Prince elector

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: král český)
  • the Margrave of Brandenburg (Markgraf von Brandenburg)
  • the Count Palatine of the Rhine (German: Pfalzgraf bei Rhein)
  • the Duke of Saxony (German: Herzog von Sachsen)

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