Imperial election
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The election of a Holy Roman Emperor was generally a two-stage process whereby the King of the Romans was elected by a small body of the greatest princes of the realm, the prince-electors. This was th
The election of Matthias as Roman-German Emperor by the prince electors in 1612 depicted on a contemporary engraving
The Emperor and the eight electors (of Trier, Cologne, Mainz, Bohemia, Bavaria, Saxony, Brandenburg and the Electorate of the Palatinate). Copper engraving by Abraham Aubry, Nuremberg, 1663/64.
Golden Bull of 1356
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The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg and Metz headed by the Emperor Charles IV which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of
Imperial election
…and later at Frankfurt. The king was then expected to march to Rome, to be crowned Emperor by the pope. In 1356, the Emperor Charles IV promulgated the Golden Bull, which became the fundamental law by which all future kings and emperors were elected. After 1508, rulers usually were recognized as "Emperor elect…
The golden seal that earned the decree its name
Page from the Golden Bull manuscript of King Wenceslaus, about 1400, Austrian National Library
Imperial Diet in Metz during which the Golden Bull of 1356 was issued
Incunable of the Golden Bull in Early New High German, late 15th century, University of Jena