German Monarchs

A history of German monarchs.

Kingdom of Germany

As Charlemagne expanded Francia to the east, he thoroughly dissolved all prior political entities. Stem duchies (stammesherzogtum) emerged from succession wars in Middle and 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

When Louis IV (a.k.a. Louis the Child) died in 911, the dukes of Saxony, Bavaria, and Swabia elected the duke of Franconia, Conrad I, to be king. Generally this is considered the creation of the kingdom of Germany, as a non-Carolingian had been crowned.

In 936 the duke of Saxony, Otto I, was elected king. Through conquest he then claimed the title of king of Italy in 961. John XII crowned him emperor of the Romans in 962. This is considered the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Investiture Controversy drove a wedge between Gregory VII and Henry IV. Henry asserted the right to appoint bishops and even the papacy. Gregory excommunicated him and declared him deposed, encouraging rebellion throughout the empire. This conflict simmered until 1122, when Callixtus II and Henry V agreed the Concordat of Worms. This affirmed that investiture was the sole right of the Vatican, but also required bishops to swear fealty to the emperor. Following Henry's death in 1125, Lothair III was made king despite the fact that the Hohenstaufen Frederick II, duke of Swabia, was the most powerful elector. To shore up his reign, he ceded all powers granted by the concordat back to the Vatican and arranged for the marriage of his only child, Gertrude, to the Welf Henry X, duke of Bavaria. This setup an inevitable conflict between the guelfi (Welfs) and ghibellini. Nominally it was the continuation of the power struggle between the Vatican and the Hohenstaufen emperors who succeeded Lothair. The power struggle between the Hohenstaufen and Welf dynasties was intertwined through this. In northern Italy, the Lombard League successfully rebelled. In 1245 at the Council of Lyon, Innocent IV excommunicated Frederick II and declared him deposed. A series of anti-kings were created in Germany. Innocent IV recognized Charles I as the legitimate king of Sicily, and so the southern Italian realms were lost to France. The Great Interregnum ended with Habsburg dominance. This is considered the establishment of the Habsburg Empire.

Margraviate of Brandenburg

Kingdom of Prussia

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North German Confederation

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German Empire

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Dynasties

Conradine

Following the death of Louis IV in 911, Conrad I, duke of Franconia, was elected king.

Ottonian

Following the death of of Conrad I in 918, Henry I (a.k.a. Henry the Fowler), duke of Saxony, was elected king. Otto I succeeded him and further 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.

Salian

Conrad II (a.k.a. Conrad the Red), count of Worms, 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.

* Conrad would have been Conrad III, but he was deposed in favor of his younger brother Henry V. He never wielded effective authority.

Supplinburger

Following the death of of Henry V in 1125, an electoral assembly was convened in Mainz. The most powerful elector at the time was the Hohenstaufen Frederick II, duke of Swabia. The assembly controversially denied him the imperial title, choosing instead Lothair III. (He is numbered the third in the Middle Francia tradition or second in the East Francia tradition.) Lothair was a wealthy courtier whom Henry V had made duke of Saxony for his support in putting down the rebellion led by Magnus, the prior duke and the last male of the Billung dynasty. Lothair himself was old and had no male heir.

Lothair arranged for the marriage of his only child, Gertrude, to the Welf Henry X, duke of Bavaria.

Hohenstaufen

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The electoral assembly in 1198 was disputed between Philip II and Otto IV, but the former's death in 1208 left Otto the undisputed king of Germany. Frederick II overthrew him in 1215.

Welf

There are two houses of Welf, but usually the second is the one of interest.

• The Elder House of Welf originated in the second kingdom of Burgundy. Welf III, duke of Carinthia and margrave of Verona, died in 1035 without a male heir.

• Albert Azzo II married Kunigunde, Welf's sister and heir. Their eldest son Welf I (same name; sometimes enumerated as fourth in the Elder House tradition) established the new House of Welf.

Welf married Ethelinde, the daughter of Otto, duke of Bavaria. When Otto rebelled against Henry IV in 1070, Welf demonstrated his loyalty by divorcing Ethelinde and was rewarded with the duchy. In 1077 however, when Gregory VII excommunicated Henry and declared him deposed over the Investiture Controversy, Welf himself rebelled. Henry was never successful in removing Welf from power, and in 1095 they reconciled.

Henry X additionally inherited the duchy of Saxony from Lothair III in 1135. Conrad III confiscated both duchies in retaliation for Henry objecting to his election, although in 1142 he returned Saxony to Henry's son, Henry XI. Frederick Barbarossa eventually also returned Bavaria to him. However, Henry declined to support Frederick in his war against Lombardy, and was punished in 1180 with removal of all titles. He was eventually restored to the lower titles, but the duchies were permanently lost to the Welfs.

The electoral assembly in 1198 was disputed between Otto IV and Philip II, but the latter's death in 1208 left Otto the undisputed king of Germany. Frederick II overthrew him in 1215.

Luxembourg

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Habsburg

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Ascanian

The house of Ascania (Anhalt), rose to prominence mostly through the fall of the Welfs. In 1139 Conrad III confiscated the duchy of Saxony from Henry X and enfeoffed Albert the Bear with it. However, Albert was forced to renounce the title just a few years later so that Conrad could return it to Henry's son, Henry XI. Henry then declined to support Frederick Barbarossa in his war against Lombardy, and was punished in 1180 with removal of all titles. Frederick partitioned Saxony, and enfeoffed Bernhard with only most of it.

Saxony was further divided by inheritance into the duchies of Saxe-Wittenberg and Saxe-Lauenburg. The former became known as the electorate of Saxony (Kursachsen) when Rudolf I was made an elector.

When the Wittenberg branch of the Ascanian house became extinct, Sigismund granted the electorate to Frederick IV, margrave of Meissen.

Wettin

The house of Wettin rose to prominence in the Saxon marches. Dedi I inherited the Eastern March (Ostmark) from Odo II in 1041 by marrying his sister, Oda. In 1089 Henry IV enfeoffed Dedi's son, Henry I, with the march of Meissen.

When the Wittenberg branch of the Ascanian house became extinct, Sigismund granted those titles to Frederick IV. Despite the small territory of Saxe-Wittenberg, it was the direct descendent of the duchy of Saxony that conferred the position of elector. The Wettin realms came to be known as Upper Saxony or Ducal Saxony, as opposed to the old Lower Saxony.

The house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is a cadet branch of the Wettins.

Hohenzollern

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