Margrave of Brandenburg in the context of "Prince elector"

The prince-electors (German: Kurfürst [ˈkuːɐ̯ˌfʏʁst] , pl. Kurfürsten [ˈkuːɐ̯ˌfʏʁstn̩] , Czech: Kurfiřt, Latin: Princeps Elector) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops.

From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince-electors gained the privilege of electing the King of the Romans. The king would then later be crowned Emperor by the pope. Charles V (elected in 1519) was the last emperor to be crowned (1530); his successors assumed the title "Elected Emperor of the Romans" (German: erwählter Römischer Kaiser; Latin: electus Romanorum imperator) upon their coronation as kings.

The Sachsenspiegel (German: [ˈzaksn̩ˌʃpiːɡl̩] ; Middle Low German: Sassen Speyghel; modern Low German: Sassenspegel; all literally "Saxon Mirror") is one of the most important law books and custumals compiled during the Holy Roman Empire. Originating between 1220 and 1235 as a record of local customary law and rulings, it was used in places until as late as 1900. Some legal principles recorded in the Sachsenspiegel continued to apply into recent time laws. It is important not only for its lasting effect on later German and Dutch law but also as an early example of written prose in a Low German language. The Sachsenspiegel is the first comprehensive law book not in Latin, but in Middle Low German. A Latin edition is known to have existed, but only fragmented chapters remain.

In the German nobility, margrave was a rank equivalent to marquess. It originated as the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empire and the title came to be borne by rulers of some Imperial principalities until the abolition of the Empire in 1806 (e.g., Margrave of Brandenburg, Margrave of Baden). Thereafter, those domains (originally known as marks or marches, later as margraviates or margravates) were absorbed into larger realms or the titleholders adopted titles indicative of full sovereignty.

Albert the Bear (German: Albrecht der Bär; c. 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.