Electors, in European history, a body of seven men entrusted with the election of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne, it may be remembered, was the first emperor. His successors were appointed in various ways, sometimes by an election held by a large body of representative or leading nobles, sometimes by some clique of intriguers. In 1347 a Bohemian emperor, Charles IV, with the consent of the Diet or Imperial Parliament, issued what is known in history as the Golden Bull. This document intrusted the selection of future emperors to the three archbishops of Mainz or Mayence, Cologne, and Trier or Treves, the king of Bohemia, the duke of Saxony, the margrave of Brandenburg, and the count palatine of the Rhine, as a college of electors. Each of these seven dignitaries was known henceforth as an elector. When acting together they formed the college of electors. The terms gave rise to some confusion. For instance, the elector of Cologne and the archbishop of Cologne are one and the same person. During the Thirty Years' War, the duke of Bavaria was permitted to assume the title of elector. In 1692 the ruler of Hanover was added to the college, bringing the number of members up to nine. The college was abolished by Napoleon.