the Cosmographia (Sebastian Münster) was published, which used "Germany" (Teütschland) as synonymous with the empire as a whole. Johann Jacob Moser also used "German" as a synonym for "Imperial". This conflated definition of "German" even included non-German speakers. In 1508, Maximilian I, with papal approval, adopted the title "emperor elect" (Dei gratia Romanorum imperator electus semper augustus). Subsequent rulers adopted that title after their coronation as kings. At the same time, the custom of having the heir-apparent elected as king of the Romans in the emperor's lifetime resumed. For this reason, the title "king of the Romans" (rex Romanorum) came to mean heir-apparent, the successor elected while the emperor was still alive. After the Imperial Reform and Reformation settlement, the German part of the Holy Roman Empire was divided into Reichskreise (Imperial Circles), which in effect defined Germany against imperial territories outside the Imperial Circles: imperial Italy, the Bohemian Kingdom, and the Old Swiss Confederacy. Brendan Simms called the Imperial circles as "an embryonic German collective-security system" and "a potential vehicle for national unity against outsiders". Nevertheless, there are relatively few references to a German kingdom distinct from the Holy Roman Empire. See also King of the Romans List of German monarchs List of Holy Roman Emperors Notes Bibliography Beumann, H., "Die Bedeutung des Kaisertums für die Entstehung der deutschen Nation im Spiegel der Bezeichnungen von Reich und Herrscher", in Nationes, 1 (1978), pp 317–366 . Germany Monarchy of the Holy Roman Empire Former monarchies of Europe East Francia