The Emperor in the classroom

It was part of the canon of school education that one learned the Emperor’s titles by heart.

The titles changed over the course of time according to the acquisition or loss of territories. Apart from the titles that demonstrated ownership, there were also several that were borne for historical reasons. Habsburg and Kyburg, for instance, related to the original property of the Habsburgs, which no longer belonged to their territory after the fifteenth century. ‘Archduke’ was the native title of all princes born to the House of Habsburg. The title ‘King of Jerusalem’ might seem rather strange. Already used by Charles V in 1520, it lent a religious dimension to the titles which otherwise related to regions and properties. In fact the designation ‘King of Jerusalem’ can be traced back to the Crusades (eleventh to thirteenth centuries), but the issue of its claim is confusing. Opaque inheritance and marriage policies justified the use of this disputed title at least for the Holy Roman Emperors.

The enormous power represented by the ‘Grand Title’ of the ruler was not exclusively derived from real claims but should also be understood symbolically, in keeping with the motto ‘grand titles for mighty rulers’. Depending on the degree of importance or urgency, every document from the ruler was furnished with the Grand, Middle or Lesser Title. The matter was somewhat simpler in a personal conversation with the Emperor: if Franz Joseph met another monarch of the same rank, he introduced himself simply with his given names – ‘Franz Joseph’. On encountering another sovereign of lower rank, then ‘Kaiser’ (emperor) was required before his given names.