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LIST OF GERMAN MONARCHS

(Redirected from King of Germany)
This article lists the 'German monarchs', ruling over the territory of Germany from the creation of a separate Eastern Frankish Kingdom in 843 until the end of monarchy in 1918.

Contents
Eastern Frankish Kingdom, later the German Kingdom
Kings
Imperial vicars
Notes
Footnotes
External links

Eastern Frankish Kingdom, later the German Kingdom


This section covers the Eastern Frankish Kingdom, the eastern portion of the Frankish Empire after its partition by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Later it became known as the Kingdom of Germany, which was the the chief (and then sole) component of the Holy Roman Empire (of the German Nation).
The German Kingdom comprised the territory of modern Germany, but also Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, the Low Countries, as well as parts of modern France and Poland.
Kings

NameHouseKingEmperorEndedNotes
Louis the GermanCarolingian11 August 843—23 August 876Son of Emperor Louis the Pious
Louis the YoungerCarolingian28 August 876—20 January 882Son of Louis the German; ruled in East Francia, Saxony, from 880 also Bavaria
CarlomanCarolingian28 August 876—22 March 880Son of Louis the German; ruled in Bavaria; from 877 also King of Italy
'Charles the Fat'Carolingian28 August 87612 February 88111 November 887Son of Louis the German; ruled in Alemannia, Raetia, from 882 in the entire Eastern Kingdom
'Arnulf of Carinthia'Carolingian30 November 88725 April 8968 December 899Son of Carloman
Louis the ChildCarolingian21 January 900—20 August 911Son of Arnulf of Carinthia
Conrad IConradine (Franconian)10 November 911—23 December 918 
Henry I the FowlerLiudolfing (Saxon)23 April 919—2 July 936 
''Arnulf the Bad''Luitpolding (Bavarian)919—921Rival king to Henry I
'Otto I the Great'Liudolfing7 August 9362 February 9627 May 973Son of Henry I; first king crowned in Aachen Cathedral since Lothair I; crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 961.
'Otto II the Red'Liudolfing26 May 96125 December 9677 December 983Son of Otto I;
King of Germany under his father 961–973;
also crowned Emperor in his father's lifetime
'Otto III'Liudolfing25 December 98321 May 99621 January 1002Son of Otto II
'Henry II'Liudolfing7 June 100226 April 101413 July 1024Great-grandson of Henry I
'Conrad II'Salian (Frankish)8 September 102426 March 10274 June 1039Great-great-grandson of Otto I
'Henry III'Salian14 April 102825 December 10465 October 1056Son of Conrad II;
King of Germany under his father 1028–1039
'Henry IV'Salian17 July 105421 March 108431 December 1105Son of Henry III;
King of Germany under his father 1054–1056
''Rudolf von Rheinfeld''Rheinfeld15 March 1077—15 October 1080Rival King to Henry IV
''Hermann von Salm''Salm6 August 1081—28 September 1088Rival King to Henry IV
''Conrad''Salian30 May 1087—27 July 1101Son of Henry IV;
King of Germany under his father 1087–1098,
King of Italy 1093–1098, 1095–1101 in rebellion.
'Henry V'Salian6 January 109913 April 111123 May 1125Son of Henry IV;
King of Germany under his father 1099–1105, forced his father to abdicate.
'Lothair III'Supplinburger30 August 11254 June 11334 December 1137 
Conrad IIIHohenstaufen7 March 1138—15 February 1152Grandson of Henry IV;
Previously Rival King to Lothair III 1127–1135
''Henry Berengar''Hohenstaufen30 March 1147—August? 1150Son of Conrad III;
King of Germany under his father 1147–1150
'Frederick I Barbarossa'Hohenstaufen4 March 115218 June 115510 June 1190Nephew of Conrad III
'Henry VI'Hohenstaufen15 August 116914 April 119128 September 1197Son of Frederick I;
King of Germany under his father 1169–1190
''Frederick II''Hohenstaufen1197—1197Son of Henry VI;
King of Germany under his father 1196
Philip of SwabiaHohenstaufen6 March 1198—21 August 1208Son of Frederick I; Rival king to Otto IV
'Otto IV'Welf29 March 11984 October 12095 July 1215Rival king to Philip of Swabia; later opposed by Frederick II; deposed 1215; died 19 May 1218
'Frederick II'Hohenstaufen5 December 121222 November122026 December 1250Son of Henry VI;
Rival king to Otto IV until 5 July 1215
''Henry''Hohenstaufen23 April 1220—15 August 1235Son of Frederick II;
King of Germany under his father 1220–1235
Conrad IVHohenstaufenMay 1237—1 May 1254Son of Frederick II;
King of Germany under his father 1237–1250
''Henry Raspe''Thuringia22 May 1246—16 February 1247Rival King to Frederick II
''William of Holland''Holland3 October 1247—28 January 1256Rival King to Frederick II and Conrad IV, 1247–1254
''Richard of Cornwall''Plantagenet13 January 1257—2 April 1272Rival king to Alfonso of Castile; held no real authority.
''Alfonso of Castile''House of Burgundy1 April 1257—1275Grandson of Philip; Rival king to Richard of Cornwall; held no authority; later opposed by Rudolf I; relinquished claims 1275, died 1284
Rudolf IHabsburg29 September 1273—15 July 1291 
Adolf of NassauNassau5 May 1292—23 June 1298According to some historians, Adolf's election was preceded by the short-lived kingship of Conrad, Duke of Teck. See his article for details.
Albert IHabsburg24 June 1298—1 May 1308Son of Rudolf I; Rival King to Adolf of Nassau, 1298
'Henry VII'Luxemburg27 November 130813 June 131124 August 1313 
'Louis IV'Wittelsbach20 October 131417 January 132811 October 1347Rival king to Frederick the Fair 1314–1322
''Frederick the Fair''Habsburg19 October 1314/
5 September 1325		—28 September 1322/
13 January 1330		Son of Albert I;
Rival king to Louis IV 1314–1322;
associate king with Louis IV 1325–1330
'Charles IV'Luxemburg11 July 13465 April 135529 November 1378Grandson of Henry VII; Rival king to Louis IV, 1346–1347
''Günther von Schwarzburg''Schwarzburg30 January 1349—24 May 1349Rival King to Charles IV
WenceslausLuxemburg10 June 1376—20 August 1400Son of Charles IV; King of Germany under his father 1376–1378; deposed 1400; died 1419
''Frederick of Brunswick-Lüneburg''Brunswick-Lüneburg1400—1400Rival King to Wenceslaus
Rupert of PalatinateWittelsbach21 August 1400—18 May 1410Great-grandnephew of Louis IV
'Sigismund'Luxemburg20 September 1410/
21 July 1411		3 May 14339 December 1437Son of Charles IV
''Jobst of Moravia''Luxemburg1 October 1410—8 January 1411Nephew of Charles IV; Rival King to Sigismund
Albert IIHabsburg18 March 1438—27 October 14394th in descent from Albert I;
son-in-law of Sigismund
'Frederick III'Habsburg2 February 144016 March 145219 August 14934th in descent from Albert I; 2nd cousin of Albert II
Maximilian IHabsburg16 February 14864 February 1508
Emperor-elect		12 January 1519Son of Frederick III; King of Germany under his father 1486–1493; adopted the title Emperor-elect in 1508 with the Pope's approval
'Charles V'Habsburg28 June 151924 February 1530
Emperor-elect since 1519		21 September 1556Grandson of Maximilian I; Emperor-elect 1519 crowned as Emperor by the Pope; abdicated 1556 (though not formally until 1558); died 21 September 1558;
Ferdinand IHabsburg5 January 153121 September 1556
Emperor-elect		25 July 1564Grand-son of Maximilian I; brother of Charles V; King of Germany under his brother Charles V 1531–1556; last king to be crowned in Aachen Cathedral.
Maximilian IIHabsburg22 November 156225 July 1564
Emperor-elect		12 October 1576Son of Ferdinand I;
King of Germany under his father 1562–1564
Rudolf IIHabsburg27 October 15752 November 1576
Emperor-elect		20 January 1612Son of Maximilian II;
King of Germany under his father, 1575–1576
MatthiasHabsburg13 June 161213 June 1612
Emperor-elect		20 March 1619Son of Maximilian II
Ferdinand IIHabsburg28 August 161820 March 1619
Emperor-elect		15 February 1637Grandson of Ferdinand I;
Ferdinand IIIHabsburg22 December 163615 February 1637
Emperor-elect		2 April 1657Son of Ferdinand II;
King of Germany under his father 1636–1637
''Ferdinand IV''Habsburg31 May 1653—9 July 1654Son of Ferdinand III;
King of Germany under his father
Leopold IHabsburg18 July 165818 July 1658
Emperor-elect		5 May 1705Son of Ferdinand III
Joseph IHabsburg23 January 16905 May 1705
Emperor-elect		17 April 1711Son of Leopold I; King of Germany under his father 1690–1705
Charles VIHabsburg27 October 171127 October 1711
Emperor-elect		20 October 1740Son of Leopold I
Charles VIIWittelsbach14 January 174214 January 1742
Emperor-elect		20 January 1745Husband of Maria Amalia, daughter of Joseph I
Francis I StephanLorraine13 September 174513 September 1745
Emperor-elect		18 August 1765Husband of Maria Theresa, daughter of Charles VI
Joseph IIHabsburg-Lorraine27 March 176418 August 1765
Emperor-elect		20 February 1790Son of Francis I and Maria Theresa; King of Germany under his father 1764–1765
Leopold IIHabsburg-Lorraine30 September 179030 September 1790
Emperor-elect		1 March 1792Son of Francis I and Maria Theresa
Francis IIHabsburg-Lorraine7 July 17927 July 1792
Emperor-elect		6 August 1806Son of Leopold II; Dissolved the Holy Roman Empire; also Emperor of Austria 1804–1835; died 1835

Imperial vicars

During interregna, imperial authority was exercised by two imperial vicars — the Elector of Saxony, in his role as 'Count Palatine of Saxony' exercised this office in northern Germany, and the Elector Palatine, as 'Count Palatine of the Rhine', exercised it in southern Germany. The confusion over the Palatine electorate during the Thirty Years War and after led to some confusion about who the rightful vicar was in the later years of the Empire.
Notes

The relationship between the title of "king" and "emperor" in the area that is today called Germany is just as complicated as the history and the structure of the Holy Roman Empire itself. The following remarks may clarify things a little (for details, refer to the Holy Roman Empire article):
# The Holy Roman Empire (although only titled as such much later) started when Charlemagne, King of the Franks and the Lombards was crowned Emperor of the Romans in 800. The Kingdom of Germany started out as the eastern section of the Frankish kingdom, which was split by the Treaty of Verdun in 843 (while the western section eventually became France). The rulers of the eastern area thus called themselves ''rex Francorum'', king of the Franks, and later just ''rex''. A reference to the "Germans", indicating the emergence of a German nation of some sort, did not appear until the eleventh century, when the pope referred to his enemy Henry IV as ''rex teutonicorum'', King of the Teutons, in order to brand him as a foreigner. The kings reacted by consistently using the title ''rex Romanorum'', King of the Romans, to emphasize their universal rule even before becoming Emperor. This title remained until the end of the Empire in 1806 (but in this and related entries, the kings are called ''kings of Germany'', for clarity's sake.)
# The kingdom was never entirely hereditary; instead, ancestry was only one of the factors that determined the succession of kings. The king was formally elected by the leading nobility in the realm, continuing the Frankish tradition. Gradually the election became the privilege of a group of princes called Electors and the Golden Bull of 1356 formally defined election proceedings.
# In the Middle Ages, the King did not assume the title "Emperor" (since 982 the full title was ''Imperator Augustus Romanorum'', August Emperor of the Romans) until crowned by the Pope. He also had to be crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, after which he assumed the title of ''rex Italicum'', King of Italy. After this he would ride on to Rome and be crowned Emperor by the Pope.
# Maximilian I was the first King to bear the title of "Emperor-Elect". After his attempt to march to Rome and be crowned by the Pope had failed in 1508, he with papal consent had himself proclaimed Emperor-elect. His successors Charles V also assumed that title after his election until he was crowned by the Pope in 1530, the last Emperor to seek and receive such a coronation. From Ferdinand I onwards, all Emperors were merely "Emperors-Elect", although they were normally referred to as "the Emperor." At the same time, chosen successors of the Habsburg emperors were called "King of the Romans", if elected during their father's lifetime.
==Confederation of the Rhine 1806-1813==
NameTitleHouseBeganEnded
Napoleon IEmperor of the French, Protector of the Confederation of the RhineBonaparte25 July 180619 October 1813

==German Confederation 1815-1866==
NameTitleHouseBeganEnded
Francis IEmperor of Austria, President of the German ConfederationHabsburg-Lorraine20 June 18152 March 1835
Ferdinand IEmperor of Austria, President of the German ConfederationHabsburg-Lorraine2 March 183512 July 1848
Archduke Johann of AustriaImperial Vicar[1]Habsburg-Lorraine12 July 184820 December 1849
Frederick William IVKing of PrussiaHohenzollernoffered title of ''Emperor of the Germans'' by the Frankfurt Assembly in 1849, but refused it.
Francis Joseph IEmperor of Austria, President of the German ConfederationHabsburg-Lorraine1 May 185024 August 1866

==North German Confederation 1867-1871==
NameTitleHouseBeganEnded
William IKing of Prussia, President of the North German ConfederationHohenzollern1 July 186718 January 1871

He became 'German Emperor' in 1871.
==German Empire (1871-1918)==
NameTitleHouseBeganEnded
William IGerman Emperor, King of PrussiaHohenzollern18 January 18719 March 1888
Frederick IIIGerman Emperor, King of PrussiaHohenzollern9 March 188815 June 1888
William IIGerman Emperor, King of PrussiaHohenzollern15 June 18889 November 1918

Footnotes


1. elected by the Frankfurt National Assembly as Imperial Vicar of a new 'German Reich'. The German Confederation was considered dissolved.

External links



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