Kaiserlich und königlich

The German phrase kaiserlich und königlich, typically abbreviated as k. u. k., k. und k., or k. & k., stands for "imperial and royal". It refers to the Court of the Habsburgs in a broader historical perspective (see below). Some modern authors restrict its use to the so-called "Dual Monarchy" of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. During that period, it indicated that the Habsburg monarch reigned simultaneously as the Emperor of Austria and as the King of Hungary, while the two territories were joined in a personal union (akin to a two-state federation in this instance). The acts of the central government were carried out in the name of "His Imperial and Royal Majesty" and the central governmental bodies had their names prefixed with "k. u. k."

Symbolic employment of "und" or "u."

Prior to 1867, the collection of territories under the control of the Habsburg monarch in Vienna used "kaiserlich und königlich" [Franz Christoph von Scheyb, "Heinrich Jasomirgott eine Lobschrift auf ihre kaiserliche und königliche Majestäten..." Vienna, 1756.] [Renatus Karl von Senkenberg and Karl Christian von Senkenberg, "An Ihro Kaiserliche und Königliche Majestät allerunterthänigster Gegenbericht [...] unter dem 30. Mai 1796 eingegebenen Bericht." Giessen, 1797.] [Ignaz Franz von Mosel, "Geschichte der Kaiserliche und Königliche Hofbibliothek zu Wien." Vienna, 1835.] [ [s.n.] , "Historische Märsche und sonstige Compositionen für das kaiserliche und königliche Heer. Instrumentirt für vollständige Militär-Musik. Vom k. u. k. Reichs-Kriegs-Ministerium autorisierte Ausgabe." Vienna, 1845.] or the hyphenated "kaiserlich-königlich" interchangeably. Neither of the spellings defined a hierarchy among the Habsburg dynastic kingdoms, principalities, duchies, and other bodies politic. The Habsburg monarchs ruled the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary as their Kings. The title "Emperor" applied to their role as heads of the conglomerate of the mostly German states called the Holy Roman Empire until 1806. The same title, "Emperor", came to identify their role as rulers of the newly named Austrian Empire that the Habsburgs attributed so from 11 August 1804.

After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the pro-Hungarian nationalists insisted on the "und" ("and"), not the hyphen, in all usage in line with the new autonomous status of the kingdom within the Habsburg lands. Use of the phrase "Kaiserlich "und" königlich" was decreed in a letter written by the Emperor on October 17, 1889 for the military, the navy and the institutions shared by the both parts of the empire. [From the Otto's encyclopedia (published during 1888-1909), subject 'King', [http://encyklopedie.seznam.cz/heslo/285233-kral online in Czech] .] Subsequently, the abbreviation "k.k." did only refer to the institutions of the "Austrian" part of Austria-Hungary (Cisleithania.) The abbreviation "m.k." (Hungarian: "magyar királyi"), or "kgl. ung." (German: "königlich ungarisch"), both meaning "Royal Hungarian", was applied in reference to the governmental bodies of the Kingdom of Hungary (Transleithania.)

Other uses

The ubiquity of this phrase in all administrative matters made it a synonym for the Habsburg administration, sometimes referred to as the "k. u. k. monarchy" in Central European publications through the present. Other languages of the Habsburg Monarchy retained the German abbreviation or used it interchangeably with their own − "c. i kr." in Croatian, "c. a k." or "c.-k." in Czech, "cs. és kir." in Hungarian, "I.R." in Italian, "c. i k." or "C.K." in Polish, often hyphenated ("cezaro-crăiesc") in Romanian, "c. a k." in Slovak, "c. kr." in Slovenian.

The abbreviation "k.-k." gave rise to the noun "Kakania" (spelling out the letter "K" [kah] twice as well as reminiscent of "caca" in the Central European languages). It was intended to describe the Habsburg Monarchy as a state of mind, bureaucratic and with a highly stratified formal society. A discussion of "Kakania" became a highlight of the first volume of Robert Musil's novel "The Man Without Qualities" (1930).

References