King Ruprecht (14001410) from the Palatine House of Wittelsbach is described in literature as a poor king. The Roman-German kings of the late Middle Ages were all "poor" as far as the liquid funds to finance the needs of their imperial government were concerned. Structurally, the crown had to reckon with two phenomena: the crown estate had eroded down to the remains despite Rudolf von Habsburg's reindications. General imperial taxes could not be written out due to the privilege armor of princes, nobility and imperial cities and the coherence problem of the royal distance of the north. The exemplary study examines how the crown dealt with these dilemmas. Which negotiation methods did the king, court and chancellery find to finance government activities and how was it possible to set up an efficient administration? Based on the thousands of promissory notes and receipts, it is shown why Ruprecht was the late medieval "king who managed best" (Peter Moraw).
