautiful

In 1314 it was the double election came the electors, as the Wittelsbach Ludwig of Bavaria (1314-1347) and the Habsburg Frederick the Fair were (1314-1330) German kings. After Ludwig's victory in the Battle of Mühldorf (September 1322) and Friedrich's capture, the two opponents agreed in the Trausnitz Atonement and two Munich Treaties (March and September 1325, respectively) that the Wittelsbach and Habsburgs would rule together. This dual kingship in the real sense, namely as a common government, was thus a consequence of the electoral principle in the Roman-German Empire and the consequence of a special political situation. It worked smoothly insofar as Ludwig stayed in Italy between 1327 and 1329 and Friedrich died in January 1330, but remained largely ineffective politically.

Double election 1410/11: Sigismund of Luxembourg and Jobst of Moravia

The fourth double election followed King Ruprecht's death in 1410. The candidates were Jobst von Moravia and Sigismund , the latter a younger brother of the former Roman King Wenceslaus . On October 1, 1410, the electoral college elected Jobst of Moravia as king with four to three votes. The fourth vote had been contributed by Wenceslaus, who as King of Bohemia was also elector. Sigismund's party did not recognize this election, but before further disputes could arise, Jobst suddenly died on January 18, 1411, and Sigismund became the undisputed king of the empire.

Kingdom of Bavaria

After the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, his brother Otto I was the next King of Bavaria to join the throne. Since Otto suffered from severe psychological problems, the official business was led by his uncle, Prince Regent Luitpold . When he died in 1912, the office of Prince Regent was taken over by Luitpold's son Ludwig .

A change in the Bavarian constitution created the basic possibility of ending the reign in the event of a long illness of the king and appointing the next Wittelsbacher in line to the throne. Contrary to popular belief, the initiative for this constitutional amendment did not come from Prince Regent Ludwig, but from his ministers. After the Council of State and the two chambers of parliament had given their approval, the law to end the reign came into force on November 4, 1913. On November 5, 1913 Ludwig III. proclaimed King of Bavaria.

However, since the title and dignity of King Otto were not touched, there were de jure two kings in Bavaria for almost three years, until Otto's death on October 11, 1916.

literature

  • Jörg Rogge : The German kings in the Middle Ages. Election and coronation (= compact story. Middle Ages. ). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-534-15132-1 , pp. 36–44, 61 ff, 76 ff.
  • Raimund Schulz : Athens and Sparta (= compact history. Antiquity. ). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-534-15493-2 , pp. 58–59.