Ruprecht of the Palatinate (Archbishop of Cologne)

Ruprecht of the Palatinate
Ruprecht's grave in the Bonn Minster
Born	(1427-02-27)27 February 1427
Died	16 or 26 July 1480(1480-07-26) (aged 53) Burg Blankenstein, Gladenbach, Landgraviate of Hesse
Title	Prince-Archbishop-Elector of Cologne

Ruprecht of the Palatinate (27 February 1427 – 16 or 26 July 1480) was the Archbishop and Prince Elector of Cologne from 1463 to 1480.

Ruprecht was the third son of Louis III, Count Palatine of the Rhine, by his second wife, Matilda of Savoy. He renounced his claim to lands of the Palatinate and studied for holy orders at the universities of Heidelberg and Cologne. He was a canon in the Mainz Cathedral and then became subdeacon of the cathedral chapter at Cologne and cathedral provost at Würzburg.

Ruprecht was elected Archbishop of Cologne on 30 March 1463, but not confirmed by the Pope until August 1464 and not consecrated until Palm Sunday 1468. He only received the episcopal regalia from the Holy Roman Emperor in August 1471. Chosen for his family connections, he faced the challenge of guarding the Electorate of Cologne against diminution of its powers while solving its internal problems, in particular the shortage of income from being denied the toll income from the most important Rhine trading towns, which had been mortgaged by his predecessor, Dietrich II von Moers, to raise money for war. He was required to agree to 23 articles presented by the cathedral chapter limiting his financial options which the chapter and the Estates had agreed upon four days before his election, and to the chapter holding the important trading town of Zons as a pledge of his good behaviour.

Ruprecht quarrelled with his advisors and became involved in external politics. In 1467, he entered into an alliance with Adolf, Duke of Guelders against the Duke of Cleves, with the aim of regaining control over Soest, Xanten and Rees. After finally receiving his regalia, by autumn 1471 he was repudiating the agreement he himself had had a hand in drafting as a chapter member and demanding higher taxes, and to obtain them, he occupied Zons.