Germany: Wax seal of Adolf (1255 - 1298), King of Germany, c. 1779

Adolf of Germany (1255 - 1298), also known as Adolf of Nassau, was the son of Walram II, Count of Nassau, and succeeded his father in 1276. When King Rudolf I died in 1291 without managing to secure the election of his eldest son Albert, Adolf was chosen by the Elector College of imperial princes and bishops, thinking him easy to control and manipulate. He was elected as King of Germany in 1292. Adolf immediately had to pay and make significant concessions to the electors and archbishops who had given him the crown. Adolf had negligible power and influence within his own empire, but he soon tried to break away from the yoke of the electors and bishops who had elected him, concluding pacts with their opponents and breaking promises made but making sure not to be accused of breaching any contracts signed. The electors grew increasingly wary of Adolf's policies and moves, which were often not in line with their own interests. They eventually banded together and deposed Adolf, charging him with various crimes and of breaking promises made. Albert I, son of the late King Rudolf I, was elected as the new king in 1298, and killed Adolf in battle when the former king refused to give up his power. Adolf became the first physically and mentally healthy ruler of the Holy Roman Empire to be deposed without a papal excommunication first.