Imperial election, 1519
The imperial election of 1519 was an imperial election held to select the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It took place in Frankfurt on June 28.
Background
The election followed the death of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor on January 12, 1519. There was no German contender; the two main candidates were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, duke of Burgundy and king of Spain, and Francis I of France, king of France. Henry VIII of England, king of England, entered himself as a candidate as well. Although a member of the House of Habsburg and a grandson of Maximilian, Charles had grown up in Burgundy, lived in Spain, and spoke French and Dutch rather than German. He was thus felt to be as much of a foreigner as Francis. While electing an emperor who was also the ruler of a foreign power had not happened since the king of Sicily Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor was elected in 1212, France and the Empire had not been joined since the days of the Carolingian dynasty.
The seven prince-electors called to elect Maximilian's successor were:
- Albert of Brandenburg, elector of Mainz
- Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads, elector of Trier
- Hermann of Wied, elector of Cologne
- Louis II of Hungary, king of Bohemia
- Louis V, Elector Palatine, elector of the Electoral Palatinate
- Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, elector of Electorate of Saxony
- Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, elector of Brandenburg
Charles could count on the vote of Louis II, who was married to his younger sister Mary of Hungary. He and Francis competed to exceed one another in their bribery of the remaining electors.
Elected
Charles in the end had deeper pockets. Francis had bought the elector of Trier; up for grabs were the electors of Mainz, Brandenburg and the Palatinate. Although full details of the election were never revealed, it is possible that the electors sought a way out of their dilemma by electing Frederick III as emperor, but that he turned them down. In the end, Charles was elected unanimously, though with some misgivings by the elector of Brandenburg. He was crowned at Aachen on October 26, 1520.
Aftermath
Charles was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII in Bologna on February 22, 1530. He was the last emperor to accept the papal coronation.
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