Henry VII crossed the
Alps in 1310 to be crowned by the Romans and eventually died
fighting the French for Naples. Civil war followed, and in
the Battle of Mühldorf in 1322, Louis the Bavarian of Wittelberg
defeated his rival, from the Habsburg line, and was crowned
by the Pope.
In
1338 the electors made an important decision, declaring that
as from that moment the King of Germany would automatically
acquire the title of Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation,
without undergoing coronation by the Pope.
Emperor Charles IV, from the Luxembourg line,
who reigned from 1355 to 1378, promulgated an edict named
The Golden Bull in 1356, which served as the constitution
of the Holy Roman Empire. In accordance with this edict, seven
electors would share power in electing kings. These included
the rulers of the Palatinate, Saxony, Brandenburg, and Bohemia
and the archbishops of the cities of Trier, Cologne, and Mainz.
The Golden Bull granted great power to these
princes and forever ended the attempt to unite Germany under
a hereditary monarchy. The princes' support and cooperation
were essential to the king and his control of power was only
nominal, being uncertain and weak. Thus local authorities
were still in charge of maintaining order and Germany continued
to be politically fragmented.
