Prince-primate (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Fürstprimas'', Hungarian: ''hercegprímás'') is a rare

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

ly title held by individual (prince-)

archbishops In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

of specific sees in a presiding capacity in an august assembly of mainly secular princes, notably the following:

Germany - Confederation of the Rhine

The ' or '

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

' was founded in 1806, when several German states seceded from the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and allied themselves with Emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

of France, who assumed the position of the

Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine was the title held by Napoleon, Emperor of the French, in his function as leader of the Confederation of the Rhine (1806–1813). The term in French was ''Protecteur de la Confédération'', in German ...

. Its highest office was held by

Karl Theodor von Dalberg Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was a Catholic German bishop and statesman. In various capacities, he served as Archbishop of Mainz, Prince of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, ...

, first

Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

and then of

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

. He had been the first among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire and styled its

Archchancellor An archchancellor (, ) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the work of chancellors or notaries. The Car ...

, and as such was given the first rank among the princes of the new Confederation and the title of ', 'Prince Primate'. As such he presided over the College of Kings and the Diet of the Confederation, a senate-like assembly which never actually assembled. During his term as prince-primate, Dalberg was Archbishop of Regensburg (in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

) and at first ' (ruling prince) of

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

. From September 19, 1806, his territories included the former and on February 16, 1810, Dalberg was promoted to the strictly secular rank of Grand Duke of Frankfurt, in chief of another former (on the lower

Main Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...

, enclaved in the

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

, now in

Hessen Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

). At the same time, Napoleon appointed his stepson

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French statesman and military officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother, Joséphine de Beauharnais, ...

— excluded from the French imperial succession — as heir to the Grand Duchy.Oman, Carola. ''Napoleon's viceroy, Eugène de Beauharnais'' London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1966 On the eve of the collapse of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

, Dalberg resigned his secular positions and Beauharnais succeeded him as Grand Duke, though this had no practical effect, as the dissolution of the Confederation (carved up into a revised set of monarchies) also rendered the position moot.

Hungary

In virtue of his dignity as

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

of the

Habsburg dynasty The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

's apostolic

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, the

Archbishop of Esztergom In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

enjoyed extraordinary privileges, resulting in his being titled prince primate. The

was entitled to hold national

synods A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

, was of the Holy Roman Church, and therefore had the right, inside of his legation (territory where he represented the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

), to have the cross carried before him, dealt directly with

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and had the right of visitation in the

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

s and the religious houses in Hungary, except the exempt

Archabbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...

Pannonhalma Pannonhalma (; ), called Győrszentmárton until 1965, is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron county in western Hungary. With a little under 4,000 inhabitants, it is about south-southeast of Győr. Pannonhalma is home to the oldest extant religious and ...

(S. Martinus in Monte Pannoniæ). Since 1715, the primate had also been a ', a ruling prince of the

, entitled ''Prince Primate''. He was the chief and privy

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the Hungarian kingdom, and thus keeper of the great seal. Formerly he was also a member of the supreme court, and still earlier governor, viceroy and ' ('hereditary' lord-lieutenant) of

Esztergom county Esztergom County (, , , ) was an administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary, situated on both sides of the Danube river. Its territory is now divided between Hungary and Slovakia. The territory to the north of the Danube is part of Slovakia, ...

. To the primate also belonged the right (delegated

regalia Regalia ( ) is the set of emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia indicative of royal status, as well as rights, prerogatives and privileges enjoyed by a sovereign, regardless of title. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and ...

) to superintend the royal

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

Kremnica Kremnica (; , ) is a town in central Slovakia. It has around 5,300 inhabitants. The well-preserved medieval town built above important gold mines is the site of the oldest still-working mint in the world. Name The name is derived from Slovak '' ...

(, ), for which he received a significant sum from its

seigniorage Seigniorage , also spelled seignorage or seigneurage (), is the increase in the value of money due to money creation minus the cost of producing the additional money. Monetary seigniorage is where government bonds are exchanged for newly create ...

revenues, called ' ('right of'). By ancient custom, he had the right to crown the

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

and anoint the queen. By a gift of archiepiscopal property he was at one time able to confer

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

('), another rarely delegated princely prerogative (usually only knighting was allowed to non-sovereign nobility). Another privilege was his right to take an oath before a court of justice through his deputy, and not personally. The

was also chief priest and chancellor of the Hungarian national Order of St. Stephen, established in 1764. As first

banneret A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a Middle Ages, medieval knight who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering Heraldic flag#Standard, standar ...

(') of Hungary, he was a

Magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, i.e. member of the

Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

References

Sources

* Westermann, ''{{lang, de, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte'' (in German)
WorldStatesmen - here Frankfurt, see also other parties mentioned
Catholic ecclesiastical titles Catholic Church in Hungary Titles of national or ethnic leadership