German Monarchs
A history of German monarchs.
Contents
Kingdom of Germany
The territories that constituted East Francia had previously been organized as tribal duchies. However, Charlemagne had thoroughly dissolved them as political entities.
In their place, stem duchies (stammesherzogtum) emerged under East Francia. They were:
- Saxony
- Bavaria
- Swabia (a.k.a. Alemannia)
- Franconia
- Lotharingia (a.k.a. Lorraine)
Note that Lotharingia quickly dissolved, but the powerful office of the count palatine of Lotharingia was enshrined into the county palatine of the Rhine, which eventually evolved into the Electoral Palatinate
These duchies variably claimed to be kingdoms.
When Louis the Child died in 911, the dukes of Saxony, Bavaria, and Swabia intervened to bar Charles the Simple of West Francia from inheriting. They elected the duke of Franconia, Conrad I, to be king instead. As a non-Carolingian had been crowned, this is considered to be the moment when East Francia evolved into the kingdom of Germany.
In 936 the duke of Saxony, Otto I, was elected king. Through conquest he then claimed the title of king of Italy in 961. Pope John XII crowned him emperor of the Romans in 962. This is considered the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire.
The delineation of German history, HRE history, and Austrian history becomes difficult here. Effectively though, the kingdom of Germany became a constituent title of the empire, so continuing history is detailed there.
Margraviate of Brandenburg
Kingdom of Prussia
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North German Confederation
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German Empire
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Dynasties
Carolingian
Conradine
Ottonian
Otto I was elected king of Germany and claimed the kingdom of Italy through conquest. Pope John XII crowned him emperor of the Romans in 962.
The Ottonian kings established a practice of ensuring the succession by seeing to their intended heir's election as king of Germany and Italy while they themselves retained the imperial title.
Monarchs |
Local Name |
Reign |
Otto I |
|
936 - 973 |
Otto II |
|
961 - 983 |
Otto III |
|
983 - 1002 |
Henry II |
Heinrich |
1002 - 1024 |
Salian
The count of Worms, Conrad the Red, was one of the most powerful supporters of Otto I. He was rewarded with creation as duke of Lorraine and marriage to Otto's daughter, Liutgarde. Through this, the Salic House claimed legitimacy as heirs to the Ottonian kings.
As noted above, several kings ensured the succession by seeing to their intended heir's election as king of Germany and Italy while they themselves retained the imperial title.
Monarchs |
Local Name |
Reign |
Conrad II |
Konrad |
1024 - 1039 |
Henry III |
Heinrich |
1028 - 1056 |
Henry IV |
|
1054 - 1105 |
Conrad * |
|
1087 - 1098 |
Henry V |
|
1098 - 1125 |
* Conrad would have been Conrad III, but he was deposed in favor of his younger brother Henry V. He never wielded effective authority.