Editing Richard of Cornwall (section)

===Elected King of Germany, 1257===

Richard was elected in 1257 as [[King of the Romans|King of Germany]] by four of the seven [[Prince-elector|German Electoral Princes]]:

*[[Konrad von Hochstaden]], the Archbishop of [[Electoral Cologne|Cologne]]; 
*{{interlanguage link|Gerhard I von Dhaun|de|Gerhard I. von Dhaun}}, Archbishop of [[Elector of Mainz|Mainz]]; 
*[[Louis II, Duke of Bavaria|Louis II]], the [[Electoral Palatinate|Count Palatine]];
*[[Ottokar II of Bohemia|Ottokar II]], King of [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]].

His candidacy was opposed by [[Alfonso X of Castile]], who was supported by three electors:

*[[Albert I, Duke of Saxony]]; 
*[[John I, Margrave of Brandenburg]]; 
*[[Arnold II of Isenburg]], Archbishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier|Trier]].

[[Pope Alexander IV]] and King [[Louis IX]] of France favoured Alfonso, but both were ultimately convinced by the powerful relatives of Richard's wife Sanchia, and his sister-in-law, [[Eleanor of Provence]], to support Richard. [[Ottokar II of Bohemia]], who at first voted for Richard but later elected Alfonso, eventually agreed to support the Earl of Cornwall, thus establishing the required simple majority. So Richard had to bribe only four of them, but this came at a huge cost of 28,000 [[Mark (currency)|marks]]. On 17 May 1257, [[Konrad von Hochstaden]], [[List of Archbishops of Cologne|Archbishop]] of [[Cologne]], himself crowned Richard [[King of the Romans]] in [[Aachen]];<ref>Goldstone, Nancy (2008). ''Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters who ruled Europe.'' Penguin Books, London, p. 213.</ref> however, like his lordships in [[Gascony]] and [[Poitou]], his title never held much significance, and he made only four brief visits to Germany between 1257 and 1269.