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This is a list of monarchs who ruled over
East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...
, 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, especi ...
(''Regnum Teutonicum''), from
the division ''The Division'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine starring Bonnie Bedelia. The series focuses on a team of female detectives and police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. The ...
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 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 ...
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 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 ...
, which was split by the
Treaty of Verdun The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Francia, Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three ...
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 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 ...
, 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, especi ...
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 The Golden Bull of 1356 (, , , , ) was a decree issued by the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg and Metz ( Diet of Metz, 1356/57) headed by the Emperor Charles IV which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the con ...
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 The Iron Crown ( lmo, Corona Ferrea de Lombardia; it, Corona Ferrea; la, Corona Ferrea) is a relic and may be one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. It was made in the Early Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and jewels fit ...
, 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 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 ...
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 The following image is a family tree of every prince, king, queen, monarch, confederation president and emperor of Germany, from Charlemagne in 800 over Louis the German in 843 through to Wilhelm II in 1918. It shows how almost every single ruler of ...
*
List of German monarchs in 1918 The term German Empire (''Deutsches Kaiserreich'') commonly refers to Germany, from its foundation as a unified nation-state on 18 January 1871, until the abdication of its last Kaiser, Wilhelm II, on November 9, 1918. Germans, when referring to ...
*
List of German queens German queen (german: Deutsche Königin) is the informal title used when referring to the wife of the king of the Kingdom of Germany. The official titles of the wives of German kings were Queen of the Germans and later Queen of the Romans ( la, ...
*
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 The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germa ...
*
List of monarchs of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
*
List of rulers of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...
*
List of rulers of Württemberg This article lists the Counts, Dukes, Electors, and Kings who ruled over different territories named Württemberg from the beginning of the County of Württemberg in the 11th century to the end of the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1918. Counts ...


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 betwe ...
Monarchs, German Medieval Germany Early Modern history of Germany East Francia Monarchy in Germany