Golden Bull of 1356 - Procedures

Procedures

The bull regulated the whole election process in great detail, listing explicitly where, when, and under which circumstances what should be done by whom, not only for the prince-electors but also (for example) for the population of Frankfurt, where the elections were to be held, and also for the counts of the regions the prince-electors had to travel through to get there. The decision to hold the elections in Frankfurt reflected a traditional feeling dating from East Frankish days that both election and coronation ought to take place on Frankish soil. However, the election location was not the only specified location; the bull specified that the coronation would take place in Aachen, and Nuremberg would be the place where the first diet of a reign should be held. The elections were to be concluded within thirty days; failing that, the bull prescribed that the prince-electors were to receive only bread and water until they had decided:

Latin: Quod si facere distulerint infra triginta dies, a die prestiti juramenti prefati continuo numerandos, extunc transactis eisdem triginta diebus amodo panem manducent et aquam et nullatenus civitatem exeant antedictam, nisi prius per ipsos vel majorem partem ipsorum rector seu temporale caput fidelium electum fuerit, ut prefertur.

English: But if they shall fail to do this within thirty days, counting continuously from the day when they took the aforesaid oath: when those thirty days are over, from that time on they shall live on bread and water, and by no means leave the aforesaid city unless first through them, or the majority of them, a ruler or temporal head of the faithful shall have been elected, as was said before.

Chapter 2, §3. The city referred to, emboldened here, is Frankfurt.

Besides regulating the election process, the chapters of the Golden Bull contained many minor decrees. For instance, it also defined the order of marching when the emperor was present, both with and without his insignia. A relatively major decision was made in chapter 15, where Charles IV outlawed any conjurationes, confederationes, and conspirationes, meaning in particular the city alliances (Städtebünde), but also other communal leagues that had sprung up through the communal movement in mediæval Europe. Most Städtebünde were subsequently dissolved, sometimes forcibly, and where refounded, their political influence was much reduced. Thus the Golden Bull also strengthened the nobility in general to the detriment of the cities.

The Pope's involvement with the Golden Bull of 1356 was basically nonexistent, which was significant in the history of relations between the Popes and the Emperors. When Charles IV laid down procedure for electing a King of the Romans, he didn't mention anything about receiving papal confirmation of the election. However, Pope Innocent VI did not protest this because he needed Charles’s support against the Visconti. Pope Innocent continued to have good relations with Charles IV after the Golden Bull of 1356 until the Pope's death in 1362.

The Habsburg dynasty, long-time rivals of the Luxembourgs, got nothing from the decree of the Golden Bull. Therefore Duke Rudolf IV of Austria gave order to draw up the Privilegium Maius, a fake document meant to empower the Austrian rulers on a par with the Prince-electors. On the other hand the Wittelsbachs were invested with the electoral dignity twice, both as Counts Palatine of the Rhine and as Margraves of Brandenburg at that time. Nevertheless the Golden Bull caused a conflict between Emperor Charles IV and the Wittelsbach dukes Louis V and Stephen II of Bavaria since also the Bavarian branch of the dynasty got nothing.