The Declaration of Rhens or Treaty of Rhens () was a decree or '' Kurverein'' of the Prince-electors 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 ...

issued in 1338 and initiated by Baldwin of Luxembourg, the Archbishop of Trier and brother of the late Emperor Henry VII.

Background

In 1314 Louis of Wittelsbach had been elected '' Rex Romanorum'' against Frederick of Habsburg at

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 ...

, however with the decisive fourth vote cast by the Elector John II of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (, ), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296 to 1803 and again from 1814 to 1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein. Its territorial centre was in the modern district of Herz ...

. The election was denied not only by the rivaling duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg but also by the Archbishop of Cologne, who traditionally held the privilege to crown the elected king at

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

. Moreover, Henry of Carinthia had acted as the Bohemian elector, voting for Frederick, although he had already been deposed as king by John of Luxembourg in 1310. Louis was crowned by Peter von Aspelt, the Archbishop of Mainz, while Frederick of Habsburg received consecration by the Cologne archbishop, though not at Aachen but in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. The legal uncertainty of the double election resulted in a long-standing conflict, finally settled by the 1322 Battle of Mühldorf in favour of Louis. The controversy broadened as

Pope John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, willing to restore the papal claim to power, nevertheless dependent on the French royal

House of Capet The House of Capet () ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians and the Karlings. The direct line of the House of Capet came to an ...

, refused to acknowledge Louis' election. Instead he took the occasion to install Robert of Naples from the Capetian House of Anjou as "Senator of Rome" and regent of the Imperial

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

in 1317. The king however was the choice of the Ghibelline party which included not only the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

but also the Bohemian

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

s and the Milanese Visconti. The pope accused Louis of having usurped the royal title without papal approbation as he was crowned by the "wrong" archbishop. The conflict escalated with the declaration of anathema and

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

by the pope against the king and all his supporters in 1324. King Louis, no longer contested in Germany, now was able to campaign Italy, where he obtained the Iron Crown of Lombardy in 1327, while the papal regent Robert of Naples was deposed. One year later he was crowned

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

per

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

by the "people of Rome" under the Ghibelline leader Sciarra Colonna without any participation of the pope. Thereafter he nominated

Antipope Nicholas V Nicholas V, born Pietro Rainalducci (c. 125816 October 1333) was an antipope in Italy from 12 May 1328 to 25 July 1330 during the pontificate of Pope John XXII (1316–1334) at Avignon. He was the last antipope set up by a Holy Roman Emperor. ...

to receive consecration from him. Nevertheless, the political situation in Italy changed again in favour of the House of Anjou, revealing that the Emperor could not actually maintain his sovereignty. Louis was forced to return to Germany, leaving the conflict with the papacy unsettled.

Agreement

In view of the denied recognition by the pope, the prince-electors saw the necessity to affirm their franchise. On 16 July 1338 six electors from

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

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 ...

and

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

, Saxe-Wittenberg,

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

and the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

met at the ''Nussbaumgarten'' in Rhens to support Emperor Louis IV. Even though the practice of election of the

had finally prevailed since the fall of the

House of Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

, it was now fixed that the election by all or the majority of the electors automatically conferred the royal title and rule over the empire, without papal confirmation.Britannica Educational Publishing. Germany, ed. Michael Ray. Britannica Educational Publishing, 2013. p.153. The convened prince-electors decided that "Louis is the rightfully elected King of the Romans, and his legitimate power (in the German kingdom) is not dependent upon the pope's will". In coincidence with the Emperor's loss of power over Italy the decree meant a decisive step beyond the universal claim of the ''

translatio imperii is a historiographical concept that was prominent among medieval thinkers and intellectuals in Europe, but which originated from earlier concepts in antiquity. According to this concept, the notion of ''decline and fall'' of an empire is theor ...

'' derived from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and conveyed by the pope. Louis reacted with two mandates of 6 August 1338, stating that the Emperor-elect is vested with complete Imperial rights and all estates are obliged to ignore dissenting papal

decretal Decretals () are letters of a pope that formulate decisions in canon law (Catholic Church), ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church.McGurk. ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms''. p. 10 They are generally given in answer to consultations but are some ...

s. In 1356 the Golden Bull issued by Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg specified the procedures for imperial election, the electoral college - including the Bohemian king - having already been those seven by custom. As result the monarch, no longer subject to papal approbation, became increasingly dependent on the favour of the electors. The declaration is not to be confused with another meeting of electors at Rhens on 20 August 1400 to depose King Wenceslaus of Luxembourg and elect Rupert of Wittelsbach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Declaration Of Rhense 1330s in law 1330s in the Holy Roman Empire 1338 in Europe Imperial election (Holy Roman Empire) Middle Rhine Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Background

Agreement

See also

References