Electorate of Saxony

The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: Kurfürstentum Sachsen or Kursachsen), was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Prince-Electors of Saxony from 1356 to 1806. It was a major state within the Holy Roman Empire, territorially centred on the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, as regulated by the Golden Bull of 1356. The Saxon Electorate was governed by rulers from the House of Ascania (until 1422), and the House of Wettin (1423–1806).

Since various prince-electors also held other domains, the territorial scope of the term Electorate of Saxony varied significantly in time, thus dividing the history of the Saxon Electorate into four, both dynastically and territorially distinctive periods:

• The Ascanian Electorate of Saxony (until 1422), centred since 1356 solely on Saxe-Wittenberg, but previously also claimed by the Dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg
• The early Wettinian Electorate of Saxony (1423–1485), centred on Saxe-Wittenberg, but also connected with other domains of the Wettin Meissenian branch
• The Ernestine Electorate of Saxony (1485–1547), centred on Saxe-Wittenberg, but also connected with other domains of the Wettin Ernestine branch
• The Albertine Electorate of Saxony (1547–1806), centred on Saxe-Wittenberg, but also connected with other domains of the Wettin Albertine branch

Regardless of all dynastic and territorial changes, the Saxon electoral dignity was tied directly to the Duchy of Saxony (Latin: Ducatus Saxonie), as defined by the Emperor Charles IV in the Golden Bull of 1356 (Article 25), and that rule was upheld without exception, also establishing the undivisibility of core Saxon ducal domains (Saxe-Wittenberg), that later became known as the Electoral Circle. The Golden Bull also stipulated the principle of male primogeniture through paternal line (Article 7), thus effectively securing the Saxon electoral dignity for Ascanians. That rule was disregarded already in 1422, when Saxon duke and elector from the Ascanian-Wittenberg line died without direct male heirs. His closest male relatives were dukes from the Ascanian-Lauenburg line, but the Emperor Sigismund disregarded their claims. Thus, the Saxon electoral title and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg were jointly transferred to the Meissenian line of the House of Wettin in 1423.

By the Treaty of Leipzig (1485), the Wettin possessions were divided between the sons of Elector Frederick II into the Ernestine and Albertine domains, with both the electoral dignity and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg going to the Ernestines. In 1547, when the Ernestine elector John Frederick I was forced to accept the Capitulation of Wittenberg, both the electoral title and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg passed to the Albertine line. Since the electoral dignity and the Electoral Circle were always inherited jointly, in direct line of succession, Albertines remained Saxon electors until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, after which they gained the Saxon kingship, thus transforming the Electorate of Saxony into the Kingdom of Saxony.

From the middle of the 16th century to the beginning of the 18th century, the Saxon Electorate was the second most important state in the Holy Roman Empire and a key protector of its Protestant principalities. During that period, the Electorate of Saxony had a diversified economy and a high level of prosperity, although it suffered major setbacks during and following both the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648 and the Third Silesian War of 1756–1763 (Seven Years' War). Its middle-class structures were restricted in their development by the nobility and the administration and tended to lag behind contemporary western nations such as the Dutch Republic. Important humanistic and educational impulses came from Saxony through the Reformation that started in the Electorate in the early 1500s. Especially in the 18th century, Saxon culture and arts flourished.