Editing Holy Roman Empire (section)

=== King of the Romans ===
{{Main|King of the Romans}}
[[File:Weltliche Schatzkammer Wien (189)2.JPG|thumb|The [[Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire|crown of the Holy Roman Empire]] (latter half of the 10th century), now held in the [[Schatzkammer (Vienna)]]]]

A prospective Emperor first had to be elected [[King of the Romans]]. [[List of German monarchs|German kings]] had been elected since the 9th century; at that point they were chosen by the leaders of the five most important tribes (the [[Salian Franks]] of [[Lorraine (province)|Lorraine]], [[Ripuarian Franks]] of [[Franconia]], [[Saxons]], [[Bavaria]]ns, and [[Swabia]]ns). In the Holy Roman Empire, the main dukes and bishops of the kingdom elected the King of the Romans.

The imperial throne was transferred by election, but Emperors often ensured their own sons were elected during their lifetimes, enabling them to keep the crown for their families. This only changed after the end of the Salian dynasty in the 12th century.

In 1356, Emperor [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]] issued the [[Golden Bull of 1356|Golden Bull]], which limited the [[prince-elector|electors]] to seven: the [[King of Bohemia]], the [[Count Palatine of the Rhine]], the [[Duke of Saxony]], the [[Margrave of Brandenburg]], and the archbishops of [[Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]], [[Mainz]], and [[Trier]]. During the [[Thirty Years' War]], the [[Duke of Bavaria]] was given the right to vote as the eighth elector, and the [[Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] (colloquially, Hanover) was granted a ninth electorate; additionally, the Napoleonic Wars resulted in several electorates being reallocated, but these new electors never voted before the Empire's dissolution. A candidate for election would be expected to offer concessions of land or money to the electors in order to secure their vote.

After being elected, the King of the Romans could theoretically claim the title of "Emperor" only after being crowned by the [[Pope]]. In many cases, this took several years while the King was held up by other tasks: frequently he first had to resolve conflicts in rebellious northern Italy or was quarreling with the Pope himself. Later Emperors dispensed with the papal coronation altogether, being content with the styling ''Emperor-Elect'': the last Emperor to be crowned by the Pope was [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] in 1530.

The Emperor had to be male and of noble blood. No law required him to be a Catholic, but as the majority of the Electors adhered to this faith, no Protestant was ever elected. Whether and to what degree he had to be German was disputed among the Electors, contemporary experts in constitutional law, and the public. During the Middle Ages, some Kings and Emperors were not of German origin, but since the Renaissance, German heritage was regarded as vital for a candidate in order to be eligible for imperial office.{{Sfn|Hirschi|2005|pp=393–399}}