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The terminology of the title is somewhat confusing. The title of "emperor" was considered to have passed from the Romans to the Frankish kingdom when, in 800 AD, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, king of the Franks, emperor in exchange for the protection of the church. After the division of the Frankish realm into three parts by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the title first remained in the middle Lotharingian realm, but eventually passed to the east when Otto I the Great, king of the East Franks, was crowned emperor in 962. The transfer of the Empire was, in medieval theory, referred to as translatio imperii.
Initially, the emperor called himself Imperator Augustus, referring to Roman Emperor AugustusAugustus (plural Augusti is Latin for "majestic" or "venerable". Although the use of the cognomen "Augustus" as part of one's name is generally understood to identify the Roman Emperor, this is somewhat misleading; "Augustus" was the most significant name. The title of "Holy Roman Emperor", as the name of the Holy Roman Empire itself, was only used in later centuries.
Until 1508Events Births Primoz Trubar, the author of the first printed book in Slovenian Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva Jean Daurat November 30 Andrea Palladio Deaths May 27 Ludovico Sforza, former Duke of Milan. Isaac Abrabanel (also called Isaac Abravan, the King of the RomansThe title King of the Romans ( Latin: Rex Romanorum not to be confused with the mythical Kings of Rome was carried by Holy Roman Emperors after they had been confirmed as Emperor, but before they had undergone the ceremony of coronation by the Pope. The t, who was elected by a group of princes later known as electorsIn the Holy Roman Empire, the prince-electors or electoral princes German: Kurfurst (singular) Kurfursten (plural)—were the members of the electoral college of Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the king of Germany before his accession as, became emperor when he was crowned by the popeThis article is about the Catholic pope. See Pope (disambiguation) for other meanings of the word pope. The Pope is the Catholic bishop and patriarch of Rome, and ex officio supreme spiritual leader of what might be called the Catholic Communion (that is, in Rome, after which he remained king (a title with functions in feudal lawFeudal law describes a political system which placed men and estates under the hierarchical distinctions of "lords" and "vassals". Feudalism refers to the relations and interdependence between lord and vassal, based on the fief, or ownership of land.). By contrast, the title of emperor had a more religious connotation, suggesting the task of protecting the church. The exact relationship between the two functions was never entirely clear and led to much conflict between the German dukes and the pope, for example in the Investiture ControversyThe Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between secular and religious authorities in medieval Europe. It began as a dispute in the 11th century between the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope concerning who would control ap in the 11th century10th century 11th century 12th century other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. Events 1000 (cca), Vikings, led by Leif Eirikson, establish small settlements at and aro.
The selection of the king was influenced by a complicated mélange of factors. Formally elected, as opposed to France, the title was only to a degree hereditary, although it frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more successors. Some scholars suggest that the task of the electors was really to solve succession conflicts, when the dynastic rule was unclear. Still, the process required the most probable candidate to make concessions to the voters, the so-called Wahlkapitulationen (election capitulations), which contributed to the decline of central power in favor of the territories in the Empire. The collegiate of electors was fixed to seven in the Golden Bull in 1356 until 1623, when, during the Thirty Years' War, more electors were added.
After 1438, the kingdom remained in the house of Habsburg, with only one brief exception. From 1508, after his election, the king no longer called for the coronation of the pope either, but considered himself emperor directly.
The office of Holy Roman Emperor was abolished with the empire in 1806. Its last occupant, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, had assumed the style Franz I, Emperor of Austria in 1804.