Imperial election, 1531

The imperial election of 1531 was an imperial election held to select the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It took place in Cologne on January 5.

Background

This was the second imperial election to take place during the Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, now part of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, had delivered the Ninety-five Theses to Albert of Brandenburg, the elector of Mainz. This list of propositions criticized the practice of selling indulgences, remissions of the punishment meted out for sin in Purgatory. Luther's criticism snowballed into a massive schism in the church. In 1527, John, Elector of Saxony, the elector of Saxony, established a Lutheran state church in Saxony with the elector as chief bishop.

The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor called for the election of his successor. The prince-electors called to Cologne for this occasion were:

• Albert of Brandenburg, elector of Mainz
• Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads, elector of Trier
• Hermann of Wied, elector of Cologne
• Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Bohemia
• Louis V, Elector Palatine, elector of the Electoral Palatinate
• John, Elector of Saxony, elector of Saxony
• Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, elector of Brandenburg

John remained the only Protestant. Hermann, though a bishop, showed reforming tendencies, and would eventually be deposed from his episcopate in 1546. The remaining electors were strongly pro-Catholic.

Charles had called the election with the hope of passing his crown to his son Philip II of Spain, a Spanish speaker born in Valladolid.

Elected

The electors, fearing the instability that would result in having an absentee Spanish emperor, lobbied instead for Ferdinand I, Charles's younger brother, a German speaker and archduke of Austria since 1521. As a compromise, Charles acquiesced in the election of Ferdinand as King of the Romans, with the stipulation that Philip should succeed Ferdinand.

Aftermath

Charles remained Holy Roman Emperor for over a quarter century. He abdicated on August 27, 1556. The Imperial Diet accepted his abdication on May 3, 1558. Ferdinand was crowned at Frankfurt.

Philip did not succeed Ferdinand. His successor, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, was chosen during his reign in the imperial election of 1562.