The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven

Prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

s of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The Archbishop-Elector was president of the electoral college,

archchancellor An archchancellor (, ) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the work of chancellors or notaries. The Car ...

of the empire, and the

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

of Germany as the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

north of the Alps, until the dissolution of the empire in 1806. The origin of the title dates back to 747, when the city of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

was made the seat of an archbishop, and a succession of able and ambitious prelates made the district under their rule a strong and vigorous state. Among these men were important figures in the history of Germany such as Hatto I, Adalbert of Mainz, Siegfried III,

Peter of Aspelt Peter of Aspelt (aka ''Peter von Aichspelt, Peter von Basel, Peter von Mainz''; born 1240/45, died 5 June 1320 in Mainz) was Archbishop of Mainz from 1306 to 1320, and an influential political figure of the period. He brought the archbishopric to ...

and Albert of Brandenburg. There were several violent contests between rivals for the archbishopric, and their power struggles occasionally moved the citizens of Mainz to revolt. The lands of the elector lay around the city of

on both banks of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

; their area reached 3200 sq. miles by the end of the Empire. The last elector was

Karl Theodor von Dalberg Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was a Catholic German bishop and statesman. In various capacities, he served as Archbishop of Mainz, Prince of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, ...

, who lost his temporal power when the archbishopric was secularized in 1803.

Elector of Mainz (1356–1803)

The Archbishop of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

in the

between 780–782 and 1802. In Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the '' primas Germaniae'', the substitute for the Pope north of the Alps. Aside from Rome, the See of Mainz is the only other see referred to as a "Holy See", although this usage became rather less common. This archbishopric was a substantial ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. The ecclesiastical principality included lands near

on both the left and right banks of the

, as well as territory along the Main above

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

(including the district of

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

), the

Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; 'Oak-field') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called , 'lower Eichsfeld') and northwest of the state of Thuringia (, 'upper Eichsfeld') in the south of the Harz mountains in Germany ...

region in Lower Saxony and Thuringia, and the territory around

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. The archbishop was also, traditionally, one of the Imperial

Prince-Elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

s, the Arch-chancellor of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and presiding officer of the

electoral college An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

technically from 1251 and permanently from 1263 until 1803. The see was established in ancient Roman times, in the city of

, which had been a Roman provincial capital called Moguntiacum, but the office really came to prominence upon its elevation to an

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in 780/82. The first bishops before the 4th century have legendary names, beginning with

Crescens Crescens ( Greek: Κρίσκης) was an individual who appears in the New Testament. He is traditionally considered one of the 72 disciples sent out by Jesus in Luke 10. He was a missionary in Galatia and became a companion of Paul. The na ...

. The first verifiable Bishop of Mainz was Martinus in 343. The ecclesiastical and secular importance of Mainz dates from the accession of St.

Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...

to the see in 747. Boniface was previously an archbishop, but the honor did not immediately devolve upon the see itself until his successor Lullus. In 1802, Mainz lost its archiepiscopal character. In the secularizations that accompanied the ''

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...

'' ("

German mediatization German mediatisation (; ) was the major redistribution and reshaping of territorial holdings that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany by means of the subsumption and Secularization (church property), secularisation of a large number of ...

") of 1803, the seat of the elector,

, was moved to

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

, and the electorate lost its left bank territories to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, its right bank areas along the Main below Frankfurt to Hesse-Darmstadt and the Nassau princes, and Eichsfeld and Erfurt to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. Dalberg retained the Aschaffenburg area however, and when the Holy Roman Empire finally came to an end in 1806, this became the core of Dalberg's new

Grand Duchy of Frankfurt The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt was a German satellite state of Napoleonic creation. It came into existence in 1810 through the combination of the former territories of the Archbishopric of Mainz along with the Free City of Frankfurt itself. Histo ...

. Dalberg resigned in 1813 and in 1815 the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

divided his territories between the King of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, the Elector of Hesse, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Free City of

. The modern Diocese of Mainz was founded in 1802, within the territory of

and in 1814 its jurisdiction was extended over the territory of Hesse-Darmstadt. Since then it has had two cardinals and via various

concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

electing a successor to the bishop.

Bishops and archbishops

Bishops of Moguntiacum, 80–745

c. 80–103 *Marinus c. 103–109 *St. Crescentius c. 109–127 *Cyriacus c. 127–141 *Hilarius c. 141–161 *Martin I c. 161–175 *Celsus c. 175–197 *Lucius c. 197–207 *Gotthard c. 207–222 *Sophron c. 222–230 *Heriger I c. 230–234 *Ruther c. 234–254 *Avitus c. 254–276 *Ignatius c. 276–289 *Dionysius c. 289–309 *Ruprecht I c. 309–321 *Adalhard c. 320s *Lucius Annaeus c. 330s *Martin II c. 330s – c. 360s *Sidonius I c. late 360s – c. 386 *Sigismund c. 386 – c. 392 * Theonistus or Thaumastus *

Maximus Maximus (Hellenised as Maximos) is the Latin term for "greatest" or "largest". In this connection it may refer to: * Circus Maximus (disambiguation) * Pontifex maximus, the highest priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome People Roman hi ...

*Lupold c. 392 – c. 409 *Nicetas c. 409 – c. 417 *Marianus c. 417 – c. 427 *

Aureus The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden') was the main gold coin of ancient Rome from the 1st century BC to the early 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the ''solidus (coin), solidus''. This type of coin was sporadically issued during the Roman ...

c. 427 – c. 443 *Eutropius c. 443 – c. 467 *Adalbald *Nather *Adalbert (I) *Lantfried *Sidonius II ? – c. 589 *Siegbert I c. 589–610 * Ludegast c. 610–615 *Rudwald c. 615 *Lubald ? fl. c. 625 * Rigibert 708-724 *Gerold 724–743 * Gewilip c. 744 – c. 745

Archbishops of Mainz, 745–1251

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

745–754 * Lullus 754–786 (First archbishop) * Richholf 787–813 * Adolf 813–826 * Odgar 826–847 *

Rabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of t ...

848–856 *

Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cac ...

856–863 * Ludbert 863–889 * Sunderhold 889–891 * Hatto I 891–913 * Herigar 913–927 *

Hildebert Hildebert is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: * Hildebert (bishop of Cambrai) () * Hildebert, Count of Ivois ( 882) * (died 937) * (died 1006) *, abbot () *, abbot () * Hildebert of Lavardin (died 1133), bishop of Le Man ...

927-937 * Frederick 937–954 *

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

954–968 * Hatto II 968–970 * Rudbrecht 970–975 * Willigis 975–1011 * Erkanbald 1011–1021 * Aribo 1021–1031 * Bardo 1031–1051 * Luitpold 1051–1059 * Siegfried I 1060–1084 * Wezilo 1084–1088 * Rudhart 1088–1109 * Adalbert I von Saarbrücken 1111–1137 * 1138–1141 * Markholf 1141–1142 * Henry I 1142–1153 * Arnold von Selenhofen 1153–1160 * Christian I 1160–1161 ** Rudolf of Zähringen 1160–1161 (opposing) * Conrad I of Wittelsbach 1161–1165 * Christian I 1165–1183 *Conrad I of Wittelsbach (restored) 1183–1200 * Luitpold von Scheinfeld 1200–1208 * Sigfried II von Eppstein 1200–1230 (in opposition until 1208) * Sigfried III von Eppstein 1230–1249 * Christian II von Weisenau 1249–1251

Archbishops-Electors of Mainz, 1251–1803

*Gerhard I von Daun-Kirberg 1251–1259 *Werner II von Eppstein 1260–1284 *Heinrich II von Isny 1286–1288 *Gerhard II von Eppstein 1286–1305 *

1306–1320 *Matthias von Bucheck 1321–1328 *Heinrich III von Virneberg 1328–1337 ** Baldwin of Luxembourg 1328–1336, administrator * Gerlach von Nassau 1346–1371 *Johann I von Luxemburg-Ligny 1371–1373 * Louis of Meissen 1374–1379 * Adolf I von Nassau 1379–1390 *Konrad II von Weinsberg 1390–1396 *Joffrid von Leiningen 1396–1397 *Johann II von Nassau 1397–1419 * Conrad III of Dhaun, Wild- and

Rhinegrave (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

zum Stein 1419–1434 * Dietrich Schenk von Erbach 1434–1459 * Dieter von Isenburg 1459–1461 * Adolf II von Nassau (or Adolf III) 1461–1475 * Dieter von Isenburg (restored) 1476–1482 * Adalbert III of Saxony 1482–1484 * Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild 1484–1504 * Jakob von Liebenstein 1504-1508 * Uriel von Gemmingen 1508–1514 * Albert III of Brandenburg 1514–1545 * Sebastian von Heusenstamm 1545–1555 * Daniel Brendel von Homburg 1555–1582 * Wolfgang von Dalberg 1582–1601 * Johann Adam von Bicken 1601–1604 * Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg 1604–1626 * Georg Friedrich von Greiffenklau 1626–1629 * Anselm Casimir Wambold von Umstadt 1629–1647 *

Johann Philipp von Schönborn Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious ...

1647–1673 * Lothar Friedrich von Metternich-Burscheid 1673–1675 * Damian Hartard von der Leyen-Hohengeroldseck 1675–1678 * Karl Heinrich von Metternich-Winneburg 1679 * Anselm Franz von Ingelheim 1679–1695 * Lothar Franz von Schönborn 1695–1729 * Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg 1729–1732 * Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich 1732–1743 * Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein 1743–1763 * Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach zu Bürresheim 1763–1774 * Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal 1774–1802 *

1802–1803

died in 1817 and was Archbishop of Regensburg 1803–1810, Prince of Frankfurt 1806–1810 and Grand Duke of Frankfurt 1810–1813.

Notes

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