Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...
, when the (seven) German
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 (''Kurfürsten'') met to elect their
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 ...
and
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, their discussions sometimes led to the conclusion of a
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pe ...
, which was later called the ''Kurverein''. Such a treaty or
alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
therefore contained the rights of the electors and their joint responsibilities in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
.
Important ''Kurvereine'' were the:
*
Declaration of Rhense
The Declaration of Rhens or Treaty of Rhens (german: Kurverein) was a decree or '' Kurverein'' of the Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire issued in 1338 and initiated by Baldwin of Luxembourg, the Archbishop of Trier and brother of the late ...
(''Kurverein von Rhense'', 16 July 1338)
* Kurverein of Boppard (''Kurverein von Boppard'', 11 April 1399)
* Kurverein of Mainz (''Mainzer Kurverein'', 15 September 1399)
* Kurverein of Bingen (''Kurverein von Bingen'', 17 January 1424)
* Kurverein of Frankfurt (''Frankfurter Kurverein'', 18 March 1558)
Another ''Kurverein'' was agreed out by the Rhenish electors. Their main concerns were agreements for a common set of regulations for navigation on the Rhine and for the Rhine tolls. The first such ''Kurverein'' took place with the participation of the three archbishops of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
,
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
and
Trier
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
in 1354. At other such meetings, which were more frequent in the fifteenth century and subsequently, they were joined by the
Elector of the Palatinate
The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...
.Ockhart, Joseph Franz, in: ''Geschichtliche Darstellung der früheren und späteren Gesetzgebung über Zölle und Handelsschiffahrt des Rheines'', 1818, Mainz: Kupferberg, p. 3517. Online edition
Literature
* Malte Prietzel: ''Das Heilige Römische Reich im Spätmittelalter (= Geschichte kompakt. Mittelalter)'', Darmstadt, 2004, pp. 60f, 95, 110