An Antiking is a would-be king

King

- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...

 who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. Antikings are more often found in elected monarchies than in hereditary monarchies like those of England and France; such figures in hereditary monarchies are more frequently referred to as pretenders or claimants. They are most commonly referred to in the politics of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 down to the beginning of the 15th century. The term is comparable to Antipope

Antipope

An antipope is a person who opposes a legitimately elected or sitting Pope and makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were typically those supported by a...

, a rival would-be Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

, and indeed the two phenomena are related; just as German kings and emperors sometimes raised up antipopes to politically weaken Popes with whom they were in conflict, so too Popes sometimes sponsored antikings as political rivals to emperors with whom they disagreed.

Several antikings succeeded in vindicating their claims to power, and were recognized as rightful kings: for example, the Emperors Conrad III, Frederick II, and Charles IV (see table below). The status of others as antikings is still disputed to this day: e.g., Henry II, Duke of Bavaria

Henry II, Duke of Bavaria

Henry II , called the Wrangler or the Quarrelsome, in German Heinrich der Zänker, was the son of Henry I and Judith of Bavaria.- Biography :...

 and Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen

Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen

Egbert II was Count of Brunswick and Margrave of Meissen. He was the eldest son of the Margrave Egbert I of the Brunonen family.Still a minor, he succeeded his father on the latter's death 11 January 1068 in Brunswick and Meissen...

.

Other nations that produced antikings included Bohemia and Hungary.

Notable German antikings

Name	Dates	In opposition to:
Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria Arnulf , called the Bad or the Evil , was the duke of Bavaria from 907 until his death. He was a member of the Luitpolding dynasty....	919-921	Henry the Fowler
Rudolf of Rheinfelden	1077–1080	Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
Hermann of Salm Hermann of Salm Herman of Salm , also known as Herman of Luxembourg, was a count of Salm and German anti-king of the Holy Roman Empire who ruled from 1081 until his death...	1081–1088
Conrad III of Germany Conrad III of Germany Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...	1127–1135	Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor Lothair III of Supplinburg , was Duke of Saxony , King of Germany , and Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 to 1137. The son of Count Gebhard of Supplinburg, his reign was troubled by the constant intriguing of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia and Duke Conrad of Franconia...
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...	1212–1215	Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV of Brunswick was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and emperor from 1209 on. The only king of the Welf dynasty, he incurred the wrath of Pope Innocent III and was excommunicated in 1215.-Early life:Otto was the third son of Henry the...
Henry Raspe	1246–1247	Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
Count William II of Holland	1248–1250
	1250–1254	Conrad IV of Germany Conrad IV of Germany Conrad IV was king of Jerusalem , of Germany , and of Sicily .-Biography:...
Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...	1257–1273	Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Richard of Cornwall was Count of Poitou , 1st Earl of Cornwall and German King...
Frederick I of Austria Frederick I of Austria (Habsburg) Frederick the Handsome or the Fair , from the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as Frederick I as well as King of Germany from 1314 as Frederick III until his death.-Biography:He was the second son of King Albert I of Germany with his wife Elisabeth of...	1314–1325	Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....	1346–1347
Günther of Schwarzburg	1349	Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
Frederick of Brunswick-Lüneburg	1400	Wenceslaus, King of the Romans Wenceslaus, King of the Romans Wenceslaus ) was, by election, German King from 1376 and, by inheritance, King of Bohemia from 1378. He was the third Bohemian and second German monarch of the Luxembourg dynasty...