Prince elector

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The seven - later nine - members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire were called prince electors (German: Kurfürst, pl: Kurfürsten) Their role in the election of the emperor was codified in the Golden Bull of 1356.

The original college was made up by:

• Three ecclesiastic electors
  • the Archbishop of Mainz
  • the Archbishop of Trier
  • the Archbishop of Cologne
• Four secular electors
  • the King of Bohemia (German: König von Böhmen, Czech: český král )
  • the Margrave of Brandenburg (Markgraf von Brandenburg)
  • the Count Palatine of the Rhine (Pfalzgraf bei Rhein)
  • the Duke of Saxony (Herzog von Sachsen)
• In the 17th century, two more secular Lords became electors
  • the Duke of Bavaria (Herzog von Bayern)
  • the Duke of Hannover (Herzog von Hannover)

The emperor was not necessarily chosen from this body (e.g. Frederick Barbarossa): in fact, the ecclesiastic electors were ineligible.