Archbishopric of Mainz

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Coat of Arms of the Archbishop of Mainz
Coat of Arms of the Archbishop of Mainz

Between 780–82 and 1802 the Archbishop of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince in the Holy Roman Empire. His see was established in ancient Roman times, in the city of Mainz, which had been a Roman provincial capital called Moguntiacum, but the office really came to prominence upon its elevation to an archdiocese in 780/82. The first bishops before the 4th century have legendary names, beginning with Crescens. The first verifiable Bishop of Mainz was Martinus in 343. The ecclesiastical and secular importance of Mainz dates from the accession of St. Boniface to the see in 747. Boniface was previously an archbishop, but the honor did not immediately devolve upon the see itself until his successor Lullus.

This archbishopric was a substantial ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It included lands near Mainz on the both the left and right banks of the Rhine, as well as territory along the Main above Frankfurt (including the district of Aschaffenburg), the Eichsfeld region in Lower Saxony and Thuringia, and the territory around Erfurt in Thuringia. The Archbishop was also, traditionally, one of the Imperial Prince-Electors, the Arch-chancellor of Germany, and presiding officer of the electoral college technically from 1251 and permanently from 1263 until 1803.

In 1802, Mainz lost its archiepiscopal character. In the secularizations that accompanied the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, the seat of the Elector, Karl Theodor von Dalberg, was moved to Regensburg, and the Electorate lost its left bank territories to France, its right bank areas along the Main below Frankfurt to Hesse-Darmstadt and the Nassau princes, and Eichsfeld and Erfurt to Prussia. Dalberg retained the Aschaffenburg area however, and when the Holy Roman Empire finally came to an end in 1806, this became the core of Dalberg's new Grand Duchy of Frankfurt. Dalberg resigned in 1813 and in 1815 the Congress of Vienna divided his territories between the King of Bavaria, the Elector of Hesse-Kassel, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Free City of Frankfurt.

The modern Diocese of Mainz was founded in 1802, within the territory of France and in 1814 its jurisdiction was extended over the territory of Hesse-Darmstadt. Since then the has had two cardinals and via various concordats was allowed to retain the mediæval tradition of the cathedral chapter electing a successor to the bishop.

Another specialty: Aside from Rome, the See of Mainz is the only other see referred to as a "Holy See", although this usage became rather less common.

Contents

[edit] Bishops of Moguntiacum, 80-745

  • Crescens c. 80-103
  • Marinus c. 103-109
  • St. Crescentius c. 109-127
  • Cyriacus c. 127-141
  • Hilarius c. 141-161
  • Martin I c. 161-175
  • Celsus c. 175-197
  • Lucius c. 197-207
  • Gotthard c. 207-222
  • Sophron c. 222-230
  • Heriger I c. 230-234
  • Ruther c. 234-254
  • Avitus c. 254-276
  • Ignatius c. 276-289
  • Dionysius c. 289-309
  • Ruprecht I c. 309-321
  • Adalhard c. 320's
  • Lucius Annaeus c. 330's
  • Martin II c. 330's-c. 360's
  • Sidonius I c. late 360's-c.386
  • Sigismund c. 386-c. 392
  • Lupold c. 392-c. 409
  • Nicetas c. 409-c. 417
  • Marianus c. 417-c. 427
  • Aureus c. 427-c. 443
  • Eutropius c. 443-c. 467
  • Adalbald
  • Nather
  • Adalbert (I)
  • Lantfried
  • Sidonius II  ? -c. 589
  • Siegbert I c. 589-610
  • Ludegast c. 610-615
  • Rudwald c. 615
  • Lubald ? fl. c. 625
  • Siegbert II
  • Gerold  ? -743
  • Gewielieb c. 743-c. 745

[edit] Archbishops of Mainz, 745-1251

[edit] Archbishops-Electors of Mainz, 1251-1803

  • Gerhard I von Daun-Kirberg 1251-1259
  • Werner II von Eppenstein 1260-1284
  • Heinrich II von Isny 1286-1288
  • Gerhard II von Eppenstein 1286-1305
  • Peter Aspelt 1306-1320
  • Matthias von Buchek 1321-1328
  • Heinrich III von Virneberg 1328-1337
  • Gerlach von Nassau 1346-1371
  • Johann I von Luxemburg-Ligny 1371-1373
  • Ludwig von Meissen 1374-1379
  • Adolf I von Nassau 1379-1390
  • Konrad II von Weinsberg 1390-1396
  • Johann II von Nassau 1396-1419
  • Joffrid von Leiningen 1396-1397 (in opposition)
  • Konrad III Wild- und Rheinsgraf zum Stein 1419-1434
  • Dietrich I 1434-1459
  • Dieter von Isenburg 1460-1461
  • Adolf II von Nassau (or Adolf III) 1461-1475
  • Dieter von Isenburg (restored) 1476-1482
  • Albert II 1482-1484
  • Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild 1484-1504
  • Jakob von Liebenstein 1504-1508
  • Uriel von Gemmingen 1508-1514
  • Albert III von Brandenburg 1514-1545
  • Sebastian von Heusenstamm 1545-1555
  • Daniel Brendel von Homburg 1555-1582
  • Wolfgang von Dalberg 1582-1601
  • Johann Adam von Bicken 1601-1604
  • Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg 1604-1626
  • Georg Friedrich von Greiffenklau 1626-1629
  • Anselm Casimir Wambold von Umstadt 1629-1647
  • Johann Philipp von Schönborn 1647-1673
  • Lothar Friedrich von Metternich 1673-1675
  • Damian Hartrad von der Leyen 1675-1678
  • Karl Heinrich von Metternich 1679
  • Anselm Franz von Ingelheim 1679-1695
  • Lothar Franz von Schönborn 1695-1729
  • Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg 1729-1732
  • Philipp Karl von Eltz 1732-1743
  • Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein 1743-1763
  • Emmerich Josef von Briedbach 1763-1774
  • Friedrich Karl Josef von Erthal 1774-1802
  • Karl Theodor von Dalberg 1802-1803 (d.1817, Archbishop of Regensburg 1803-1810, Prince of Frankfurt 1806-1810, Grand Duke of Frankfurt 1810-1813)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


Members of the Electoral College following the Golden Bull of 1356 The seven members of the Electoral College
Ecclesiastic electors: Mainz, Trier, Cologne | Secular electors: Bohemia, Palatinate, Saxony, Brandenburg

Later electors: Bavaria (1623) | Hanover (1692) | Hesse-Kassel (1803)
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