In monarchies where the

order of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.coded, the ruling or previous monarch specifies the relative he/she command or recommend to succeed him/her after his/her death or while he/she is alive.

Origin of the term

The word "designation" is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and means the nomination, in advance, of someone to an

office An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a po ...

Middle Ages

Designation played a significant constitutional and political role in the succession of the Frankish monarchy and, later, in the succession of kings in 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 ...

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 ...

. Because the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

was not passed on by inheritance, the king tried to determine his successor by making a recommendation to the "greats of the empire" (i.e. the empire's most powerful princes) within his own lifetime. Not infrequently this took the form of an actual nomination, but was probably also indicated by less formal acts. Four forms of designation can be distinguished, which have legally different meanings: * the ''designatio de futuro'', the obligation demanded by the reigning king on the "great princes" to recognise the succession of his son by swearing an

oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

to the son (examples are the designation of Liudolf in 946 by

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

, Henry III in 1026 and Henry IV in 1050. * the ''designatio de praesenti'' of the pre- Hohenstaufen era, the election of the king's son commanded by the king during his lifetime (for example, the designation of

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was c ...

) * the ''designatio de praesenti'' of the Hohenstaufen era (e. g. the designation of Henry VI in 1169) * the ''Fremddesignation'', i. e. the designation of a successor who is not the son of the ruler (e. g. the designation of Henry I in 919 and Frederick I in 1152) The attempt by rulers to override the electoral rights of the princes in this way was no longer as successful after 1075, which is why Henry VI pursued an '' Erbreichsplan'' or "plan for a hereditary empire. With the double election of 1198, he had practically failed, but the right of the princes to elect the king despite a royal designation was settled only with the formation of the college of electors (''Kurfürstenkolleg'').

Literature

* G. Theuerkauf: Artikel ''Designation'' in: ''Handwörterbuch zur deutschen Rechtsgeschichte (HRG)''. 2nd edn., Vol. 1, Berlin, 2008, cols. 955–957. * Ulrich Schmidt: ''Königswahl und Thronfolge im 12. Jahrhundert (=Forschungen zur Kaiser und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters''. Beihefte zu J. F. Böhmer, Regesta Imperii 7), Cologne, Vienna, 1987. * Heinrich Mitteis: ''Die deutsche Königswahl. Ihre Rechtsgrundlagen bis zur Goldenen Bulle.'' 2nd revised edition. Brünn etc. 1944. {{Authority control Law of the Holy Roman Empire Monarchy