archbishopelectors

Archbishop-Electors were ecclesiastical princes of the Holy Roman Empire who held the right to elect the King of the Romans, who would then be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Historically, there were initially seven such electors, a number that became established by the Golden Bull of 1356. The seven included the Archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Trier, along with four secular princes. The Archbishop of Mainz held a particularly significant role as the Archchancellor of the Empire in Germany and presided over the electoral proceedings. The election process was a formal affair, requiring a majority vote of the electors to choose a candidate. The candidate who was elected then had the right to call himself King of the Romans and would typically seek coronation as Emperor by the Pope. The composition and privileges of the Archbishop-Electors were codified in the Golden Bull, which aimed to standardize and legitimize the imperial election process, reducing the potential for disputes. Their electoral power diminished with the gradual decline of the Holy Roman Empire and its eventual dissolution in 1806.