King of the Romans

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This article deals primarily with the medieval title. For other uses, see "Other usages" below. For the monarch of the ancient Roman Kingdom, see King of Rome.

King of the Romans (Latin: Rex Romanorum) was the title used in the Holy Roman Empire by an Imperator futurus ("Emperor to-be", i.e. an elected Emperor not yet crowned by the Pope, and hence unable to use the title Emperor), or by a designated successor elected during the lifetime of the previous Emperor. The title was first used in the reign of Emperor Henry IV, prior to his Papal coronation.

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[edit] Origin

The Holy Roman Empire was based on the Kingdom of Germany and the King had to go to Rome to be crowned Emperor by the Pope. Before that he did not use the title of Emperor but that of a King. The wording of this title was not fixed, as the King was sometimes called Rex Francorum (King of the Franks), Rex Teutonicorum (King of the Germans) or merely Rex (King).

The title Rex Romanorum was used occasionally by the Ottonian rulers and especially by Emperor Henry II to highlight the Roman nature of their Empire, which was contested by the Byzantine Emperors.

Rex Romanorum became the standard title under the Salian King Henry IV during the Investiture Controversy. Pope Gregory VII insisted on using the title Rex Teutonicorum to counter Henry's imperial claims. As King, Henry was the Imperator futurus but at that point he had not been crowned Emperor. In reaction to Gregory's usage, Henry made Rex Romanorum his standard title until he was crowned Emperor in 1084.

Henry's successors imitated this practice, being called Rex Romanorum before and Imperator Romanorum after their Roman coronation.

[edit] Title of the Heir designate

Royal succession in the Holy Roman Empire always was a difficult issue, since the Empire was an elective monarchy. However, once a ruler had been crowned Emperor, he could pursue the election of his heir as King, who would then succeed him after his death. This junior King, who usually did not participate in the rule, bore the title of a "King of the Romans".

This practice was continued even after 1556, when the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire did no longer seek a coronation by the Pope and instead dubbed themselves Emperor-elect. Despite this lack of a coronation, the respective Emperor-elect's sons were elected during their fathers' lifetime in 1562, 1575, 1636, 1653, 1690, and in 1764.

[edit] Holy Roman Emperor under the Habsburgs

After the accession of Emperor Charles V, the Imperial title and the Empire became in effect, if not in law, exclusive Habsburg possessions. This meant that King of Rome or King of the Romans in turn effectively became the designation of the Habsburg heir-apparent. However, the Emperors after Charles V no longer sought Papal coronation, instead taking the title Emperor-elect upon accession; the title King of the Romans thereby ceased to be applied to reigning monarchs.

The practice was broken during the reigns of Emperor Joseph I and Emperor Charles VI, both of whom only produced daughters, and consequently being left without sons to have elected as King of the Romans. The latter designated his elder daughter, Maria Theresa of Austria, as his heiress in the hereditary Habsburg domains; however, the title of King of the Romans remained unfilled, and on Charles' death, the Electors chose the Elector of Bavaria as the new Emperor. After his death, Maria Theresa's husband, Francis Stephen, was elected Emperor; in 1764, in a resumption of tradition, he had his eldest son, Joseph, elected King of the Romans. However, Francis died a year later, and Joseph became Emperor. Due to Joseph's lack of sons, the swift death of his brother and successor (Leopold II), and the problems facing Leopold's son, Francis I, no other Habsburg after Joseph was ever elected 'King of Rome' or 'King of the Romans' prior to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Emperor.

[edit] List of subordinate Kings of the Romans

The following were subordinate kings to another Holy Roman Emperor (usually, but not always, their father) for the dates specified. For those rulers of Germany who used the style King of the Romans, but were not subordinate to a Holy Roman Emperor, see List of German monarchs.

[edit] In the First French Empire

When Napoleon I of France had a son and heir, Napoleon II of France, he revived the title as King of Rome, styling his son as such. The boy was often known colloquially by the title throughout his short life.

[edit] In the Austro-Hungarian Empire

When the First French Empire ended, one of the provisions of the Congress of Vienna was that the title would return to the Hapsburg line. It was thus one of the many titles of the Habsburg Emperors until the abolition of the Empire at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919.

[edit] Trivia

"Hablando del rey de Roma" (literally "speaking of the king of Rome") is a colloquial expression in Spanish equivalent to the English-language saying "Speak of the devil", referring to someone who has entered a room or conversation in which said person has just been the topic. (The full English expression, rarely stated, is, "Speak of the devil, and he appears.")

[edit] Other usages

This or similar titles were also used by:

[edit] References

This article uses material translated from the corresponding article in the German-language wikipedia, which, in turn, cites a source that contains further references:

  • H. Beumann: Rex Romanorum, in: Lexikon des Mittelalters (Dictionary of the Middle Ages, 9 vols., Munich-Zurich 1980-98), vol. 7, col. 777 f.
  • The decline and fall of the byzantine empire, John Julius Norich(Lord)
  • Oxford Encyclopedia, Various
  • The age of Napoleon, Various
  • The Oxford history of Europe 1500-2000, Various

[edit] See also

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