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92-422: The office, jurisdiction or territory of a count palatine was a county palatine or palatinate . In England the forms earl palatine and palatine earldom are rare alternative terms. This Latin title is the original, but is also pre-feudal: it originated as Roman comes , which was a non-hereditary court title of high rank meaning "companion" and connoting the status of peer, the specific part palatinus being

184-464: A Roman governor . They included: Exceptionally, a gubernatorial position was styled " comes ". For example, the comes Orientis , actually one of the vicarii , was an official who controlled the large and strategically important Imperial Diocese of the East by supervising the governors of this collection of provinces, but he was in turn supervised by the praefectus praetorio Orientis . Further,

276-481: A " cohors amicorum ". The word comes is the origin of the much later terms for counts within the medieval nobility, and counties as their territorial jurisdictions. Comes was a common epithet or title that was added to the name of a hero or god in order to denote relation with another god. The coinage of Roman Emperor Constantine I declared him " comes " to Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") qua god. Historically more significant, " comes " became

368-476: A " Grossgau ". The essential competences of the comes were comprehensive in his pagus : martial, judicial, and executive; and in documents he is often described as the " agens publicus " ("public agent") of the King or " judex publicus/fiscalis " ("royal judge"). He was at once public prosecutor and judge, and was responsible for the execution of the sentences as well. As the delegate of the executive power, he had

460-469: A 104-day trip. Her dowry would help Frederick alleviate his debts and cement his power. The couple met at Siena on 24 February and proceeded together to Rome. As per tradition, they spent a night outside the walls of Rome before entering the city on 9 March, where Frederick and Pope Nicholas V exchanged friendly greetings. Because the emperor had been unable to retrieve the Iron Crown of Lombardy from

552-560: A British county palatine . King Lothar of France (954–986) gave Herbert III of Omois , one of his most loyal supporters in the struggle against the Robertians, the title of Count palatine. The title was later inherited by his nephews, precursors of the Counts of Champagne . The title of Count of the palace is therefore linked to the title of Count of Champagne until its extiction in 1305. Pfalzgraf (Old High German phalanzgrāvo )

644-528: A candidate for the 1440 imperial election . On 2 February 1440, the prince-electors convened at Frankfurt and unanimously elected him King of the Romans as Frederick IV; his rule was still based on his hereditary lands of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, or Inner Austria. In 1442, Frederick allied himself with Rudolf Stüssi , burgomaster of Zürich , against the Old Swiss Confederacy in

736-565: A great benefactor to the Jews – his enemies described him as "more of a Jew than a Holy Roman Emperor". He favoured such Jewish scholars like Jacob ben Jehiel Loans  [ de ] , who was the teacher of the Hebraist Johann Reuchlin . His empress Eleanor also favoured Jews. For unknown reasons, their son Maximilian developed a dislike for the Jews as a child though, to the horror of both parents. His own relationship with

828-409: A means of coping with political challenges in far-flung territorial possessions. Frederick is credited with having the ability to sit out difficult political situations patiently. According to contemporary accounts, Frederick had difficulties developing emotional closeness to other persons, including his children and wife Eleanor . Unlike his brother Albert and his son Maximilian, Frederick maintained

920-705: A pilgrimage to the Holy Land , accompanied by numerous nobles knighted by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre , which earned him great reputation. Upon the death of his uncle Duke Frederick IV in 1439, Frederick took over the regency of Tyrol and Further Austria for the duke's heir Sigismund . Again he had to ward off the claims raised by his brother Albert VI; he prevailed by the support of the Tyrolean aristocracy. Likewise he acted as regent for his nephew Ladislaus

1012-430: A reserved lifestyle. Although he was willing to appear in social events like festivals and tournaments, he disliked lavish feasts. Later he became horrified when his son, still in early teen years, displayed a tendency towards wine, feasts and women. As Frederick was rather distant to his family, Eleanor had a great influence on the raising and education of Frederick's children, and she therefore played an important role in

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1104-654: A secular title granted to trusted officials of the Imperial Curia ("Court"), present or former, and others as sign of Imperial confidence. It developed into a formal, dignitary title, derived from the " Companions " of Alexander the Great and rather equivalent to the Hellenistic title of " philos basilikos " or the paladin title of a knight of the Holy Roman Empire and a Papal Palatinus . Thus

1196-502: A step that no previous Duke of Austria had been able to achieve. Frederick failed to gain control over Hungary and Bohemia in the Bohemian–Hungarian War (1468–78) . Frederick proclaimed himself King of Hungary on 27 February 1459, but this did not intimidate Mathias Corvinus . Frederick decided to invade, but his army never got far, as he was no general. From Mantua, Pius II (who was also Frederick's former secretary) urged

1288-426: Is part of the rendering, not always exclusive, of derived inferior titles containing such words, notably " vicecomes " for "viscount" and " burgicomes " and " burgravio " for "burgrave". Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III ( German : Friedrich III, 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death in 1493. He was the penultimate emperor to be crowned by

1380-723: Is the German equivalent of the title, Graf being the German term for "count" or " earl ", and Pfalz being the German reflex of Latin palatium . The German title has also been rendered as palsgrave in English (recorded 1548). Counts Palatine were the permanent representatives of the Frankish king, later of the Holy Roman Emperor , in a palatial domain of the crown. There were dozens of these royal Pfalzen throughout

1472-639: Is the longest in the history of the Holy Roman Empire or the German monarchy. Upon his death in 1493 he was succeeded by his son Maximilian . During his reign, Frederick concentrated on re-uniting the Habsburg " hereditary lands " of Austria and took a lesser interest in Imperial affairs. Nevertheless, by his dynastic entitlement to Hungary as well as by the Burgundian inheritance, he laid

1564-558: The Western Empire : comes Italiae , comes Africae , comes Tingitaniae , comes Tractus Argentoratensis , comes Britanniarum and comes Litoris Saxonici ; as well as two in the Eastern Empire: comes (limitis) Aegypti and comes Isauriae . As the number of comites increased, that dignity became devalued. This resulted in the introduction of classes of comites , denominated and ranked

1656-574: The Ezzonian dynasty were important commanders of the imperial army and were often employed during internal and external conflicts (e.g. to suppress rebelling counts or dukes, to settle frontier disputes with the Hungarian and the French kingdom and to lead imperial campaigns). Although a palatinate could belong for decades to one dynasty, the office of the palatine counts became hereditary only during

1748-763: The Old Zürich War (Alter Zürichkrieg) but lost. In 1448, he entered into the Concordat of Vienna with the Holy See , which remained in force until 1806 and regulated the relationship between the Habsburgs and the Holy See. In 1452, at the age of 37, Frederick III travelled to Italy to receive his bride and to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor . His fiancée, the 17-year-old infanta Eleanor , daughter of King Edward of Portugal , landed at Livorno (Leghorn) after

1840-524: The Ottoman sultan also claimed the right to bestow the office. Thus Giovanni Bellini was named Comes palatinus by Emperor Frederick III in 1469 and later again in 1481 by Sultan Mehmet II . Grand Čelnik (велики челник). The Grand Čelnik was the highest court title of the Serbian Despotate , and the title-holders held great provinces, property, and honours, and Radič (fl. 1413–1441)

1932-694: The Roman Emperors instituted a casual practice of appointing faithful servants to offices. This had been done elsewhere, e. g. regarding the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard and the amici principis . As Imperial administration expanded, however, new offices became necessary and decentralization demanded modifications. The result was the institution of the rank of " comes ". The " comites ", often translated as "counts", though they were neither feudal nor hereditary, became principal officials of

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2024-710: The Siege of Vienna . Emperor Frederick failed to procure help from the Prince-electors and the Imperial States . In 1483 he had to leave his Hofburg residence in Vienna and fled to Wiener Neustadt , where he also was besieged by Matthias' troops for 18 months until the fortress was captured in 1487. Humiliated, Frederick fled to Graz , and later to Linz in Upper Austria . Frederick's personal motto

2116-571: The University of Perugia , a count palatinate in 1469, entitled in turn to confer university degrees . Pope Leo X designated all of the secretaries of the papal curia Comites aulae Lateranensis ("Counts of the Lateran court") in 1514 and bestowed upon them the rights similar to an imperial count palatine . In some cases the title was conferred by specially empowered papal legates . If an imperial count palatine possessed both an imperial and

2208-717: The Visigothic Kingdom , the Officium Palatinum consisted of a number of men with the title of count who managed the various departments of the royal household. The Comes Cubiculariorum oversaw the chamberlains , the Comes Scanciorum directed the cup-bearers, the Comes Stabulorum directed the equerries in charge of the stables, etc. The Ostrogothic Kingdom also maintained palatine counts with titles such as Comes Patrimonium , who

2300-457: The cathedral of Monza where it was kept, nor be crowned King of Italy by the archbishop of Milan (on account of Frederick's dispute with Francesco Sforza , lord of Milan), he convinced the pope to crown him as such with the German crown, which had been brought for the purpose. This coronation took place on the morning of 16 March, in spite of the protests of the Milanese ambassadors, and in

2392-662: The pope , and the last to be crowned in Rome . He was the first emperor from the House of Habsburg , which was to retain the title until it disappeared centuries later. Prior to his imperial coronation, he was duke of the Inner Austrian lands of Styria , Carinthia and Carniola from 1424, and also acted as regent over the Duchy of Austria from 1439. He was elected and crowned King of Germany in 1440. His reign of 53 years

2484-473: The " graf " became a noble count. In the feudal tradition, Latin was, especially in law, the official language, and therefore the rendering in Latin was equal in importance to the vernacular title. Thus, " comes " has been used as the Latin equivalent, or part of it, of all titles of comital office, whether containing " count " or some other word etymologically derived from " comes " or " graf ". Similarly, it

2576-592: The "New Monastery". In 1469 Friedrich founded the Order of St. George , which still exists today, whereby the first investiture in the Lateran Basilica in Rome was carried out by him and Pope Paul II . Mary of Burgundy , sole heir to the rich Burgundian kingdom, after the death of her father Charles the Bold , soon made her choice among the many suitors for her hand by selecting Archduke Maximilian of Austria,

2668-401: The "true founder of the Habsburg imperial position". German historians Paul-Joachim Heinig (author of Kaiser Friedrich III. (1440–1493). Hof, Regierung und Politik , Böhlau, 1997) writes that it would be unfair to say that Maximilan stood on the shoulders of a giant, yet nevertheless Frederick provided the shoulders without which Maximilian could not have become a giant himself. Frederick was

2760-476: The 11th century, some imperial palatine counts became a valuable political counterweight against the mighty duchies. Surviving old palatine counties were turned into new institutional pillars through which the imperial authority could be exercised. By the reigns of Henry the Fowler and especially of Otto the Great , comites palatini were sent into all parts of the country to support the royal authority by checking

2852-601: The 12th century. During the 11th century the palatinates were still regarded as beneficia , non-hereditary fiefs. The count palatine in Bavaria, an office held by the family of Wittelsbach, became duke of this land, the lower comital title being then merged into the higher ducal one. The Count Palatine of Lotharingia changed his name to Count Palatine of the Rhine in 1085, alone remaining independent until 1777. The office having become hereditary, Pfalzgrafen were in existence until

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2944-805: The Count Palatine was reduced to his territories along the Rhine. Consequently, he is called the Count Palatine of the Rhine after 1085. The Golden Bull of 1356 made the Count Palatine of the Rhine one of the seven electors . He was therefore known as the Elector Palatine . In the 10th century the Emperor Otto I created the County Palatine of Saxony in the Saale-Unstrut area of southern Saxony. The honour

3036-682: The County Palatine of Saxony to the House of Welf : After 1146, the title went to the Counts Palatine of Tübingen . In 1169, Emperor Frederick I created the Free County of Burgundy (not to be confused with its western neighbour, the Duchy of Burgundy ). The Counts of Burgundy had the title of Free Count (German: Freigraf ), but are sometimes called Counts Palatine. A papal count palatine ( Comes palatinus lateranus , properly Comes sacri Lateranensis palatii "Count of

3128-613: The Emperor to leave Mathias alone. Hungary, he proclaimed, "is the shield of all Christendom under cover of which we have hitherto been safe. [...] If the road is thus opened to the barbarians, destruction will break in over all and the consequences of such a disaster will be imputed by God to its authors." Frederick was even defeated in the Austrian–Hungarian War (1477–88) by Matthias Corvinus in 1485, who managed to maintain residence in Vienna until his death five years later in

3220-498: The Golden Spur was being so indiscriminately bestowed that Casanova remarked "The Order they call the Golden Spur was so disparaged that people irritated me greatly when they asked me the details of my cross;" The Order was granted to "those in the pontifical government, artists, and others, whom the pope should think deserving of reward. It is likewise given to strangers, no other condition being required, but that of professing

3312-465: The House of Habsburg's rise to prominence. Despite the fact that their marriage had been unhappy, when Eleanor died the Emperor was affected by her loss and remained widowed for the rest of his long life. Frederick's political initiatives were hardly bold, but they were still successful. Frederick III was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1452, the first since the death of Emperor Sigismund . His ascension to

3404-405: The Jews evolved over the years though. Ursula Schattner-Rieser opines that the foundation of Modern Judaism , arising in the eras of Frederick and Maximilian, was "embedded in the principles of humanism". Frederick had five children from his marriage with Eleanor of Portugal : For the last 10 years of Frederick's life, he and Maximilian ruled jointly. In his last years Friedrich remained in

3496-656: The King to whom all these princely titles returned. The Principalities are thus made Voivodships (sometimes translated as Palatinates). In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth the Voivodes sit in the Senate. Throughout its history, the dignity remained non-hereditary, or semi-hereditary. Today voivodes are government officials. As successor to the Byzantine emperor after the fall of Constantinople in 1453,

3588-509: The Latin form (Comes) palatinus and the French (comte) palatin have been used as part of the full title of the Dukes of Burgundy (a branch of the French royal dynasty) to render their rare German title Freigraf , which was the style of a (later lost) bordering principality, the allodial County of Burgundy ( Freigrafschaft Burgund in German), which came to be known as Franche-Comté . During

3680-515: The Port"). The title " comes consistorianus " or " comes consistorialis " indicated specially appointed members to the consistorium , the council of the Roman emperor's closest advisors. The comes rei militaris held martial appointments, and commanded comitatenses . He ranked superior to a dux but inferior to the magister peditum or magister equitum ; he functioned as

3772-527: The Posthumous , son of late King Albert II and his consort Elizabeth of Luxembourg , in the duchy of Austria (Further Austria). (Ladislaus would die before coming of age). Frederick was now the undisputed head of the Habsburg dynasty, though his regency in the lands of the Albertinian Line (Further Austria) was still viewed with suspicion. As a cousin of late King Albert II, Frederick became

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3864-568: The Sacred Palace of Lateran") began to be conferred by the pope in the 16th century. This title was merely honorary and by the 18th century had come to be conferred so widely as to be nearly without consequence. The Order of the Golden Spur began to be associated with the inheritable patent of nobility in the form of count palatinate during the Renaissance ; Emperor Frederick III named Baldo Bartolini , professor of civil law at

3956-519: The adjective derived from palatium ('palace'). After the fall of Rome, a new feudal type of title, also known simply as palatinus , started developing. The Frankish kings of the Merovingian dynasty (reigned 480–750) employed a high official, the comes palatinus , who at first assisted the king in his judicial duties and at a later date discharged many of these himself. Other counts palatine were employed on military and administrative work. In

4048-689: The afternoon Frederick and Eleanor were married by the pope. Finally, on 19 March, Frederick and Eleanor were anointed in St Peter's Basilica by the Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Francesco Condulmer , and Frederick was then crowned with the Imperial Crown by the pope. Frederick was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned in Rome. His great-grandson Charles V was the last emperor to be crowned, but this

4140-522: The beginning of the AD 5th century in the Notitia Dignitatum , but as offices were later added, it is not historically exhaustive. The following sections describe examples of the kinds of comites . Several of the major departments of the Imperial Curia ("Court") and household had a principal official who was styled " comes " and assisted by an " officium " ("staff") very similar to that of

4232-552: The catholic religion." Comes Comes (plural comites ), translated as count , was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word comes originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from " com- " ("with") and " ire " ("go"). The special lasting meaning derives from the position of a follower within a comitatus , which was a retinue, or group of followers, such as those of magnates . In some instances these were sufficiently large and/or formal to justify specific denomination, such as

4324-740: The cause of death the consequences of leg amputation, senility or rapid diarrhea caused by melon consumption. His bowels were probably buried separately on 24 August 1493 in the Linz parish church. The arrival of Turks in Carinthia and the Krain delayed the arrival of Maximilian and with it the funeral service. On 6 and 7 December 1493, the funeral took place in St. Stephen's Cathedral. His grave, built by Nikolaus Gerhaert von Leyden , in St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna ,

4416-433: The departments of their royal households, including but not limited to the: The Frankish kings of the Merovingian dynasty retained much of Roman administration, including the office and title of " comes ", the original meaning of which they preserved, i. e., a companion of the king and a royal servant of high dignity. Under the early Frankish kings some comites did not have definite functions: they were merely attached to

4508-407: The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. The palatinate of Saxony merged with the Electoral Duchy of Saxony. The Palatinate of the Rhine became an electorate, and both were Imperial Vicars . Originally, the Counts Palatine held the County Palatine (around Regensburg ), and were subordinate to the Dukes of Bavaria , rather than to the king. The position gave its holder a leading position in

4600-444: The early Empire, and the emperor would travel between them, as there was no imperial capital. In the empire, the word count palatine was also used to designate the officials who assisted the emperor in exercising the rights which were reserved for his personal consideration, like granting arms . They were called Imperial counts palatine (in Latin comites palatini caesarii , or comites sacri palatii ; in German, Hofpfalzgrafen ). Both

4692-416: The emperor was besieged in his residence by rebellious subjects. In this war between the brothers, Frederick received support from the King of Bohemia, George of Poděbrady . These conflicts forced him into an anachronistic itinerant existence, as he had to move his court between various places through the years, residing in Graz , Linz and Wiener Neustadt . Wiener Neustadt owes him its castle and

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4784-494: The fiefs as a dower . Frederick agreed at first, but after Albert took over yet another fief, Regensburg , Frederick withdrew his consent. On 2 January 1487, however, before Frederick's change of heart could be communicated to his daughter, Kunigunde married Albert. A war was prevented only through the mediation of the Emperor's son, Maximilian. In some smaller matters, Frederick was quite successful: in 1469 he managed to establish bishoprics in Vienna and Wiener Neustadt ,

4876-417: The first, second, and third " ordines ". The comites dominorum nostrorum (plural of comes dominorum nostrorum ; lit.   ' Companions of Our Lords [Emperors] ' ) were a mounted Imperial bodyguard during the tetrarchy of Emperor Diocletian in circa 300 AD. The Goths that ruled Spain and Italy followed the Roman tradition of granting the title of " comes " to the various principals of

4968-443: The foundations for the later Habsburg Empire. Despite being mocked as "Arch-Sleepyhead of the Holy Roman Empire" ( German : Erzschlafmütze ) during his lifetime, he is today increasingly seen as an effective ruler. Historian Thomas A. Brady Jr. credited Frederick with leaving a credible claim on the imperial title and a secure grip on the Austrian lands, now organized as a single state, for his son. This imperial revival (as well as

5060-421: The future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (son of Frederick III) who became her co-ruler. With the inheritance of Burgundy, the House of Habsburg began to rise to predominance in Europe. This gave rise to the saying "Let others wage wars, but you, happy Austria, shall marry", which became a motto of the dynasty. Frederick secured in 1486 the succession of the son in his own lifetime. On 16 February 1486 Maximilian

5152-411: The germs of discord, on account of the confusion of his public and private obligations. According to philologists, the Anglo-Saxon word " gerefa ", denoting "illustrious chief", however, is not connected to the German " Graf ", which originally meant "servant"; compare the etymologies of the words "knight" and "valet". It is the more curious that the " gerefa " should end as a subservient reeve while

5244-427: The hands of counts palatine. Instead of remaining near the person of the king, some of the counts palatine were sent to various parts of his empire to act as judges and governors, the districts ruled by them being called palatinates. Being in a special sense the representatives of the sovereign, they were entrusted with more extended power than the ordinary counts. In this way came about the later and more general use of

5336-413: The historical importance and meaning of his rule and of the early gaining of the Imperial title. Frederick had been very careful regarding the reform movement in the empire. For most of his reign, he considered reform as a threat to his imperial prerogatives. He avoided direct confrontation, which might lead to humiliation if the princes refused to give way. After 1440, the reform of the Empire and Church

5428-420: The impartial judge between options suggested by the princes. Frederick was an important and powerful patron of music, with a "preference for importing Western talent". This, combined with the efforts by non-coủrtly institutions like the Cathedral at Trent, would contribute to the flourishing of music under Maximilian I. The 110 books he collected form the core collection of the later Bibliotheca Regia , that

5520-523: The imperial election for Maximilian. Thus in his last years, he presided over the initial phase of Imperial Reform, which would mainly unfold under his son Maximilian. Maximilian himself was more open to reform, although naturally he also wanted to preserve and enhance imperial prerogatives. After Frederick retired to Linz in 1488, as a compromise, Maximilian acted as mediator between the princes and his father. When he attained sole rule after Frederick's death, he would continued this policy of brokerage, acting as

5612-478: The independent tendencies of the great tribal dukes. Apparent thereafter was the existence of a count palatine in Saxony, and of others in Lorraine, in Bavaria and in Swabia, their duties being to administer the royal estates in these duchies. Next to the Dukes of Lotharingia , Bavaria , Swabia and Saxony , who had become dangerously powerful feudal princes, loyal supporters of the German Emperor were installed as counts palatine. The Lotharingian palatines out of

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5704-497: The later Roman Empire . They held offices of all kinds from the army to the civil service, while retaining their direct access to the Emperor. Emperor Constantine I finalized them as the governmental echelon of " comites provinciarum " ("counts of the provinces"); the comites of the new echelon were assigned alongside the vicarii in the civil dioceses of the latter so that the comites became permanent fixtures of Imperial government. The comites were fully enumerated as early as

5796-457: The legal system of the Duchy. From 985, the Ezzonids held the title: The County Palatine of Lotharingia was suspended by the Emperor. Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde, Herman II's widow, remarried to Henry of Laach . About 1087 he was assigned in the newly created office of Count Palatine of the Rhine . In 1085, after the death of Herman II, the County Palatine of Lotharingia lost its military importance in Lorraine. The territorial authority of

5888-410: The need to assert the difference between themselves and these minor "counts". Therefore, several of these great magnates began styling themselves "Count palatine", signifying great counts ruling regions equivalent to duchies, such as the Counts Palatine of Champagne in the 13th century. See also Royal Administration of Merovingian and Carolingian Dynasties . In early medieval Poland , the Palatinus

5980-418: The old Roman civitates ("cities", or polities) which became the basis of the new medieval bishoprics. In Carolingian times, the governor of a pagus was a Comes , corresponding to the German Graf . The King appointed the comites to serve at his pleasure. The modern German-derived term sometimes for a count who governed a whole gau is " Gaugraf ", and a gau containing several counties is sometimes called

6072-408: The papal appointment, he bore the title of "Comes palatine imperiali Papali et auctoritate" (Count palatine by Imperial and Papal authority). The Order of the Golden Spur, linked with the title of count palatinate, was widely conferred after the Sack of Rome , 1527, by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor ; the text of surviving diplomas conferred hereditary nobility to the recipients. Among the recipients

6164-462: The person of the King and executed his orders. Others filled the highest offices, e. g. the Comes Palatii and Comes Stabuli (from which the contemporary title of " constable " derives). Yet other comites served as regional officials. For administrative purposes, the Merovingian kingdoms were still divided into small Roman districts denominated " pagi " (hence the French " pays "), or similarly sized new creations " Gaue ". These were smaller than

6256-418: The principal officials of some less important governmental departments who were under the authority of otherwise styled, high ranking, territorial officials could be titled " comes ", e. g. under the praefectus urbi of Rome , himself a vir illustris , was a comes formarum , comes riparum et alvei Tiberis et Cloacarum ("Count of the Coast of the Tiber and the Canalisation"), and comes Portus ("Count of

6348-413: The region on the Danube, in Vienna and in Linz. In 1492 he was elected Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece . Since February 1493, Frederick's health deteriorated increasingly. In the Lent of 1493, Friedrich's personal physicians diagnosed Kaiser in the left leg as a symptom, usually referred to as age-burning, in the research literature, which according to current medical terminology is considered to be

6440-424: The result of arteriosclerosis. On 8 June 1493 he was amputated under the direction of the surgeon Hans Seyff in the Linz castle of the affected area of the leg. This leg amputation is considered one of the most famous and best-documented surgical procedures of the entire Middle Ages. Although Frederick initially survived the procedure well, he died on 19 August 1493 in Linz at the age of 77. The contemporaries cited as

6532-453: The right to exercise the " bannis regis " ("royal ban "), which gave him the right to command his military in the name of the King and to act as necessary to preserve the peace. As the King's representative, he exercised the royal right of protection (" mundium regis ") of churches, widows, orphans, and the like. He enjoyed a triple " wergeld ", but had no definite salary, being remunerated by receipt of specific revenues, which system contained

6624-730: The rise of the territorial state) began under the reign of Frederick. Born at the Tyrolean residence of Innsbruck in 1415, Frederick was the eldest son of the Inner Austrian duke Ernest the Iron , a member of the Leopoldian line of the Habsburg dynasty, and his second wife Cymburgis of Masovia . According to the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg , the Leopoldinian branch ruled over the duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, or what

6716-494: The role of Emperor came with the stipulation that should the previous queen of Bohemia (wife of Albert V of the Albertine line) give birth to a male heir, Frederick would become his guardian. When the queen gave birth to Ladislaus the Posthumous , as according to the stipulations, Frederick took on his guardianship. This led to conflicts between Frederick and other members of the royal family and nobility. His first major opponent

6808-768: The royal election Frederick accompanied his son to Aachen, where Maximilian was crowned on 9 April 1486. There seemed to be tensions between father and son due to differences in personalities and leadership styles. But Frederick saw Maximilian's values in negotiating with the Estates, thus even though he was wary of infringements on his imperial power, Maximilian quickly became an essential partner in imperial politics. In 1487, his daughter Kunigunde married Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria . Albert illegally took control of some imperial fiefs and then asked to marry Kunigunde (who lived in Innsbruck, far from her father), offering to give her

6900-476: The superior of a series of military stations, each commanded by a praepositus limitis ("border commander") and/or as a unit commander, e. g., of tribunes of cohorts, of alae (auxiliary equivalents), of numeri , and in the Eastern Empire even of legions . The Notitia Dignitatum of the early-5th century AD enumerates six such offices, being of the dignity of vir spectabilis , in

6992-503: The title was retained when the titulary was appointed, often promoted, to an office away from court, frequently in the field or a provincial administration. Subsequently, it was thought logical to connect the title to specific offices that demanded an incumbent official of high dignity, and even to include it as part of the official title. As the Imperial Roman Curia increased in number and assimilated all political power,

7084-542: The word "palatine", its application as an adjective to persons entrusted with special powers—but also to the districts over which these powers were exercised. By the High Middle Ages, the title "count" had become increasingly common, to the point that both great magnates who ruled regions that were the size of duchies, and local castle-lords, might style themselves "count." As the great magnates began to centralize their power over their local castle-lords, they felt

7176-563: Was Titian (1533), who had painted an equestrian portrait of Charles. Close on the heels of the Emperor's death in 1558, its refounding in Papal hands is attributed to Pope Pius IV in 1559. Benedict XIV ( In Supremo Militantis Ecclesiæ , 1746) granted to the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre the right to use the title of Count of the Sacred Palace of Lateran. By the mid-18th century the Order of

7268-470: Was a natural choice for Frederick and the Estates to counter Hungary's ambitions. On the occasion of the election of Maximilian, a ten-year land peace was decided. In order to safeguard the peace of the land and against the expansive territorial policy of the House of Wittelsbach , numerous affected empire-related states of Swabia joined in 1488 on Frederick's initiative for the Swabian League. After

7360-450: Was denied by his relatives. Finally, in 1435, Albert V, duke of Austria (later Albert II, the king of Germany), awarded him the rule over his Inner Austrian heritage. Almost from the beginning, Frederick's younger brother Albert asserted his rights as a co-ruler, as the beginning of a long rivalry. Already in these years, Frederick had begun to use the symbolic A.E.I.O.U. signature as a kind of motto with various meanings. In 1436 he made

7452-491: Was done in Bologna . Frederick's style of rulership was marked by hesitation and a sluggish pace of decision making. The Italian humanist Enea Silvio Piccolomini, later Pope Pius II , who at one time worked at Frederick's court, described the Emperor as a person who wanted to conquer the world while remaining seated. Although this was regarded as a character flaw in older academic research, his delaying tactics are now viewed as

7544-750: Was freed in 1452 by the Lower Austrian estates. He acted similarly towards his first cousin Sigismund of the Tyrolian line of the Habsburg family. One of his important advisors during this time was Friedrich II von Graben . Ultimately, Frederick prevailed in all those conflicts by outliving his opponents and sometimes inheriting their lands, as was the case with Ladislaus, from whom he gained Lower Austria in 1457, and with his brother Albert VI, whom he succeeded in Upper Austria . In 1462, his brother Albert raised an insurrection against him in Vienna and

7636-504: Was his brother Albert VI , who challenged his rule. He did not manage to win a single conflict on the battlefield against him, and thus resorted to more subtle means. He held his second cousin once removed Ladislaus the Posthumous , the ruler of the Archduchy of Austria , Hungary and Bohemia, (born in 1440) as a prisoner and attempted to extend his guardianship over him in perpetuity to maintain his control over Lower Austria . Ladislaus

7728-550: Was in charge of the patrimonial or private real estate of the king, and others. The system was maintained by the Carolingian sovereigns (reigned 751–987), who increased the power of counts palatine through successive grants of authority. A Frankish capitulary of 882 and Hincmar, archbishop of Reims , writing about the same time, attest to the extent to which the judicial work of the Frankish Empire had passed into

7820-529: Was initially held by a Count of Hessengau , then from the early 11th century by the Counts of Goseck , later by the Counts of Sommerschenburg, and still later by the Landgraves of Thuringia : After Henry Raspe's death, the County Palatine of Saxony and the Landgraviate of Thuringia were given to the House of Wettin , based on a promise made by Emperor Frederick II: King Rudolph I of Germany gave

7912-600: Was next in rank to the King. As he is also the chief commander of the King's army the rank is merged with Wojewoda , with the latter replacing the title of Palatine. During the Fragmentation of Poland each Prince would have his own voivode . When some of these Principalities were reunited into the Kingdom of Poland, the Palatines were infeudated with them, as there was no longer a local Prince to rule on behalf of

8004-535: Was one of the most powerful ones. Hungary in the Middle Ages: nádorispán or nádor (see Palatine of Hungary ) The term count palatine was not used in the United Kingdom . Just as count always remained reserved for continental territories, even though the equivalence of earl became clear by rendering it in Latin also as comes , earl palatine was the exclusively British title for the incumbent of

8096-541: Was referred to as Inner Austria. Only three of Frederick's eight siblings survived childhood: his younger brother Albert (later to be Albert VI, archduke of Austria), and his sisters Margaret (later the electress of Saxony ) and Catherine . In 1424, nine-year-old Frederick's father died, making Frederick the duke of Inner Austria, as Frederick V, with his uncle, Duke Frederick IV of Tyrol , acting as regent. From 1431, Frederick tried to obtain majority (to be declared "of age", and thus allowed to rule) but for several years

8188-511: Was sustained and led by local and regional powers, particularly the territorial princes. In his last years, however, there was more pressure on him taking action from a higher level. Berthold von Henneberg , the Archbishop of Mainz, who spoke on behalf of reform-minded princes (who wanted to reform the Empire without strengthening the imperial hand), capitalized on Frederick's desire to secure

8280-435: Was the mysterious string A.E.I.O.U. , which he imprinted on all his belongings. He never explained its meaning, leading to many different interpretations being presented, although it has been claimed that shortly before his death he said it stands for Austriae Est Imperare Orbi Universali or Alles Erdreich ist Österreich untertan ("All the world is subject to Austria"). It may well symbolise his own understanding of

8372-408: Was the predecessor of the later Imperial Library and the current Austrian National Library ( Österreichische Nationalbibliothek ). German historians tend to be more critical of Frederick than Austrian ones. Austrian historian Adam Wandruszka opines that while he was not an impressive emperor, Frederick III was effective in defending and expanding his family's dynastic interests. Wandruszka calls him

8464-603: Was unanimously elected Roman-German king at the Frankfurt Reichstag by the six electors present. The Elector of Bohemia was not invited because the Bohemian spa law might have been claimed by the Hungarian King Corvinus. There are still discussions regarding whether Frederick actively provided the initiative for his son's election or not. As Frederick's only surviving male heir though, Maximilian

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