1257 imperial election

The imperial elections of 1257 took place during a period known as the Great Interregnum of The Holy Roman Empire.

In July 1245, Pope Innocent IV declared Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor deposed, opening a split between the factions Guelphs and Ghibellines.

With the death of Conrad IV in 1254 and his rival claimant William of Holland in 1256, an imperial election became necessary.

Richard was backed by three German Electoral Princes (Cologne, Mainz, and the Palatinate), while Saxony, Brandenburg, and Trier supported Alfonso X of Castile.

On May 27, 1257, Konrad von Hochstaden, archbishop of Cologne himself crowned Richard "King of the Romans" in Aachen;[3] Like his lordships in Gascony and Poitou, his title of Germany never held much significance, and he made only four brief visits to Germany between 1257 and 1269.

Seal of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, showing him enthroned as King of the Romans. Seal inscribed: RICARDUS DEI GRATIA ROMANORUM REX SEMPER AUGUSTUS. ("Richard by the grace of God King of the Romans ever august").
Peter II, Count of Savoy is invested with the vicariate general by Richard (right, wearing peach) (painting by Angelo Verolengo, 1863).