Adolph of Nassau had arguably one of the more unique careers
among members of the Nassau family. An otherwise unremarkable issue expected to
inherit title and position, he was eventually elected to the position of King
of the Romans. While he was never officially styled Holy Roman Emperor, he held
the powers of this position and enacted changes that enlarged the political side
of the role but also put his title at risk and ultimately led to his downfall.
Adolph of Nassau was born around 1255, the heir to Walram II
and his wife Adelheid of Katzenelnbogen. Adolph was well educated, even for his
time, as he was fluent in three languages: German, French, and Latin. This was
a rarity in the 13th century, and gave him an extra degree of respect and
worldliness.
In 1270, Adolph was married to Imagina von Isenburg-Limburg,
and the couple would have eight children together. Among their children,
Gerlach would become Gerlach I, Count of Nassau-Wiesbaden, and Walram (III) of
Nassau-Wiesbaden. Additionally, their son Robert was engaged (but never
married) to the daughter of King Wenceslas II of Bohemia, Agnes. In the case of
Robert, Adolph's political downfall played a role in creating problems with
this alliance.
In 1276 or 1277, Adolph became Count of Nassau. The lands he
inherited included Wiesbaden, Idstein, and the Vogtship of Weilburg, which fell
under the Bishop of Worms. Additionally, he would share with other Nassau
family members in the ownership of two castles: Nassau and Laurenberg. Under
Rudolph I of Hapbsurg, King of the Romans from 1273 to 1291, Adolph received
the Burghauptmannamt, or Castle
Lordship, of Kalsmunt Castle in Wetzlar, and later of Gutenfels Castle at Kaub.
After the death of Rudolph I, the election hung in the air
for a time. The Electors opposed Rudolph's son Albrecht. Several members of the
clergy raised the idea that the King of the Romans should not be an inherited
role, but rather an elected one from among the College of Electors. In response
to this, Adolph of Nassau was suggested and duly elected in 1292. This election
came with stipulations: he must follow a list of acknowledgements of
possessions, pledges of imperial cities and castles, and supply 25,000 marks of
silver. Additional promises included aid against specific enemies and the
assurance that no enemy of Siegfried II of Westerburg would enter his council.
In other words, becoming King of the Romans required a clearly
specified give and take. Adolph was, from the first, intended to be a weak ruler. He
was given limited power and was only selected because of the Electors' desire
to install a powerless king who would accede to specific demands. As it turned
out, however, Adolph was not willing to continue along this vein permanently.
After 1288, he turned his back on many of the Electors' demands and made
agreements with clearly stipulated opponents.
At the same time, he managed to handle many issues with
careful diplomacy, not unimpressive for a man who was still in his mid-30s. One
feature that set him apart were his diplomatic skills and his ability to go
against the requirements of his election, however, without entailing legal
obligations for it. In other words, he knew how to break his initial promises
without breaching the contracts he had signed.
Adolph's court as King of the Romans was considered a stable
place in the maelstrom of fighting regional landlords. Adolph also instituted a
heightened payment system, known as Lehnsware that greatly rankled the
princes but made for a fascinating method of raising funds. Most princes relied
on regalian rights, or the rights to take income from the estates of
bishops or abbots, if there was no bishop or abbot in place. Adolph insisted on
an initial – and quite costly – payment to hold regalian rights, something that
historians still dispute as to whether or not was simony or just a clever
money-making tactic.
Adolph formed an alliance, in 1294, with King Edward I of
England – against King Philippe IV of France – which also placed 60,000 pounds
(or 90,000 gold marks) in his possession. Even at the time, this decision was
viewed as having financial expediency, more than political necessity, and
Adolph found himself in a political mess. He declared war against the angered
King of France, and it was only Pope Boniface VIII's threat of excommunication
for going to war that brought hostilities to a halt.
Thuringia, however, was a bigger problem. Albert the
Degenerate (Albert II, Margrave of Meissen and Landgrave of Thuringia) was
battling against his sons Frederick and Theodoric IV of Lusatia. Adolph
purchased Albert's right to the Landgraviate from him and then seized the Margraviate
of Meissen, which had been informally held by one of Albert's sons. Neither
action was illegal but both raised hackles. This movement extended imperial
territory and made neighboring regions uncomfortable. Additionally, Adolph's
quick action in this case made it virtually impossible for the Electors to
derive their own profits from the strife.
It had not taken long for the Electors to regret their
choice of Adolph, but it took until 1297 for them to take action against him.
The Duke of Saxony, the Elector of Brandenburg, the King of Bohemia, and the
Elector of Cologne created an informal alliance to depose Adolph. For his part,
Adolph was not initially concerned until Albrecht of Habsburg and King Wenceslas II
got involved: the two were famously opposed to one another, and their decision
to set political disagreements aside to join forces against Adolph was a bellwether.
Attempts were made to mediate the issues through meetings, but they came to
nothing. Eventually, several political and religious leaders prepared a lawsuit
against Adolph, and he was deposed in 1298.
What might be more unusual about the situation is the role
that the pope did, or did not, play. Adolph's original election had followed
with the assumption that he was duly selected by God. Therefore, deposing him
successfully required a measure of manipulating the facts to demonstrate that
he had defied God, instead of merely angering the regional leaders. Claims
about desecration were required to justify the decision. What is more, the
terms of the election suggested strongly that, given Adolph's spiritual role,
only the pope could depose him (as Pope Innocent IV had deposed Frederick II in
1227). The deposition in this case followed only from the right to vote among
electors. The pope, in fact, did not get involved, and despite being deposed
Adolph was never excommunicated.
Adolph did not take his deposition lightly. He took up arms
against his successor, Albrecht I of Habsburg, and, in July of 1298, the two met
in the Battle of Göllheim
near Worms. Adolph was killed in the battle, and Albrecht and his armies fled,
questionable victors in a questionable conflict.
Adolph was initially buried at Rosenthal Abbey, instead of
the imperial Speyer Cathedral, to avoid giving the impression of approval for
Adolph's mistakes. Albrecht's successor Heinrich VII, however, moved Adolph's
remains from Rosenthal to Speyer in 1309, and they continue to rest there until today.
The Military and Civil Order of Merit was established in
1858 and named for Adolph, King of the Germans. The order would continue when
Nassau was annexed by Prussia (1866) and today remains an important order
within the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
