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Prince of the Holy Roman Empire

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Heraldic crownof a prince of theHoly Roman Empire
Mantleand princely hat
Princely hat (Fürstenhut[de])

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire(Latin:princeps imperii,German:Reichsfürst,cf.Fürst) was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by theHoly Roman Emperor.

Definition

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Originally, possessors of theprincelytitle bore it asimmediatevassals of the Emperor who held afief(secular or ecclesiastical) that had nosuzerainexcept the Emperor. However, by the time theHoly Roman Empirewas abolished in 1806, there were a number of holders of Imperial princely titles who did not meet these criteria.

Thus, there were two main types of princes: those who exercisedLandeshoheit(sovereigntywithin one's territory while respecting the laws and traditions of the empire) as well as an individual or shared vote in theCollege of Princes,and those whose title washonorary(the possessor lacking an immediate Imperial fief and/or a vote in the Imperial Diet). The first came to be reckoned as "royalty" in the sense of being treated as sovereigns, entitled tointer-marrywith reigning dynasties. The second tier consisted of high-ranking nobles whose princely title did not, however, imply equality with royalty. These distinctions evolved within the Empire, but were codified by theCongress of Viennain 1815 when it created theGerman Confederationand recognised a specific, elevated status (StandesherrenorMediatized Houses) for themediatizedprinces of the defunct Empire.

The actual titles used by Imperial nobles varied considerably for historical reasons, and includedarchdukes,dukes,margraves,landgraves,counts palatine,princely counts(Gefürstete Grafen), as well as princes andprince-electors.Moreover, most of the German fiefs in the Empire (except electorships) were heritable by all males of a family rather than byprimogeniture,the princely title (or whatever title the family used) being likewise shared by allagnaticfamily members, male and female.

Imperial state

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See also:Imperial state

Theestate of imperial princesorReichsfürstenstand[1]was established in a legal sense in theLate Middle Ages.A particular estate of "the Princes" was first mentioned in the decree issued by EmperorFrederick Barbarossain 1180 at theImperial DietofGelnhausen,in which he divested DukeHenry the LionofSaxonyandBavaria.About fifty years later,Eike of Repgowcodified it as an emanation of feudal law recorded in hisSachsenspiegel,where the lay princes formed the third level orHeerschildin the feudal military structure below ecclesiastical princes. Officially the princely states of theHoly Roman Empirehad to meet three requirements:

  • territorial rule and thejura regalia,i.e. sovereign rights, over animmediatefiefof the Empire
  • a direct vote (votum virile) and a seat in the Imperial Diet
  • direct support for the expenses and the militarybanof the Empire.

Not all states met all three requirements, so one may distinguish between effective and honorary princes of the Holy Roman Empire.[2][3]

The Princes of the Empire ranked below the sevenPrince-electors(Kurfürsten;archaic spellingChurfürsten) designated by theGolden Bull of 1356(and later electors), but above theReichsgrafen(imperial counts),Freiherren(barons) andReichsprälaten(imperial prelates), who formed with them theImperial Dietassemblies, but held only collective votes. Around 1180, the secular Princes comprised theHerzöge(Dukes) who generally ruled larger territories within the Empire in the tradition of the former Germanstem duchies,but also the Counts ofAnhaltandNamur,the Landgraves ofThuringiaand the Margraves ofMeissen.

Coat of arms ofHieronymus von Colloredo,Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg

From the 13th century onwards, further estates were formally raised to the princely status by the emperor. Among the most important of these were theWelfdescendants of Henry the Lion inBrunswick-Lüneburg,elevated to Princes of the Empire and vested with the ducal title by EmperorFrederick IIin 1235, and theLandgraves of Hessein 1292. The resolutions of theDiet of Augsburgin 1582 explicitly stated that the status was inextricably linked with the possession of a particular Imperial territory. Later elevated noble families like theFürstenberg,LiechtensteinorThurn und Taxisdynasties subsequently began to refer to their territory as a "principality" and assumed the awarded rank of aPrince(Fürst) as ahereditary title.Most of the Counts who ruled territories were raised to Princely rank in the decades before the end of the Empire in 1806.

Grave of the Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Johann Siebenhirter (1420–1508) at the parish church inMillstatt,Austria

Ecclesiastical Princes were thePrince-Bishops(including the Prince-Archbishops ofBesançon,Bremen,MagdeburgandSalzburg) as well as the actualPrince-abbots.They comprised a number of political entities which were secularized and mediatized after the 1648Peace of Westphalia.

Honorary title

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The honorary status of prince of the Holy Roman Empire might be granted to certain individuals. These individuals included:

  • Rulers of states of the Empire who did not hold an individual seat in the princely chamber of the Imperial Diet, but held a seat as a count and shared with other counts in the one vote exercised by each of the four regional comital councils orGrafenbanken.
  • Sovereigns outside the Empire, such as theSovereign Military Order of Malta.[4]
  • Nobles allowed to bear the princely title, but who had neither a vote nor a seat in the Imperial Diet, individual or shared, such as theHouse of Kinsky.This included nobles who lacked immediacy, but who were allowed,motu proprio,by the Emperor to enjoy the title and rank of prince of anImperial state.Although this courtesy tended to become hereditary for families, the right to princely status was calledPersonalist(personal) and could be revoked by the Emperor.
  • Foreigners of note, such as thePrinces of Belmonte,thePrinces Chigi,thePrinces Orsini,[5]thePrinces of Broglie,thePrinces Orloff,thePrinces Potemkin,the PrincesLubomirski,or the PrincesRadziwiłł.[6]
  • Subjects of the Empire who were given a princely title by an Emperor, but who held no territory or sovereignty at all. This status was occasionally granted to themorganaticwives and children of electoral and immediate families, allowing them to share in the husband/father's princely title, but not his princely rank and privileges (e.g.,Frederick William von Hessenstein).

See also

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References

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  1. ^Arnold, Benjamin (1991).Princes and territories in medieval Germany,Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, pp. 24-25,ISBN0-521-52148-3.
  2. ^Fra Cyril Toumanoff, "Genealogical Imperialism" (1985) vol 6 (no 134) (NS) Coat of Arms pp. 145, 147.
  3. ^Duke and Prince Jean Engelbert d'Arenberg,"The Lesser Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in the Napoleonic Era" dissertation, Washington, DC, 1950, published as Les Princes du St-Empire à l'époque napoléonienne (Louvain, 1951) 15ff, quoted inAlmanach de Gotha(Almanach de Gotha, London, 1998) pp. 275–286.
  4. ^Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (Reichsfürst) 1607, cf in 1620, Austrianprince(His Serene Highness) 27 December 1880, cf 1889 and 1905.Most Eminent Highnessby Italian royal decree 1927 (long by usage). Papal Cardinal-rank 1630.
  5. ^The Princes of Orsini andRosenbergwere members of the comital council (personaliter) 1683, made a prince 1724, 1790]. Male primogeniture 1629,Prince Assistant to the Papal Throne1735–1958.
  6. ^Fra Cyril Toumanoff, "Genealogical Imperialism" (1985) vol 6 (no 134) (NS) Coat of Arms 145, 151 n7.
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