AHC: Napoleon Crowns Himself Holy Roman Emperor

[Basileus_Komnenos]

Napoleon as he took over France, began to consolidate the state and its instructions around himself being a monarch in all but name as "First Consul." Napoleon by the Early 19th Century became much more of a moderate Conservative and drifted towards monarchism as a means to preserve the ideals of the Revolution creating a "revolutionary monarchy" as a sort of compromise between the moderate monarchists/conservatives and the liberalism of the revolution. Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French to create a deliberate break in continuity with the Ancien Regime of old. However in terms of its aesthetics and functions he clearly took inspiration from the Carolingian and Merovingian Franks. Echoing Charlemagne, he had himself crowned as King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy like how the Carolingians did when the took the Lombard Italy for themselves.

And as Napoleon began conquering central Europe, Emperor Franz, the ruler of Austria began to fear that Napoleon might even take the title of Holy Roman Emperor for himself which was partly why he declared the dissolution of the Empire depriving Napoleon of the prestige associated with the title.

Your challenge is to devise a scenario in which Napoleon crowns himself Holy Roman Emperor. What would be the implications of such an event?

 

[Enigmajones]

It seems unlikely. As the Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine he essentially had a position equal in strength to the Holy Roman Emperor.

 

[Analytical Engine]

Why not just declare himself Imperator Romanorum and have done with it?

 

[Basileus_Komnenos]

It seems unlikely. As the Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine he essentially had a position equal in strength to the Holy Roman Emperor.

Well the whole point of this post is to create a scenario in which he crowns himself Imperator Romanorum. That title has a massive amount of prestige and if he could get Papal approval it would carry a lot of legitimacy.

Why not just declare himself Imperator Romanorum and have done with it?

He had reasons for eschewing the title as it had ties to the Ancien Regime.

Of course this new title changed the dynamics of the Empire and his client states as he’d have to work with imperial institutions like the Imperial Diet. If he tries to outright annex new territory that would lose him allies.

One way I could see this working out is if Napoleon stays on longer as Consul and manages to have even more success in Central Europe. This could be a Caesar style coup as he’d be seen as a great Conqueror.

 

[Avrorrange]

Why not declare Franz’s edict illegal and just get of what used to be the electors(minus that of Hanover,Brandenburg,Bohemia,Salzburg) together to vote him HRE anyway?

 

[Evil Crusader]

Maybe some kind of "Crown from the Gutter" variant, where the princes of the Empire pre-emptively offer the title to him - or are forced by Austria trying to co-opt them all in a tighter reform that scares them. But Napoleon going full reactionary by himself (even if just in titles adopted) is pretty difficult to make happen, I believe.

 

[Messain]

early marriage with the austrians?

 

[Aluma]

Napoleon was a massive Charlemagne fan

If he managed to consolidate french control over Italy(not merely an hegemonic alliance with local states) and in particular take Rome, he could argue that crowning of Roman Emperor in the West is based on religious authority rather than institutional one since it was the Pope, not the Senate, who crowned the King of the Franks as Emperor and as such he - or rather the Pope but he's a puppet anyway - can likewise crown him Emperor of Rome just as he did with his antecessor and there's nothing Vienna can do about it, since their own legitimacy was derivated from the Pope's act of crowning the Western Emperor while giving no fucks to institutional authority and the long obsolete Senate because "well I represent God so I can crown Emperor whoever I want!"

Thus Napoleon not only circunvents silly electoral games by taking away all the legitimacy possessed by the HRE but also gets to larp as Charlie by making the Pope make the same move that created the title of HRE in the first place, which is what the austrians actually thought and feared he would do IOTL which led to them dissolving the HRE and Napoleon creating the Confederation of the Rhine

Doubt it would actually happen though(and IOTL it didnt) because like mentioned above the title of Roman Emperor was a relic of the Ancien Regime that stood for against everything the French Revolution and the Republic that Napoleon claimed to embody, plus taking that title means declaring war against the whole Europe(as it means declaring himself suzerain over the former Roman World) and by being crowned by the Pope said Pope could just as easily crown someone else or declare his title null & void the moment he felt like jumping ships, which is too much trouble

By crowning himself Emperor of the French on the other hand Nappy got to have the cake and eat it, he crowned himself so the Pope couldnt take that away from him as his legitimacy derived from both God and the french people and in doing so he not only made himself like Charlemagne but also granted himself the authority of crowning someone like Charlemagne while also not being inherently against his self imposed image of defender of the Revolution/Republic much like Augustus claimed to be defending the Roman Republic as he became the Roman Emperor, making himself thus a genuine true French Caesar, and as Emperor of the French that made his authority already above that of kings(therefore, all of Europe) without having to claim(and thus conquer) the whole Europe for himself as saying "Im the new Western Roman Emperor" would

In short - French Emperor was simply the better title and the best option available for someone with his ambitions(and ego) which is made even better by the fact he created that option as nobody would have considered making such a move at that point

All the other european monarchs self-styling themselves as roman made up some connection real or laughably fake to the legacy of Rome, derivating their legitimacy from such, while Napoleon's move had a fresh novelty to it as it gave the message that France was all the legitimacy he needed to be an Emperor - making him and the french equals(if not superiors) to the romans themselves

 

[Avrorrange]

Why not just declare himself Imperator Romanorum and have done with it?

The HRE is acknowledged as Imperator Romanorum by the Western European states.

 

[OxSpace]

which is what the austrians actually thought and feared he would do IOTL which led to them dissolving the HRE and Napoleon creating the Confederation of the Rhine

The Rheinbund was created before the dissolution of the HRE.

Thus Napoleon not only circunvents silly electoral games

He doesn't need to circumnavigate this, Napoleon already has the necessary votes. It's one of the reason Francis dissolved the Empire when he abdicated, bc he knew the electors would elect Napoleon come next Imperial election.

because like mentioned above the title of Roman Emperor was a relic of the Ancien Regime that stood for against everything the French Revolution and the Republic that Napoleon claimed to embody

There seems to be a common misconception that the French revolution was one that wanted to absolutely destroy the old structure, yet the more favorable historical consensus is that the common Frenchman wanted merit based reformation. Overthrowing the monarch and instituting the Republic was a haphazard last resort as the King's retreated to Varennes. That being said, "relic of the Ancien Regime" is a lackluster reason for Napoleon not claiming the title.

plus taking that title means declaring war against the whole Europe

As if this was not happening already? This is a non-statement nor do I think Europe would care any more.

French Emperor was simply the better title and the best option available for someone with his ambitions(and ego) which is made even better by the fact he created that option as nobody would have considered making such a move at that point

You're missing the point. Emperor of the French is a shallow self-made title, Emperor of the Romans has centuries of prestige and legitimacy behind it. And it's not like Napoleon couldn't have both titles. Francis was both Emperor of Austria & Holy Roman Emperor for a short period. Napoleon was equally obsessed with being perceived as a legitimate monarch and not a usurper.

 

[isabella]

Napoleon could NOT be elected as Holy Roman Emperor while Francis II lived and ruled but could always force Francis to call an election for the King of the Romans and be designated as next Holy Roman Emperor

 

[Basileus_Komnenos]

Napoleon could NOT be elected as Holy Roman Emperor while Francis II lived and ruled but could always force Francis to call an election for the King of the Romans and be designated as next Holy Roman Emperor

Napoleon could evoke the Carolingian precedent and have the Pope simply declare Francis deposed like how the Merovingians were, citing their inability to exercise the barest of royal/imperial power.

Though if Napoleon is that dominant, he could theoretically do what @isabella proposes as a compromise with his son set to inherit the entire empire with the Habsburg bloodline still tied to the Imperial Throne.