. Original colours were vivid. Germania's gown was gold, not beige, and the blue-grey was purple. Also, the browns were painted as vivid red and the muted grey in Saxony's arms was a brilliant green. The German practice of electing
monarchs began when ancient
Germanic tribes formed
ad hoc coalitions and elected the leaders thereof. Elections were irregularly held by the
Franks, whose
successor states include
France and the
Holy Roman Empire. The
French monarchy eventually became
hereditary, but the Holy Roman Emperors remained elective. While all free men originally exercised the right to vote in such elections, suffrage eventually came to be limited to the leading men of the realm. In the election of
Lothar III in 1125, a small number of eminent
nobles chose the monarch and then submitted him to the remaining magnates for their approbation. Soon, the right to choose the monarch was settled on an exclusive group of princes, and the procedure of seeking the approval of the remaining nobles was abandoned. The college of electors was mentioned in 1152 and again in 1198. The composition of electors at that time is unclear, but appears to have included bishops and the
dukes of the
stem duchies.
1257 to Thirty Years' War The electoral college is known to have existed by 1152, but its composition is unknown. A letter written by
Pope Urban IV in 1265 suggests that by "
immemorial custom", seven princes had the right to elect the King and future Emperor. The pope wrote that the seven electors were those who had just voted in the election of 1257, which resulted in the election of two kings. • Three ecclesiastical Electors: • The
Archbishop of Mainz • The
Archbishop of Trier • The
Archbishop of Cologne • Four secular Electors: • The
King of Bohemia • The
Count Palatine of the Rhine • The
Duke of Saxony • The
Margrave of Brandenburg The three Archbishops oversaw the most venerable and powerful
sees in Germany. After 1214, the Palatinate and Bavaria were held by the same individual, but in 1253, they were divided between two members of the
House of Wittelsbach. The other electors refused to allow two princes from the same dynasty to have electoral rights, so a heated rivalry arose between the Count Palatine and the Duke of Bavaria over who should hold the Wittelsbach seat. Meanwhile, the King of Bohemia, who held the ancient imperial office of Arch-Cupbearer, asserted his right to participate in elections. Sometimes he was challenged on the grounds that his kingdom was not German, though usually he was recognized, instead of Bavaria, which, after all, was just a younger line of Wittelsbachs. The
Declaration of Rhense issued in 1338 had the effect that election by the majority of the electors automatically conferred the royal title and rule over the empire, without papal confirmation. The
Golden Bull of 1356 finally resolved the disputes among the electors. Under it, the Archbishops of
Mainz,
Trier, and
Cologne, as well as the
King of Bohemia, the
Count Palatine of the Rhine, the
Duke of Saxony, and the
Margrave of Brandenburg held the right to elect the King. The college's composition remained unchanged until the 17th century, although the office of Prince-elector from Saxony was transferred from the senior (
Ernestine) to the junior (
Albertine) branch of the Wettin family in 1547, in the aftermath of the
Schmalkaldic War.
Thirty Years' War to Napoleon In 1623, the Elector Palatine,
Frederick V, came under the
imperial ban after participating in the
Bohemian Revolt (a part of the
Thirty Years' War). The Elector Palatine's seat was conferred on the Duke of Bavaria, the head of a junior branch of his family. Originally, the Duke held the electoral dignity personally, but it was later made hereditary along with the duchy. When the Thirty Years' War concluded with the
Peace of Westphalia in 1648, a new electoral post was created for the Count Palatine of the Rhine. Since the Elector of Bavaria retained his seat, the number of electors increased to eight; the two Wittelsbach lines were now sufficiently estranged so as not to pose a combined potential threat. In 1685, the religious composition of the College of Electors was disrupted when a Catholic branch of the Wittelsbach family inherited the Palatinate. A new Protestant electoral post was created in 1692 for the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who became known as the Elector of Hanover (the
Imperial Diet officially confirmed the creation in 1708). The Elector of Saxony converted to Catholicism in 1697 so that he could become King of Poland, but no additional Protestant electors were created. Although the Elector of Saxony was personally Catholic, that electoral post remained officially Protestant, and the Elector even remained the leader of the
Protestant body in the Reichstag. In 1706, the Elector of Bavaria and Archbishop of Cologne were
outlawed during the
War of the Spanish Succession, but both were restored in 1714 after the
Peace of Baden. In 1777, the number of electors was reduced to eight when the Elector Palatine inherited Bavaria. In 1788, the ruling family of
Savoy pushed to receive an electoral title. Their ambition was backed by Brandenburg-Prussia. Nonetheless, the French Revolution and subsequent Coalition Wars soon rendered this a moot point. Many changes to the composition of the college were necessitated by
Napoleon's aggression during the early 19th century. The
Treaty of Lunéville (1801), which ceded territory on the
Rhine's left bank to
France, led to the abolition of the archbishoprics of Trier and Cologne, and the transfer of the remaining spiritual Elector from Mainz to
Regensburg. In 1803, new electoral posts were created for the
Duke of Württemberg, the
Margrave of Baden, the
Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and the
Duke of Salzburg, bringing the total number of electors to ten. When
Austria annexed Salzburg under the
Treaty of Pressburg (1805), the Duke of Salzburg moved to the
Grand Duchy of Würzburg and retained his electoral office. One last push to replace Hanover with the
Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was made by Prussia during the re-negotiations of the
Treaty of Schönbrunn (1805). None of the new electors, however, had an opportunity to cast votes, as the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, and the new electoral posts were never confirmed by the Emperor.
After the Empire After the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in August 1806, the Electors continued to reign over their territories, many of them taking higher or alternative titles. The Electors of Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony styled themselves Kings, while the Electors of Baden,
Regensburg, and
Würzburg became
Grand Dukes. The Elector of Hesse-Kassel, however, retained the meaningless title "
Elector of Hesse", thus distinguishing himself from other Hessian princes (the
Grand Duke of Hesse(-Darmstadt) and the Landgrave of
Hesse-Homburg). Napoleon soon exiled him and Kassel was annexed to the
Kingdom of Westphalia, a new creation. The King of Great Britain remained at war with Napoleon and continued to style himself Elector of Hanover, while the Hanoverian government continued to operate in London. The
Congress of Vienna accepted the Electors of Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony as Kings, along with the newly created Grand Duke of Baden. The Elector of Hanover finally joined his fellow Electors by declaring himself the
King of Hanover. The restored Elector of Hesse tried to be recognized as the King of the
Chatti. The European powers refused to acknowledge this title at the
Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818), however, and instead listed him with the Grand Dukes as a "Royal Highness". Believing the title of Prince-Elector to be superior in dignity to that of Grand Duke, the Elector of Hesse-Kassel chose to remain an Elector, even though there was no longer a Holy Roman Emperor to elect. Hesse-Kassel remained the only "Electorate" in Germany until 1866, when the country backed the losing side in the
Austro-Prussian War and was absorbed into Prussia. == Marks of office ==