IT would without doubt be superfluous to make a Discours extend too long to demonstrat, that the Vi­carship of the Empire within the Circle of the Rhin, of Swab­land, and Franconian territory, appertains by the decease of the Emperour Ferdinand the 3, unto the most gracious Prince Charles Loduick, Elector of the holy Empire, &c.

In regard 'tis a Right which the Testimony of all Histori­ans, the constitution of the Golden Bull, the Letters and Patents of Emperours, the inveterat Custome and Ex­amples of his Ancestors, the last Instrument of Peace con­cluded at Munster, and Osnabrug, and in a word, the Pub­lique knowledg, and fundamentall Laws of the Empire do put him in possession of; In so much that it is supervaca­neous to seek for proofs or reasons to maintain the truth of it; Now those proofs are warrants so well known, and so cleer that we need not turn over many Books, or consult with the Archives of the Palatin Chancery, or to allege the authority of Authors wherof they are full, to this purpose, ther being documents, and rules so evident in the point, that ther cannot be more holy, and more authentique for this purpose in all the world.

Notwithstanding in regard ther is nothing so inviolable, and sacred either by its own authority and right, but it may be controverted, It is just to satisfie the ignorance of some, the curiosity of others, and the publike interest herin, which we shall do in few lines.

To which effect we must mark at the first entrance that which was sufficiently prov'd elswhere, and made free from doubt to all those that have any knowledg of History in times past, that this dignity of the Vicarship of the Empire was acquir'd by the ancient Count Palatins of the Rhin time out of mind Vigore Praefecturae Praetorii, Maioratus, domus et palatii Comitatûs Palatini, as Counts and Maires of the palace, whose rank and dignity are too well known to be ex­pressd at large in this place. And 'tis no wonder that this so eminent charge, giving them the prime rank, & principal au­thority in the Court of their masters, with the general in­tendency of their affaires, and of justice, and that by vertu of this rank, and this authority they were establishd either in their absence or by decease in the administration, and re­gency of the Empire; hence it proceeded that they had the Vicarship of the Empire which was establishd in the house of the Count Palatins of the Rhin.

In the second place this Right was acquir'd by the Count Palatins of the Rhin not in paper or parchment only, but it was put in practice and exercisd by a great nomber of them before the creation of the Electors, and a great while before the constitution of the golden bull, which is evident by the ex­ample of Conradus after the death of Henry, and of Lewis af­ter the death of the Emperour Rodulphus the first, & of Rodolp father in law to Charls the fourth, and of Robert the elder, all Count Palatins of t [...]e Rhin. Moreover the Emperour Lewis of Bavaria in his constitution publishd at Frankfort in the yeer 1339. to shew at one time the ancientnes, as well as the pra­ctice of this Right, speaks in these termes upon this subject, Quod longâ et probata consuetudine inconcusse à Majorum observa­tione [Page 5]retrò observatâ vacante Imperio jus administrandi Imperii ju­ra, feuda conferendi et caetera negotia disponendi Palatino Rheni de­beatur, viz. that by long and approved custome observed con­stantly by our Ancesters, the right of administring the Empire in the vacancy, the letting of leases, conferring of fees, and the disposing of all other affaires is due unto the Count Palatin of the Rhin.

In the third place this Right hath bin authentiquely con­firmed to the Count Palatins of the Rhin by the golden Bull made by the Emperour Charles the fourth, which serves for a Rule and fundamentall law of the Empire, wherein having first treated of the duty, and dignity of the Electors in ge­nerall, it is formally, and in expresse termes specified in the 5 title calld de jure Comitis Palatini, et Saxoniae Ducis, Quoties in­super, ut praemittitur, sacrum vacare continget Imperium, Illustris Comes Palatinus Rheni, sacri Imperii Archidapifer ad manus futu­ri Regis Romanorum in partibus Rheni, et Sueviae, et in jure Fran­conico, ratione Principatus, ceu Comitatus Palatini privilegio esse de­beat Provisor Imperii, cum potestate Iudicia exercendi &c. which is to say, whensoever it shall happen, as 'twas sayed before, that the holy Empire shal be vacant, the Illustrious Count Palatin of the Rhin, Archsewer of the Roman Empire, in the place of the King of the Romans, by privilege ought to be Regent or Vi­car of the Empire, within the Circles of the Rhin, of Suabland, & of the Franconian Right, by vertu of the Principality or Coun­ty Palatin of the Rhin, with power to execute judgments &c.

In the fourth place in the golden Bull of the Emperour Si­gismund 'tis specified, Electores, et Comites Palatinos diuturna temporum praescriptione inconcussè habuisse Uicariatum Imperii, & possedisse legitime, viz. that the Electors, and Counts Pala­tins by long prescription of time had constantly the Vicar­ship of the Empire, and legally possessd it; It appears also by the letters & patents of the succeeding Emperours untill Ferdinand the second, as also by the examples of Robert, Lewis, Frederique the victorious, Philip, Lewis, Otho, Henry, [Page 6]John Casimer, and Frederique the fifth his now Elector at High­nesses Father Charles Lewis, the sayed Counts Palatins of the Rhin since the time of the golden Bull, and following the customes of their Ancesters have bin confirmd in this privi­lege in the knowledge and sight of the Empire, and exercis'd the sayed office without any contest.

In the first place by the Instrument of peace concluded at Ofnabrug, and Munster, his electorat Highnes Charles Lodwick having bin formally put, & reentred in the possession of the Palatinat of the Rhin, with all & evry of his Rights, royalties, Prerogatives & privileges w^ch appertain unto him, all w^ch the Counts Palatins of the Rhin enjoyd before the last war of Bohemia, and having in order thereunto receavd the investi­ture in the yeer 1652 of the Emperour Ferdinand lately dead in the same termes, It followes, that, without any mat­ter of doubt, he was restord thereby to the possession of the right of the Vicarship which is an inseparable dependency of the Palatinat of the Rhin, which cannot be questioned with the least apparance of ju [...]tice, & without the violation, & manifest breach of all that may be calld sacred, or authenticall in the Empire.

And although in the same instrument of peace the Electo­rall dignity of the Counts Palatins of the Rhin as also the upper Palatinat with the County of Cham hath bin trans­ported to the house of Bavaria, with all the royalties, Rights and privileges thereof, and that by vertu of this Transport the Elector of Bavaria pretends by his patents to have right to the Vicarship, Ther is none but may see by the reasons and authorities that shall be alleg'd the small foundation which such pretensions have, and consequently what consi­deration is to be had in this rancounter.

It is therfore to be observd, first, that not alleging any o­ther proof for his pretnded Right to the Vicarship but the sayed Instrument of peace, he doth witnesse himself therby that this Right doth naturally belong unto the Counts Pa­latins [Page 7]of the Rhin, and not to the Dukes of Bavaria, and that no special exclusion, or any formall concession whatso­ever is able to deprive the one, or establish the other in any such right.

In the second place, 'Tis not sayed in that Instrument of peace, that all the rights and prerogratives of the Electors, and Counts Palatin of the Rhin are transported to the house of Bavaria, so that he may draw any consequence thence to this purpose, but only such Rights that are annexd to the Electoral dignity alone, wherof he can make no advantage for his present pretension.

In the third place, It is not sufficient only to allege in ge­general termes, and attribut to himself the Investiture of so Eminent, and considerable a Dignity, but an expresse and solemn exclusion shold have bin usd (as it is in other articles of lesser consequence) to deprive a House of the possession of a Right of this nature which hath bin appertaining unto it so many Ages by a peaceable and entire possession, confirmd by so many publique and authentique Acts, and fortified by so many examples: Nor can he assume to himself that Right without a manifest contravention and breach of the Treaty, or Instrument of peace which makes no mention therof at all, and which doth reestablish his Electorat Highnesse Charles Lodwick in the Rights and privileges which the County or principality of the Rhin can claym from his Ancestors.

In the fourth place, It it is not only by the sayed Instru­ment of peace, and the vigor of the generall Amnestia, which annuls all matters passd, that his Electoral Highnesse claymes a continuance of this Right, but also by the ex­presse Investiture of divers Rights which his Electorall Highnes receavd from the late Emperour Frederique the third, which rights draw their originall and source only from the dignity of the Vicarship of the Empire, as Jus suc­cedendi in bona liberorum ex illegitima coitione naterum; Jus capi­endi, et sibi ad dicendi in proprietatem, & servitutem eos qui sine dominio et lare aberrant &c.

[...] ny, as the title doth intimate, and as tis treated in the text it self, which hath bin ill translated into Dutch, and against the tenor of the expresse terms of the original.

Furthermore, It is to be considered, that as this digni­ty of Vicarship of the Empire, hath been appropriated to the Counts Palatin of the Rhin, by vertu only of the Principality or the County, so the same Office of Vicarship appertains to the Dukes of Saxony, within the rights and territories ot Saxony, not in regard of the electoral dig­nity, sed ratione cujusdam Palatinatus in Saxonia, & prae­fecturae etiam Palatii veteris, in regard of a Palatinate that he had in Saxony, and a superintendency he had in the old Imperial Palace, as divers Annals, and Historians bear witnes. Besides, although ther were divers other Palatins in the Empire; Yet all the world knows ther were Arch-Palatines by whom they were governd, a­mongst whom the Count Palatin of the Rhin, and the Duke of Saxony had the first rank, and were as it were their heads and Directors.

In fine, tis not sayed in the Bulla Aurea byvertu of the Duchy of Bavaria, nor of the Electorat, but of the County Palatin whereunto this right was annexed, as be­ing the prime and fairest part of the Country, and the nearest and most convenient to exercise the sayed Office within the precincts of the Franconian territories, as the Archbishop of Mentz hath the first rank among the Ger­man Prelats, by reason of the situation of his Coun­trey.

On other side, to invalidat these reasons, or shew that the dependence of the Vicarship is upon the Electoral dignity, it avayles little to allege either the text of the Dutch translation of the Golden Bull (which is ill tran­slated as hath bin formerly sayed) and against the ex­presse [Page 9]terms of the original, or to have recours in this par­ticular to the Arrchidapifer, or Archsewership, which is given to the sayed Count Palatin in the sayed Bull, or to that of Elector, which is added in other Imperiall con­stitutions to the Count Palatin of the Rhin, together with the Vicarship; for these are too feeble exceptions, and too grosse subtilties to prevail in this businesse, having such weak reflections; In regard that neither the one nor the tother are found inserted in an infinit nomber of Acts which have passed, relating to the Vicarship of the Count Palatin.

But above all, ther's none so unfurnished with judg­ment but may plainly see that this title of Elector is gi­ven to distinguish them from Cade [...]s or younger bro­thers of the same house, not as a word of dispositi­on or connexion, as the Schools speak, but purely and simply, as terms of Enuntiation. But speaking of the right of the Counts Palatin of the Rhin, the posses­sory titles are added, wherof the principall is yet conserved; nor can it be pretended that this addition can bring with it the least prejudice touching the source and dependency of their Right to the Vicarship of the Empire; Insomuch that it wold be absurd to inferre any thing thence to prejudice their just title in this point.

And as the Elector of Bavaria cannot make a Bouk­ler of this Instrument of peace for the establishment of his imaginary Right with the least pretext, or co­lour of Justice, but rather clean contrary he doth therby overthrow the very ground of his pretensions, so much lesse may he relye upon any Imperial concession, which may favour him to this effect.

First, he cannot advantage himself of any that could [Page 10]have bin granted him before the last peace, and during the wars, to this purpose, because it was cut off, and formally annull'd by the Instrument of peace in Artic. Pal: cassatis iis quae in contrarium acta sunt, &c.

In the second place, he cannot understand therby the letter of Investiture granted to the Duke Maximilian his father during the warrs in the year 1638. where a­mong other things ther is expresse mention made of the Investiture of the Vicarship, because it was entirely dash'd; first by the Article fore-alleged of the Instru­ment of peace, where tis sayed, Collatis iis, &c.

Secondly by the expedition of another Letter of in­vestiture, wherof ther happning no death of Vassal or Lord, there was no need, had not the first bin total­ly annull'd.

Thirdly, by the promise which his sacred Imperial Majesty had given unto his Electoral H [...]g [...]nesse, as well by word of mouth, as by writing, or to insert Clausulam Cassatoriam within the new letter of Investiture of the Ele­ctor of Bavaria, or to give the sayed Elector Palatin Re­scriptum Cassatorium.

In the third place, which doubtlesse ought to be speci­ally observed, that his sacred Imperial Majesty within the new Letters of Investiture which he gave to the Ele­ctor of Bavaria, in the year 1652. ther [...]s not only no mention made of t [...]e Vicarship bu [...] ther's not a word inser­ted, that the Elector Max [...]milian of Bavaria was formerly invested therin by any preceeding Letter of Investiture which he had until his happy death. But on the contrary for an evidence in favour of the Elector Palatin tis said in generral, that the Elector of Bavaria ought to be in­vested with the Electoral dignity, and the upper County Palatin, as the Instrument hath it expresly, as it may be [Page 11]seen in a coppie of the sayed letter of Investiture, which his sacred Imperiall Majesty a little before his death, and namely the tenth of March 1637. did graciously commu­nicate unto the Elector Palatin.

In so much than all the instances and prayers of the Elector of Bavaria provd not only unprofitable for to cause the Vicarship to be incerted in the sayed Letter of Investiture, but also is Imperial Majesty writ again the same time unto the Elector Palatin, that he [...]new very well the advice, and remonstrances that were presented unto him touching this matter, which he did put in mature de­liberation, and in effect had such regard thereof, that he causd that new letter of Investiture which was accor­ded to the Elector of Bavaria to be restraind, and limited, as the transcript therof beares witnes.

Out of the r [...]as [...]ns before allegd tis easy to inferre that the authenticall and privilegd Right which is con­firmd without contradiction to his Electorall Highnesse the Palatin of the Rhin, could not be taken away from him by any particular concession before or after the sayed Treaty in any way what [...]o [...]v [...]r to his prejudice.

To conclude, without extending this discours furth [...]r, or use any farr-fetchd proofs upon a matter so cleer and evident, since his Highness the Elector Palatin Prince Charles Lodwick, is reinvested with the charge of the Vi­carship by vertu of the County Palatin of the Rh [...]n, as a prerogrative inseparably annexd therunto, acquir'd by his Ancestors so many Ages pass'd, confirmd by a spe­ciall previlege in the Aurea Bulla which serves as a fun­damental law to the Empire, authorizd by so many Charters, and particular diplomataes of the Emperours, and Kings of the Romans, In a word, by an Immemo­rial observance, and publike Right so long a tract of [Page 12]time, and particularly by the last Instrument of peace at Munster, & Osnabrug, And the Empire being now vacant, his Electorall Highness hath undertaken and doth take upon him the provision, and the Administration of the Empire within the circles of the Rhin, of Swabland, and the Franconian territories, not doubting but he will be ac­knowledgd accordingly, & maintaind in a peaceable and entire possession of his Right; Therfore as his Electo­ral Highness doth promise favorable audience to all the world, and to administer justice, and right to evry one, so that none shall have any cause of complaint; so he pre­tends to reserve expressly all the wayes, and lawful means that shall conduce to the defence of his Right, a­gainst all such that shall attempt to disturb him in the exercise therof, or make any hindrance of his Admi­nistration.

Made at Heidelburg under the Seal of his Electorall Highnesse Palatin, the the first of May 1657.