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1 October 1273
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6 Prince-electors[a] 4 votes needed to win | ||||||||||||||||
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The imperial election of 1273 was an imperial election held to select the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It took place in Frankfurt on 1 October 1273, ending the prolonged political crisis known as the Great Interregnum, which had left the empire without a universally recognized ruler since 1250.
Six of the seven prince-electors convened after the death of the previous king, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, in April 1272. The principal candidates were Rudolf, Count of Habsburg and Ottokar II of Bohemia, though the latter did not attend and disputed the election's validity. The six attending electors unanimously chose Rudolf, who was subsequently crowned at Aachen Cathedral on 24 October 1273.
Rudolf I became the first member of the House of Habsburg to rule the Holy Roman Empire, founding a dynastic connection to the imperial throne that would endure, with interruptions, for centuries.
Background
The Holy Roman Empire was in the midst of a period known as the Great Interregnum. In July 1245, the Pope Innocent IV had declared the then emperor, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, deposed, opening a split between two factions, the Guelphs and Ghibellines.
The previous king of the Romans, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, died on April 2, 1272, in Berkhamsted following a stroke he had suffered in December 1271. The seven prince-electors called to Frankfurt were:
- Archbishop Werner von Eppstein, Elector of Mainz
- Archbishop Engelbert II von Falkenburg, Elector of Cologne
- Archbishop Heinrich II. von Finstingen, Elector of Trier
- Louis II, Elector Palatine
- John and Albert II, co-dukes of Saxony as Saxon elector
- Otto V, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel
- Ottokar II, King of Bohemia and "usurper" duke of Austria
To Frankfurt arrived the three archbishops, Elector Louis and
- Albert of Saxony also as representative of his brother
- Frederick III of Nuremberg as representative for Margraviate of Brandenburg
However, strictly speaking, Ottokar's marriage with the heiress of the Arch-Pincerna dynasty had already ended in annulment, Ottokar was holding as usurper her duchies the Carantanian territories, duchy of Styria and Austria. King Ottokar II did not arrive. The six electors convened on 29 September and summoned the Bavarian Duke to exercise the Carantanian-Bavarian vote instead of the absent King Ottokar or anyone else better entitled to it.
There were 6 candidates: the favourites Rudolf, Count of Habsburg and Ottakar II of Bohemia (an elector himself), and lesser candidates Louis II, Duke of Bavaria, Siegfried I, Prince of Anhalt and Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen.[1] Charles I of Anjou supported his nephew Philip III of France but he did not gain support.[2] Alfonso X of Castile (elected in 1257 alongside Richard) remained an anti-king until 1275.
Election and aftermath
Count Rudolf was elected without opposition after Henry XIII, Duke of Bavaria's promotion to elector instead Ottakar II.[3] Rudolf's principal voters, Albert II of Saxony and Louis II of Palatinate, were assured by marrying his daughters to the two electors.[4] He was crowned at Aachen Cathedral on October 24.[5]
Rudolf was the first member of the House of Habsburg to rule the Holy Roman Empire. The house would occupy the seat continuously from 1438 to 1740 and produce emperors and kings of Bohemia, England, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Mexico, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, as well as rulers of several Dutch and Italian principalities.
Notes
- Ottokar II of Bohemia was one of the seven electors but did not attend the assembly and contested the legal validity of the election.
References
- Engel, Evamaria (1989). "Rudolf von Habsburg". Deutsche Könige und Kaiser des Mittelalters (in German). Böhlau Verlag. p. 240. doi:10.7788/boehlau.9783412308933.240. ISBN 978-3-412-03688-1.
- Kaufhold, Martin. Die Erneuerung der Königsgewalt im Reich (PDF) (in German). p. 50.
- Vacha, "1273 wurde Rudolf von Habsburg von den sieben Kurfürsten zum König gewählt" - "statt dem Böhmenkönig dem bayerischen Herzogtum die siebente Kurstimme übertragen wurde", pp. 32-33
- Cruz, Anne J.; Galli Stampino, Maria (2016). Routledge (ed.). The Imperial Election of 1273. Routledge. p. 29. ISBN 9781317146926.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - "Rudolf I". Encyclopædia Britannica.