Abstract

Emperor Louis IV. Imperial Rule and Princely Consent

The rule of Louis IV (1314–1347) has provoked controversial judgments – by his contemporaries as well as by modern scholars. He was both condemned as a predecessor of the Antichrist on earth by the popes in Avignon and praised as a most Christian emperor by his followers. Modernhistoriography has addressed him as “Louis the Bavarian”.But this name implies the absence of the universal virtues attributed to a Roman emperor and accepts the damnation of Louis's enemies.

This article discusses the controversial memories of the 14th century as well as the political framework of the Roman-German monarchy. The latter was established by princely elections and accepted by the important political players; one of its features was the imperial coronation in Rome. Louis's struggle for power determined the first decade of his reign. From 1325 to 1330 he shared rule with his Habsburg relative Frederick of Austria, a unique period of double-kingship in medieval German history. The imperial coronation in Rome in 1328 aggravated the hostility against the Avignonese pope John XXII but simultaneously created a new tradition, for Louis's coronation by three excommunicated bishops and four Roman syndici was based on a new type of legitimization. The recently elected anti-pope Nicolas V, who belonged to Louis's Franciscans supporters, supplemented the imperial dignity by a second (only affirmative) coronation four months later.

This article reexamines the boundaries and the margins of Louis's rule by analyzing both the initial roots of princely consent and the paths to imperial glory. It provides a new interpretation both of the famous manifestos of 1338, which outlined the princely self-confidence about electing the Roman king and future emperor, and of the imperial positions of Louis vis-à-vis papal ambitions about influencing the election of a Roman king or emperor. These documents do not indicate a combined strategy on the part of Louis and his princes, but rather show competitive or oppositional ways to legitimate late medieval emperorship. Louis's failure should not be explained only by his opposition to the Avignonese curia but rather by his inability to integrate his aristocratic environment.