In the years 1410 and 1411 saw three royal elections in the Holy Roman Empire. The elections were prompted by the death of previous King Rupert in 1410 and, after two contested elections in 1410, resulted in Sigismund of Hungary being recognized as the new king in 1411.
Background
In 1378, Wenceslaus IV, of the House of Luxembourg, had succeeded his father Charles IV both as ruler of both the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Bohemia. However, his failure to stamp out civil unrest or resolve the Western Schism led to some of the prince-electors to remove him from his rule. In August 1400 four of the seven prince-electors chose Rupert, Elector Palatinate as the new king. Wenceslaus did not recognise his removal but did not move against Rupert either. Rupert ruled for ten years until he died on 18 May 1410.
After Rupert's death, two princes vied for the succession, both from the House of Luxembourg:
- Sigismund, King of Hungary, Wenceslaus's younger brother and also son of the previous Emperor Charles IV
- Jobst, Margrave of Moravia, nephew of Emperor Charles IV and cousin to both Wenceslaus and Sigismund.
Wenceslaus supported neither candidate as he still deemed himself the rightful king.
Rival elections of 1410
On 20 September 1410, three prince-electors convened to elect a new king. These were:
- Louis III, Elector Palatine, the son of the deceased King Rupert.
- Werner von Falkenstein, Archbishop of Trier
- Frederick, Burgrave of Nuremberg, as the representative of Sigismund in his capacity as Margrave of Brandenburg.
These three men elected Sigismund as the new king.
However, the remaining electors accepted neither Sigismund's election nor his right to act as Elector of Brandenburg. Sigismund, had ruled Brandenburg since 1378 but in 1388 had pawned it to his cousin, Jobst. Jobst argued that his rule over Brandenburg - even as a pawn - entailed its electoral vote, while Sigismund argued that it did not.
On 1 October 1410 another set of electors convened to elect a different king:
- Friedrich III. von Saarwerden, Archbishop of Cologne
- Johann II von Nassau, Archbishop of Mainz,
- Rudolf III, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
- Jobst of Moravia in his capacity as Margrave of Brandenburg.
These four men elected Jobst as the new king.
1411 election
The elections of 1410 had resulted in two rival claimants to the kingship. Of the two, Jobst could count on the stronger support but he suddenly died on January 18, 1411, leaving the road to the throne open to the remaining claimant, Sigismund. However, Sigismund did not simply accede to the throne. On 21 July 1411, the prince-electors - who had previously stood on opposing sides - convened for another election. These were:
- Johann II von Nassau, Archbishop of Mainz
- Frederick III of Saarwerden, Archbishop of Cologne
- Werner of Falkenstein, elector of Archbishop of Trier
- Louis III, Elector Palatinate
- Rudolf III, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
- Sigismund, in his capacity as Margrave of Brandenburg
- Wenceslaus IV, King of Bohemia
Wenceslaus, who had not taken part in the previous elections, agreed to cast his vote, thus accepting his deposition of 1400, in exchange for being confirmed as King of Bohemia.
The electors unanimously elected Sigismund. By his participation in this election, Sigismund had tacitly admitted that his election in September of the previous year had been invalid. He was crowned King of the Romans at Aachen on November 8, 1414.
Aftermath
One of the tasks, Sigismund set himself was to end the Western Schism. He urged the rival claimants to the papacy to participate in the Council of Constance, called in the name of the Pisan Pope John XXIII in 1414. The council accepted the resignation of the Roman Pope Gregory XII on July 4, 1415, and excommunicated John XXIII and the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII in 1417. Pope Martin V was elected pope on November 11, ending the schism.
On May 31, 1433, Sigismund was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.
In exchange for his support in the imperial election of September 1410, Sigismund appointed Frederick I elector of Brandenburg at the Council of Constance on April 30, 1415. Frederick I was the first member of the House of Hohenzollern, which would produce later produce the Kings of Prussia and three German Emperors in the 19th and 20th centuries.
References
- Krzenck, Thomas (2013). "Ein Mann will nach oben" [A man wants to rise to power]. Damals (in German). Vol. 45, no. 8. pp. 72–77.
- The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume VIII, Page 122