1721 Copper Engraving Portrait Johann Von Schonenberg Archbishop Trier EUM2

This is an original 1721 black and white copper engraving of "Joannes von Schönburg Churfürst von Trier." This is a portrait of Johann von Schönenberg, Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1581 to 1599. The Electorate of Trier was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It consisted of the temporal possessions of the larger Archbishopric of Trier, and was ruled by the Archbishop through his function as Prince-Elector of the Empire. As holder of an imperial office, the Archbishop was traditionally an Imperial Elector of the German king. During Napoleonic rule, the electorate was secularized in 1803. The portrait is surrounded by a wonderful decorative motif featuring the Oldest Electoral Hat, signifying the subject as a Prince-Elector, or simply Elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire. These individuals had the function of electing the Roman King or, from the middle of the sixteenth century onwards, directly electing the Holy Roman Emperor.