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An electoral capitulation (german: Wahlkapitulation) was initially a written agreement in parts of Europe, principally the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, whereby from the 13th century onward, a candidate to a prince-bishopric had to agree to a set of preconditions presented by the cathedral chapter prior to electing a bishop to a vacant see. Starting with the election of Emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...
in 1519, a similar electoral capitulation was presented by the
prince-electors The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...
to the future emperor. In both episcopal and imperial capitulations, the candidate swore to respect the terms and conditions set in the capitulation in the event of his election. The capitulation usually reaffirmed the privileges of the electors and placed limitations on the future prince-bishop or emperor's authority to exercise power.


Holy Roman Empire


Episcopal elections

The use of electoral capitulations in the elections of prince-bishops started during the first half of the 13th century and spread to all the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire. Capitulations in advance of episcopal elections were banned by Pope Innocent XII in 1695 and by the emperor in 1698 but the ban was ignored by the cathedral chapters, and episcopal capitulations were sworn by would-be bishops until the end of the Empire in the early 19th century.


Imperial elections

From the 13th century onwards, the electoral body for the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
of the
King of the Romans King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German k ...
in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
was the group of powerful princes known as the
prince elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...
s. And from the election of Emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...
in 1519, a ''Wahlkapitulation'' (''capitulatio caesarea'') was presented by the prince electors to the future Roman-German emperor. During negotiations with France within the framework of the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
, the ''Wahlkapitulation'' of Ferdinand III, which provided for imperial rights (''Reichsrecht'') and imperial estates (''Reichsgüter'') to be divested, was repealed, and France was given full sovereignty over territories in Alsace and Lorraine. The permanent electoral capitulation or ''ständige Wahlkapitulation'' (''capitulatio perpetua'') of 1711 was an attempt to lay down the regulations for future kings in a ''Wahlkapitulation'' specified in advance. It included provisions that forbade the Empire from being turned into a
hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is a form of government and succession of power in which the throne passes from one member of a ruling family to another member of the same family. A series of rulers from the same family would constitute a dynasty. It is h ...
. In this way the
prince elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...
s attempted to protect their political position. However, these documents were never ratified by an emperor and so never elevated to an imperial statute (''Reichsgesetz'').


Scandinavia

In Norway, the electoral capitulation was used in the period from 1449 (
Christian I Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...
and
Charles Knutsson Charles VIII ( sv, Karl; 1408–1470), contemporaneously known as Charles II and called Charles I in Norwegian context, was king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and 1467–1470) and king of Norway (1449–1450). Regnal name Charles was the ...
) to 1648, the electoral capitulations of 1449 and 1524 (
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoller ...
) only being applied to Norway, whilst the rest were applied to Denmark, but because the king reigned in
personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...
, they also applied automatically to Norway. The capitulation of 1648 was succeeded by absolutism in 1660. The capitulation was a prerequisite for the coronation. In the period between the capitulation and the coronation, the king bore the title "elected king" (''erwählter König'' or ''utvalgt konge''). Despite great variations in the individual documents, they all have one thing in common: they stress the principles of '' Reichsratskonstitutionalismus'' ("Imperial Council Constitutionalism"), which contained the rights of the Imperial Council (''Reichsrat'') to participate in important governmental decisions. Even the awarding of governmental offices to native-born nobility was given increasing weight - in Denmark over the German nobility, in Norway over the German and Danish nobility.


Poland

Between 1573 and 1764, the ''
pacta conventa ''Pacta conventa'' (Latin for "articles of agreement") was a contractual agreement, from 1573 to 1764 entered into between the "Polish nation" (i.e., the szlachta (nobility) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and a newly elected king upon ...
'' (Latin for "articles of agreement") was a contractual agreement entered into between the "Polish nation" (i.e., the ''
Szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
'', nobility) and a newly elected
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
upon his election to the throne. The capitulation signed by King
Henry of Poland Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Li ...
in 1573, the so-called
Henrician Articles The Henrician Articles or King Henry's Articles (Polish: ''Artykuły henrykowskie'', Latin: ''Articuli Henriciani'') were a permanent contract between the "Polish nation" (the szlachta, or nobility, of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and a n ...
, was signed by all subsequent Polish monarchs in addition to their own individual ''pactae''.


Papal elections

For a long period, from the 15th to 17th centuries, it was common at the election of a new pope for the
college of cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...
to demand a capitulation. As early as 1352 an electoral capitulation was compiled for the election of
Pope Innocent VI Pope Innocent VI ( la, Innocentius VI; 1282 or 1295 – 12 September 1362), born Étienne Aubert, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 December 1352 to his death in September 1362. He was the fifth Avignon pope a ...
, although he declared it invalid. The
Council of Constance The Council of Constance was a 15th-century ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance in present-day Germany. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the res ...
(1414–1417) took the view that the rival popes,
Gregory XII Pope Gregory XII ( la, Gregorius XII; it, Gregorio XII;  – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario," or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was oppose ...
and Benedict XIII were guilty of perjury because they had broken the terms of their electoral capitulations. In 1431, Pope
Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...
confirmed his capitulation in a formal papal bull. Pope Paul II reported to Cardinal
Jacopo Piccolomini-Ammannati Jacopo Piccolomini-Ammannati, or Giacomo Piccolomini (8 March 1422 – 10 September 1479) was an Italian Renaissance cardinal and humanist. Biography He was born at Pescia, now in the Province of Pistoia, Italy. He was related to the Picco ...
that, immediately after the election, he pledged to comply with his capitulation, but later the cardinals were required to consent to a substantial revision. Today, electoral agreements are forbidden before the election of the pope, as per the constitution, '' Universi Dominici Gregis''.


Venice

There were also electoral capitulations for the election of the Venetian doges, the ''
promissione ducale The ''promissione ducale'' ( la, promissio domini ducis) was an oath of office sworn by the incoming Doge of Venice. It contained not only an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Venice, but also spelled out the constitutional limitations to the D ...
'', Kurt Heller: Kultur und Leben in der Republik 697-1797. Vienna/Cologne/Weimar, 1999, pp. 136-157 the oldest of which has survived from 1192. The ''promissione ducale'' was drafted before the election of a new doge by a specially formed commission, the ''Correttori alle promissione ducale'', the Doge had to read it at his election, to praise it and was only crowned afterwards. From 1595 onwards his ''promissione ducale'' was read to him every two months. In the course of the centuries this "contract" became more and more extensive and from 1595 it was printed. The ''promissione ducale'' of Doge
Marino Grimani Marino Grimani (c.1489–1546) was an Italian Cardinal and papal legate. He was from an aristocratic Venetian family. He was elected bishop of Ceneda in 1508, when he was under age. He was patriarch of Aquileia in 1517. He was created Cardin ...
contained 108 pages, Doge
Giovanni II Cornaro Giovanni II Cornaro, sometimes Corner (4 August 1647 – 12 August 1722) was a Venetian nobleman and statesman; he served as the 111th Doge of Venice from 22 May 1709 until his death. Cornaro was born and died in Venice. He was a career statesma ...
's had 165 pages, and the one for the last doge,
Ludovico Manin Ludovico Giovanni Manin (; ; 14 May 1725 – 24 October 1802) was a Venetian politician, Venetian nobility, patrician, and the List of Doges of Venice, 120th and last Doge of Venice. He governed the Venetian Republic from 9 March 1789 until its ...
, had 301 pages.


References


External links


Wahlkapitulation of Charles V dated 3 July 1519
{{Authority control Legal history of the Holy Roman Empire Christian law Imperial election (Holy Roman Empire)