Adolf of Germany

Adolf inherited Nassau around 1276, a minor count among many. In 1292 the prince-electors chose him king of Germany, part of a pattern where rival comital families competed for the crown without commanding the strength to hold it. He never received papal coronation, so the imperial title stayed out of reach. By 1298 those same electors turned on him — the first time a physically and mentally sound ruler of the Holy Roman Empire had been deposed without the church's formal condemnation. He met his successor, Albert of Habsburg, at the Battle of Göllheim on 2 July 1298 and died there, sword in h…