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This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the
Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, espec ...
(''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the
Frankish Empire Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
in 843 and the collapse of 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 unt ...
in 1806 until the collapse of the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
in 1918.


Note on titles

#The Kingdom of Germany started out as the eastern section of the Frankish kingdom, which was split by the
Treaty of Verdun The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three years of civil war and ...
in 843. The rulers of the eastern area thus called themselves ''rex'' ''Francorum'' ("king of the Franks"), ''rex Francorum orientalium'' ("king of the East Franks"), and later just ''rex''. A reference to the "Germans", indicating the emergence of a German nation of some sort, did not appear until the eleventh century, when the pope referred to his enemy Henry IV as ''rex teutonicorum'', king of the
Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
, in order to brand him as a foreigner. The kings reacted by consistently using the title ''rex Romanorum'', king of the Romans, to emphasize their universal rule even before becoming emperor. This title remained until the end of the Empire in 1806, though after 1508 emperors-elect added "king in Germany" to their titles. (Note: in this and related entries, the kings are called ''kings of Germany'', for clarity's sake) #The
Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, espec ...
was never entirely hereditary; rather, ancestry was only one of the factors that determined the succession of kings. During the 10th to 13th centuries, the king was formally elected by the leading nobility in the realm, continuing the Frankish tradition. Gradually the election became the privilege of a group of princes called electors, and the Golden Bull of 1356 formally defined election proceedings. #In the Middle Ages, the king did not assume the title "emperor" (from 982 the full title was ''Imperator Augustus Romanorum'', Venerable Emperor of the Romans) until crowned by the pope. Moving to Italy, he was usually first crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, after which he assumed the title of ''rex Italiae'',
king of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...
. After this he would ride on to Rome and be crowned emperor by the pope. # Maximilian I was the first king to bear the title of emperor-elect. After his march to Rome for his Imperial coronation failed in 1508, he had himself proclaimed emperor-elect with papal consent. His successor Charles V also assumed that title after his coronation in 1520 until he was crowned emperor by the pope in 1530. From Ferdinand I onwards, all emperors did not get crowned by the Pope anymore. At the same time, chosen successors of the emperors held the title of king of the Romans, if elected by the college of electors during their predecessor's lifetime. Emperors are listed in bold. Rival kings, anti-kings, and junior co-regents are ''italicized''.


East Francia, 843–962


Carolingian dynasty


Conradine dynasty


Ottonian dynasty


Holy Roman Empire, 962–1806

The title "King of the Romans", used in the Holy Roman Empire, was, from the coronation of Henry II, considered equivalent to King of Germany. A king was chosen by the German electors and would then proceed to Rome to be crowned emperor by the pope.


Ottonian dynasty (continued)


Salian dynasty


Supplinburger dynasty


Hohenstaufen dynasty


Interregnum


Changing dynasties


Habsburg dynasty


Modern Germany, 1806–1918


Confederation of the Rhine, 1806–1813


German Confederation, 1815–1866


North German Confederation, 1867–1871


German Empire, 1871–1918


See also

* Kings of Germany family tree * List of German monarchs in 1918 * List of German queens *
List of rulers of Austria This is a list of people who have ruled either the Margraviate of Austria, the Duchy of Austria or the Archduchy of Austria. From 976 until 1246, the margraviate and its successor, the duchy, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, thos ...
* List of rulers of Bavaria * List of monarchs of Prussia * List of rulers of Saxony * List of rulers of Württemberg


Footnotes


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:List of German Monarchs 01
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
Monarchs, German Medieval Germany Early Modern history of Germany East Francia Monarchy in Germany