Kaiser - Word history and translations, German history and antecedents of the title

The title assumed (Dec 1870) by the Prussian king, William (Wilhelm) I, following the unification of Germany and the creation of the German Second Empire. He was succeeded on his death in 1888 by his son Frederick (Friedrich) III, who survived him by only three months, and then by his grandson William (Wilhelm) II, who ruled until his enforced abdication in 1918.

Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor," and Kaiserin is the German title meaning "Empress."

Word history and translations

Kaiser is derived from the Roman title of Caesar (phonetic in German for caesar: c=k ,a, e=i, s, a=e, r , thus Kaiser is pronounced like Caesar would have been in classical latin) , as is the Slavic title of Tsar.

In German, the word Kaiser is also used in a generic sense equivalent to the English word "emperor" while Kaiserin is the feminine form as an empress.

In contrast, most Romance and tributary vocabularies, including English, derive their terms for emperor from the Latin imperator.

German history and antecedents of the title

The Roman imperial style was first revived in the Frankish realm, the hegemon of the Catholic West, thus claiming equality with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim Caliphate, by Charlemagne in 800, and when his empire was divided again through inheritances it came to be linked to the eastern ("German") kingdom. The Holy Roman Emperors (962—1806) (the "First German Reich", becoming an elective monarchy) called themselves Kaiser, while combining this imperial title with that of Roman King (assumed by the designated heir before the imperial coronation);

The rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1806—1918), from the Habsburg dynasty that had provided all Holy Roman Emperors (though formally still elected) since 1440, again used the title Kaiser.

In English and most other foreign usage, however, the untranslated title is mainly associated with the emperors of the unified German Empire (1871—1918) (the "Second Reich") which chancellor Bismarck had welded skilfully from two federations covering most of the many principalities (mainly petty, known as Kleinstaaterei) that had constituted Germany, the core of the former Holy Roman Empire. All belonged to the Hohenzollern dynasty, which had already ruled much of Germany as kings of (originally "in") Prussia, militarily the only great power among the German principalities, before ascending the brand new "German" imperial throne.