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Frederick I (German: Friedrich; 1122 - 10 June 1190), known as Frederick Barbarossa, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 1152. He became King of Italy in 1155 and was crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155. Two years later, the term sacrum ("holy") first appeared in a document in connection with his Empire.[1] He was later formally crowned King of Burgundy, at Arles on 30 June 1178. He got the name Barbarossa from the northern Italian cities he attempted to rule: Barbarossa means "red beard" in Italian;[2] in German, he was known as Kaiser Rotbart, which has the same meaning. Before his royal election, Frederick was by inheritance Duke of Swabia (1147-1152, as Frederick III). He was the son of Duke Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and Judith, daughter of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, from the rival House of Welf. Frederick therefore descended from the two leading families in Germany, making him an acceptable choice for the Empire's prince-electors. Life and reign Early years Frederick was born in 1122. In 1147 he became Duke of Swabia, and shortly afterwards made his first trip to the East, accompanied by his uncle, the German king Conrad III, on the Second Crusade. The expedition proved to be a disaster,[3] but Frederick distinguished himself and won the complete confidence of the king. When Conrad died in February 1152, only Frederick and the prince-bishop of Bamberg were at his deathbed. Both asserted afterwards that Conrad had, in full possession of his mental powers, handed the royal insignia to Frederick and indicated that Frederick, rather than Conrad's own six-year-old son, the future Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia, succeed him as king.[4] Frederick energetically pursued the crown and at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 the kingdom's princely electors designated him as the next German king.[4] He was crowned King of the Romans at Aachen several days later, on 9 March 1152.[5] Frederick's father was from the Hohenstaufen family, and his mother was from the Welf family, the two most powerful families in Germany. The Hohenstaufens were often called Ghibellines, which derives from the Italianized name for the Weibling castle, the family seat in Swabia; the Welfs, in a similar Italianization, were called Guelfs.[6] The reigns of Henry IV and Henry V left the status of the German empire in disarray, its power waning under the weight of the Investiture controversy. For a quarter of a century following the death of Henry V in 1125, the German monarchy was largely a nominal title with no real power.[7] The king was chosen by the princes, was given no resources outside those of his own duchy, and he was prevented from exercising any real authority or leadership in the realm. The royal title was furthermore passed from one family to another to preclude the development of any dynastic interest in the German crown. When Frederick I of Hohenstaufen was chosen as king in 1152, royal power had been in effective abeyance for over twenty-five years, and to a considerable degree for more than eighty years. The only real claim to wealth lay in the rich cities of northern Italy, which were still within the nominal control of the German king.[8] The Salian line had died out with the death of Henry V in 1125. The German princes refused to give the crown to his nephew, the duke of Swabia, for fear he would try to regain the imperial power held by Henry V. Instead, they chose Lothair III (1125-1137), who found himself embroiled in a long-running dispute with the Hohenstaufens, and who married into the Welfs. One of the Hohenstaufens gained the throne as Conrad III of Germany (1137-1152). When Frederick Barbarossa succeeded his uncle in 1152, there seemed to be excellent prospects for ending the feud, since he was a Welf on his mother's side.[4] The Welf duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion, would not be appeased, however, remaining an implacable enemy of the Hohenstaufen monarchy. Barbarossa had the duchies of Swabia and Franconia, the force of his own personality, and very little else to construct an empire.[9] The Germany that Frederick tried to unite was a patchwork of more than 1600 individual states, each with its own prince. A few of these, such as Bavaria and Saxony, were large. Many were too small to pinpoint on a map.[10] The titles afforded to the German king were "Caesar", "Augustus", and "Emperor of the Romans". By the time Frederick would assume these, they were little more than propaganda slogans with little other meaning.[11] Frederick was a pragmatist who dealt with the princes by finding a mutual self-interest. Unlike Henry II of England, Frederick did not attempt to end medieval feudalism, but rather tried to restore it, though this was beyond his ability. The great players in the German civil war had been the Pope, Emperor, Ghibellines, and the Guelfs, but none of these had emerged as the winner.[12] Rise to power Eager to restore the Empire to the position it had occupied under Charlemagne and Otto I the Great, the new king saw clearly that the restoration of order in Germany was a necessary preliminary to the enforcement of the imperial rights in Italy. Issuing a general order for peace, he made lavish concessions to the nobles.[13] Abroad, Frederick intervened in the Danish civil war between Svend III and Valdemar I of Denmark[14] and began negotiations with the Eastern Roman Emperor, Manuel I Comnenus.[15] It was probably about this time that the king obtained papal assent for the annulment of his childless marriage with Adelheid of Vohburg, on the grounds of consanguinity (his great-great-grandfather was a brother of Adela's great-great-great-grandmother, making them fourth cousins, once removed). He then made a vain effort to obtain a bride from the court of Constantinople. On his accession Frederick had communicated the news of his election to Pope Eugene III, but had neglected to ask for the papal confirmation. In March 1153, Frederick concluded the treaty of Constance with the Pope, whereby he promised, in return for his coronation, to defend the papacy, to make no peace with king Roger II of Sicily or other enemies of the Church without the consent of Eugene, and to help Eugene regain control of the city of Rome.[16] First Italian Campaign: 1154-55 Frederick undertook six expeditions into Italy. In the first, beginning in October 1154,[17] his plan was to launch a campaign against the Normans under King William I of Sicily.[15] He marched down and almost immediately encountered resistance to his authority. Obtaining the submission of Milan, he successfully besieged Tortona in early 1155, razing it to the ground.[18] He moved on to Pavia, where he received the Iron Crown and the title of King of Italy.[19] Moving through Bologna and Tuscany, he was soon approaching the city of Rome. There, Pope Adrian IV was struggling with the forces of the republican city commune led by Arnold of Brescia, a student of Abelard.[2] As a sign of good faith, Frederick dismissed the ambassadors from the revived Roman Senate,[15] and Imperial forces suppressed the republicans. Arnold was captured and hanged for treason and rebellion. Despite his unorthodox teaching concerning theology, Arnold was not charged with heresy.[20] As Frederick approached the gates of Rome, the Pope advanced to meet him. At the royal tent the king received him, and after kissing the pope’s feet, Frederick expected to receive the traditional kiss of peace.[21] Frederick had declined to hold the Pope’s stirrup while leading him to the tent, however, so Adrian refused to give the kiss until this protocol had been complied with.[2] Frederick hesitated, and Adrian IV withdrew; after a day’s negotiation, Frederick agreed to perform the required ritual.[21] Rome was still in an uproar over the fate of Arnold of Brescia, so rather than marching through the streets of Rome, Frederick and Adrian retired to the Vatican. The next day, 18 June 1155, Adrian IV crowned Frederick I Holy Roman Emperor at St Peter's Basilica, amidst the acclamations of the German army.[22] The Romans began to riot, and Frederick spent his coronation day putting down the revolt, resulting in the deaths of over 1,000 Romans and many more thousands injured. The next day, Frederick, Adrian, and the German army travelled to Tivoli. From there, a combination of the unhealthy Italian summer and the effects of his year-long absence from Germany meant he was forced to put off his planned campaign against the Normans of Sicily.[22] On their way northwards, they attacked Spoleto and encountered the ambassadors of Manuel I Comnenus, who showered Frederick with costly gifts. At Verona, Frederick declared his fury with the rebellious Milanese before finally returning to Germany.[23] Disorder was again rampant in Germany, especially in Bavaria, but general peace was restored by Frederick's vigorous, but conciliatory, measures. The duchy of Bavaria was transferred from Henry II Jasomirgott, margrave of Austria, to Frederick's formidable younger cousin Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, of the House of Guelph, whose father had previously held both duchies.[24] Henry II Jasomirgott was named Duke of Austria in compensation for his loss of Bavaria. As part of his general policy of concessions of formal power to the German princes and ending the civil wars within the kingdom, Frederick further appeased Henry by issuing him with the Privilegium Minus, granting him unprecedented entitlements as Duke of Austria. This was a large concession on the part of Frederick, who realized that Henry the Lion had to be accommodated, even to the point of sharing some power with him. Frederick could not afford to make an outright enemy of Henry.[25] On 9 June 1156 at Würzburg, Frederick married Beatrice of Burgundy, daughter and heiress of Renaud III, thus adding to his possessions the sizeable realm of the County of Burgundy. In an attempt to create comity, Emperor Frederick proclaimed the Peace of the Land,[26] written between 1152-1157, which enacted punishments for a variety of crimes, as well as systems for adjudicating many disputes. He also declared himself the sole Augustus of the Roman world, ceasing to recognise Manuel I at Constantinople.[27] Second, Third and Fourth Italian Campaigns: 1158-1174 The retreat of Frederick in 1155 forced Pope Adrian IV to come to terms with King William I of Sicily, granting to William I territories that Frederick viewed as his dominion.[28] This aggrieved Frederick, and he was further displeased when Papal Legates chose to interpret a letter from Adrian to Frederick in a manner that seemed to imply that the imperial crown was a gift from the Papacy and that in fact the Empire itself was a fief of the Papacy.[29] Disgusted with the pope, and still wishing to crush the Normans in the south of Italy, in June 1158, Frederick set out upon his second Italian expedition, accompanied by Henry the Lion and his Saxon troops.[30] This expedition resulted in the revolt and capture of Milan,[31] the Diet of Roncaglia that saw the establishment of imperial officers and ecclesiastical reforms in the cities of northern Italy,[32] and the beginning of the long struggle with Pope Alexander III. The death of Pope Adrian IV in 1159 led to the election of two rival popes, Alexander III and the antipope Victor IV, and both sought Frederick’s support.[33] Frederick, busy with the siege of Crema, appeared unsupportive of Alexander III, and after the sacking of Crema demanded that Alexander appear before the emperor at Pavia and to accept the imperial decree.[34] Alexander refused, and Frederick recognised Victor IV as the legitimate pope in 1160.[35] In response, Alexander III excommunicated both Frederick I and Victor IV.[36] Frederick attempted to convoke a joint council with King Louis VII of France in 1162 to decide the issue of who should be pope.[35] Louis neared the meeting site, but when he became aware that Frederick had stacked the votes for Alexander, Louis decided not to attend the council. As a result the issue was not resolved at that time.[37] The political result of the struggle with Pope Alexander was an alliance formed between the Norman state of Sicily and Pope Alexander III against Frederick.[38] In the meantime, Frederick had to deal with another rebellion at Milan, in which the city surrendered on 6 March 1162; much of it was destroyed three weeks later on the emperor’s orders.[39] The fate of Milan led to the submission of Brescia, Placentia, and many other northern Italian cities.[40] Returning to Germany towards the close of 1162, Frederick prevented the escalation of conflicts between Henry the Lion from Saxony and a number of neighbouring princes who were growing weary of Henry's power, influence, and territorial gains. He also severely punished the citizens of Mainz for their rebellion against Archbishop Arnold. In Frederick's third visit to Italy in 1163, his plans for the conquest of Sicily were ruined by the formation of a powerful league against him, brought together mainly by opposition to imperial taxes. In 1164 Frederick took what are believed to be the relics of the "Biblical Magi" (the Wise Men or Three Kings) from the Basilica di Sant'Eustorgio in Milan and gave them as a gift (or as loot) to the Archbishop of Cologne, Rainald of Dassel. The relics had great religious significance and could be counted upon to draw pilgrims from all over Christendom. Today they are kept in the Shrine of the Three Kings in the Cologne cathedral. The death of the antipope Victor IV saw Frederick give his support to a new antipope, Paschal III, but he was soon driven from Rome which once again saw the return of Pope Alexander III in 1165.[41] Frederick in the meantime was focused on restoring peace in the Rhineland, where he organized a magnificent celebration of the canonization of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) at Aachen, done under the authority of the antipope Paschal III. Concerned over rumours that Alexander III was about to enter into an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I,[42] in October 1166, he embarked on his fourth Italian campaign, hoping as well to secure the claim of Paschal III, and the coronation of his wife Beatrice as Holy Roman Empress. This time, Henry the Lion refused to join Frederick on his Italian trip, tending instead to his own disputes with neighbors and his continuing expansion into Slavic territories in northeastern Germany. He began besieging Ancona in 1167, which had acknowledged the authority of Manuel I;[43] at the same time, Frederick's forces achieved a great victory over the Romans at the Battle of Monte Porzio.[44] Heartened by this victory, he lifted the siege of Ancona and hurried to Rome where he not only had his wife crowned empress, but he also received a second coronation at the hands of Paschal III.[44] Unfortunately, his campaign was stopped by the sudden outbreak of an epidemic (malaria or the plague), which threatened to destroy the Imperial army and drove the emperor as a fugitive to Germany,[45] where he remained for the ensuing six years. During this period, Frederick decided conflicting claims to various bishoprics, asserted imperial authority over Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary, initiated friendly relations with Manuel I, and tried to come to a better understanding with Henry II of England and Louis VII of France. Many Swabian counts, including his cousin the young Duke of Swabia, Frederick IV, died in 1167, so he was able to organize a new mighty territory in the Duchy of Swabia under his reign in this time. Consequently, his younger son Frederick V became the new Duke of Swabia in 1167,[46] while his eldest son Henry was crowned King of the Romans in 1169, alongside his father who also retained the title.[45] Later years With an increasing anti-German sentiment sweeping through Lombardy, which culminated in the restoration of Milan in 1169,[47] in 1174, Frederick made his fifth expedition to Italy but was opposed by the pro-papal Lombard League (now joined by Venice, Sicily and Constantinople) which had previously formed to stand against him.[48] The cities of northern Italy had become exceedingly wealthy through trade, and represented a marked turning point in the transition from medieval feudalism. While continental feudalism had remained strong socially and economically, it was in deep political decline by the time of Frederick Barbarossa. When the northern Italian cities inflicted a defeat on Frederick at Alessandria in 1175, the European world was shocked that such a thing could happen.[49] With the refusal of Henry the Lion to bring help to Italy, the campaign was a complete failure. Frederick suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Legnano near Milan, on 29 May 1176, where he was wounded and for some time was believed to be dead.[50] This battle marked the turning point in Frederick's claim to empire.[51] He had no choice other than to begin negotiations for peace with Alexander III and the Lombard League. In the Peace of Anagni in 1176, Frederick recognized Alexander III as pope and in the Peace of Venice, 1177, Frederick and Alexander III were formally reconciled.[52] The scene was similar to that which had occurred between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor at Canossa a century earlier. The conflict was the same as that resolved in the Concordat of Worms. Did the Holy Roman Emperor have the power to name the pope and bishops? The Investiture controversy from previous centuries had been brought to a tendentious peace with the Concordat of Worms and affirmed in the First Council of the Lateran. Now it had recurred, in a slightly different form. Frederick had to humble himself before Pope Alexander III at Venice.[53] The emperor acknowledged the pope's sovereignty over the Papal States, and in return Alexander acknowledged the emperor's overlordship of the Imperial Church. Also in the Peace of Venice, a truce was made with the Lombard cities, which took effect in August 1178.[54] But the grounds for a permanent peace were established only in 1183, when, in the Peace of Constance, Frederick conceded their right to freely elect town magistrates. By this move, Frederick recovered his nominal domination over Italy. This became his chief means of applying pressure on the papacy.[55] In a move to consolidate his reign after the disastrous expedition into Italy, he was formally crowned King of Burgundy at Arles on 30 June 1178. Although the German kings had traditionally automatically inherited the royal crown of Arles since the time of Conrad II, Frederick felt the need to be crowned by the Archbishop of Arles, regardless of his laying claim to the title from 1152. Frederick did not forgive Henry the Lion for refusing to come to his aid in 1174.[56] By 1180, Henry had successfully established a powerful and contiguous state comprising Saxony, Bavaria and substantial territories in the north and east of Germany. Taking advantage of the hostility of other German princes to Henry, Frederick had Henry tried in absentia by a court of bishops and princes in 1180, declared that imperial law overruled traditional German law, and had Henry stripped of his lands and declared an outlaw.[57] He then invaded Saxony with an imperial army to bring his cousin to surrender. Henry's allies deserted him, and he finally had to submit in November 1181. Henry spent three years in exile at the court of his father-in-law Henry II of England in Normandy, before being allowed back into Germany. He finished his days in Germany, as the much-diminished Duke of Brunswick.[58] Frederick's desire for revenge was sated. Henry the Lion lived a relatively quiet life, sponsoring arts and architecture. Frederick's victory over Henry did not gain him as much in the German feudalistic system as it would have in English feudalistic system. While in England the pledge of fealty went in a direct line from overlords to those under them, the Germans pledged oaths only to the direct overlord, so that in Henry's case, those lower than he in the feudal chain owed nothing to Frederick. Thus, despite the diminished stature of Henry the Lion, Frederick did not gain his allegiances.[59] Frederick was faced with the reality of disorder among the German states where continuous civil wars were waged between pretenders and the ambitious who wanted the crown for themselves. Italian unity under German rule was more myth than truth. Despite proclamations of German hegemony, the pope was the most powerful force in Italy.[60] When Frederick returned to Germany after his defeat in northern Italy, he was a bitter and exhausted man. The German princes, far from being subordinated to royal control, were intensifying their hold on wealth and power in Germany and entrenching their positions. There began to be a generalized social desire to "create greater Germany" by conquering the Slavs to the east.[61] Although it appeared that the Italian city states had achieved a measure of independence from Frederick as a result of his failed fifth expedition into Italy, (culminating in the Peace of Constance in 1183),[62] the emperor had not as yet quite given up on his Italian dominions. In 1184, he had held a massive celebration when his two eldest sons were knighted, and where thousands of knights were invited from all over Germany. While payments upon the knighting of a son were part of the expectations of an overlord in England and France, only a "gift" was given in Germany for such an occasion. Frederick's monetary gain from this celebration is said to have been modest.[63] During this same year, Frederick again moved into Italy and this time he joined forces with the local rural nobility to reduce the power of the Tuscan cities.[64] In 1186, he engineered the marriage of his son Henry to Constance of Sicily, heiress to the Kingdom of Sicily, over the objections of Pope Urban III.[65] Third Crusade and death Pope Urban III died shortly after, and was succeeded by Gregory VIII, who was more concerned with troubling reports from the Holy Land than with a power struggle with Barbarossa. After making his peace with the new pope, Frederick vowed to take up the cross at the Diet of Mainz in 1188.[48] Frederick embarked on the Third Crusade (1189), a massive expedition in conjunction with the French, led by king Philip Augustus, and the English, under Richard the Lionheart. He organized a grand army of 100,000 men (including 20,000 knights) and set out on the overland route to the Holy Land.[66] However, some historians believe that this is an exaggeration and that the true figure might be closer to 15,000 men, including 3,000 knights.[67] The Crusaders passed through Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria and then entered Byzantine territory, arriving at Constantinople in the autumn of 1189. Matters were complicated by a secret alliance between the Emperor of Constantinople and Saladin, warning of which was supplied by a note from Sibylla, ex-Queen of Jerusalem.[2] When they were in Hungary, Barbarossa personally asked the Hungarian Prince Géza, brother of the king, Béla III of Hungary, to join the Crusade. The king agreed, and a Hungarian army of 2,000 men led by Géza escorted the German emperor's forces. The armies coming from western Europe pushed on through Anatolia (where they were victorious in taking Aksehir and defeating the Turks in the Battle of Iconium), and entered Cilician Armenia. The approach of the immense German army greatly concerned Saladin and the other Muslim leaders, who began to rally troops of their own to confront Barbarossa's forces.[2] On 10 June 1190, Emperor Frederick drowned in the Saleph river.[68] He had decided to walk his horse through the river instead of crossing the bridge that had been too crowded with troops. The current was too strong for the horse to handle, and his suit armour was too heavy for him to swim in: both were swept away and drowned. Some historians believe he may have had a heart attack that complicated matters. Some of Frederick's men put him in a barrel of vinegar to preserve his body. Frederick's death plunged his army into chaos. Leaderless, panicking, and attacked on all sides by Turks, many Germans deserted, were killed, or committed suicide. Only 5,000 soldiers, a small fraction of the original force, arrived in Acre. Barbarossa's son, Frederick VI of Swabia, carried on with the remnants of the German army, along with the Hungarian army under the command of Prince Géza, with the aim of burying the emperor in Jerusalem, but efforts to conserve his body in vinegar failed. Hence, his flesh was interred in the Church of St Peter in Antioch, his bones in the cathedral of Tyre, and his heart and inner organs in Tarsus.[2] The unexpected demise of Frederick left the Crusader army under the command of the rivals Philip II of France and Richard I of England, who had traveled to Palestine separately by sea, and ultimately led to its dissolution. Richard continued to the East where he defeated Saladin in many battles, winning significant territories along the shores of Palestine, but ultimately failed to win the war before he was forced to return to England (see Treaty of Ramla). He returned home after he signed the treaty under the terms of the agreement that Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control. However, the city would be open to Christian pilgrimages. Also, the treaty reduced the Latin Kingdom to a geopolitical coastal strip that extended from Tyre to Jaffa. Frederick and the Justinian code With the increase in wealth of the trading cities of northern Italy, a revival in the study of the Justinian Code occurred. This was a Latin legal system which had become extinct centuries earlier. Legal scholars renewed its application. It is speculated that Pope Gregory VII personally encouraged the Justinian rule of law, and had a copy of it. Corpus Iuris Civilis (Justinian Body of Civil Law) has been described as the greatest code of law ever devised[who?]. It envisaged the law of the state as a reflection of natural moral law, the principle of rationality in the universe. By the time Frederick assumed the throne, this legal system was well established on both sides of the Alps. He was the first to utilize the availability of the new professional class of lawyers. The Civil Law allowed Frederick to use these lawyers to administer his kingdom in a logical and consistent manner. It also provided a framework to legitimize his claim to the right to rule both Germany and northern Italy. In the old days of Henry VI and Henry V, the claim of divine right of kings had been severely undermined by the Investiture controversy. The Church had won that argument in the common man's mind. There was no divine right for the German king to also control the church by naming both bishops and popes. The institution of the Justinian code was used, perhaps unscrupulously, by Frederick to lay claim to divine powers.[69] In Germany, Frederick was a political realist, taking what he could and leaving the rest. In Italy, he tended to be a romantic reactionary, reveling in the antiquarian spirit of the age, exemplified by a revival of classical studies and Roman law. It was through the use of the restored Justinian code that Frederick came to view himself as a new Roman emperor.[70] Roman law gave a rational purpose for the existence of Frederick and his imperial ambitions. It was a counterweight to the claims of the Church to have authority because of divine revelation. The Church was opposed to Frederick for ideological reasons, not the least of which was the humanist nature found in the revival of the old Roman legal system.[71] When Pepin the Short sought to become king of the Franks, the church needed military protection. Pepin found it convenient to make an ally of the pope. Frederick desired to put the pope aside and claim the crown of old Rome simply because he was in the likeness of the greatest emperors of the pre-Christian era. Pope Adrian IV was naturally opposed to this view and undertook a vigorous propaganda campaign which was designed to diminish Frederick and his ambition. To a large extent, this was successful.[72] Charismatic leader Historians have compared Henry II of England to Frederick Barbarossa. Both were considered the greatest and most charismatic leaders of their age. Each had a rare combination of qualities that made him appear superhuman to his contemporaries. Each possessed longevity, boundless ambition, extraordinary organizing skill, and greatness on the battlefield. Both men were handsome and proficient in courtly skills, without appearing effeminate or affected. Both came to the throne in the prime of manhood. Each had an element of learning, without being considered impractical intellectuals, but rather more inclined to practicality. Each found himself in the possession of new legal institutions which were put to creative use in governing. Both Henry and Frederick were viewed to be sufficiently and formally devout to the teachings of the Church, without being moved to the extremes of spirituality seen in the great saints of the twelfth century. In making final decisions, each relied solely upon their own judgment.[73] Both were interested in gathering as much power as they could.[74] In keeping with this view of Frederick, his uncle, Otto of Freising, wrote an account of Frederick's reign entitled Gesta Friderici I imperatoris (Deeds of the Emperor Frederick). Otto died after finishing the first two books, leaving the last two to Rahewin, his provost. The text is in places heavily dependent on classical precedent.[75] For example, Rahewin's physical description of Frederick: His character is such that not even those envious of his power can belittle its praise. His person is well-proportioned. He is shorter than very tall men, but taller and more noble than men of medium height. His hair is golden, curling a little above his forehead... His eyes are sharp and piercing, his beard reddish, his lips delicate... His whole face is bright and cheerful. His teeth are even and snow-white in color... Modesty rather than anger causes him to blush frequently. His shoulders are rather broad, and he is strongly built... reproduces word for word (except for details of hair and beard) a description of another monarch written nearly eight hundred years earlier by Sidonius Apollinaris.[76] Frederick's charisma led to a fantastic juggling act which over a quarter of a century, restored the imperial authority in the German states. His formidable enemies defeated him on almost every side, yet, in the end, he emerged triumphant. When Frederick came to the throne, the prospects for the revival of German imperial power were extremely thin. The great German princes had increased their power and land holdings. The king had been left with only the traditional family domains and a vestige of power over the bishops and abbeys. The backwash of the Investiture controversy had left the German states in continuous turmoil. Rival states were in perpetual war. These conditions allowed Frederick to be both warrior and occasional peace-maker, both to his advantage.[77] Legend Frederick is the subject of many legends, including that of a sleeping hero, like the much older British Celtic legends of Arthur or Bran the Blessed. Legend says he is not dead, but asleep with his knights in a cave in the Kyffhäuser mountain in Thuringia or Mount Untersberg in Bavaria, Germany, and that when the ravens cease to fly around the mountain he will awake and restore Germany to its ancient greatness. According to the story, his red beard has grown through the table at which he sits. His eyes are half closed in sleep, but now and then he raises his hand and sends a boy out to see if the ravens have stopped flying.[78] A similar story, set in Sicily, was earlier attested about his grandson, Frederick II.[79] To garner political support the German Empire built atop the Kyffhäuser the Kyffhäuser Monument, which declared Kaiser Wilhelm I the reincarnation of Frederick; the 1896 dedication occurred on 18 June, the day of Frederick’s coronation.[80] In medieval Europe, the Golden Legend became refined by Jacopo da Voragine. This was a popularized interpretation of the Biblical end of the world. It consisted of three things: (1) terrible natural disasters; (2) the arrival of the Antichrist; (3) the establishment of a good king to combat the anti-Christ. These millennial fables were common and freely traded by the populations on Continental Europe. End-time accounts had been around for thousands of years, but entered the Christian tradition with the writings of the Apostle Peter. German propaganda played into the exaggerated fables believed by the common people by characterizing Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick II as personification of the "good king".[81] Frederick's uncle, Otto, bishop of Freising wrote a biography entitled The Deeds of Frederick Barbarosa, which is considered to be an accurate history of the king. Otto's other major work, The Two Cities was an exposition of the work of St. Augustine of Hippo of a similar title. The latter work was full of Augustinian negativity concerning the nature of the world and history. His work on Frederick is of opposite tone, being an optimistic portrayal of the glorious potentials of imperial authority. (See description supra.)[82] Another legend states that when Barbarossa was in the process of seizing Milan in 1158, his wife, the Empress Beatrice, was taken captive by the enraged Milanese and forced to ride through the city on a donkey in a humiliating manner. Some sources of this legend indicate that Barbarossa implemented his revenge for this insult by forcing the magistrates of the city to remove a fig from the anus of a donkey using only their teeth.[83] Another source states that Barbarossa took his wrath upon every able-bodied man in the city, and that it was not a fig they were forced to hold in their mouth, but excrement from the donkey. To add to this debasement, they were made to announce, "Ecco la fica", (meaning "behold the fig"), with the feces still in their mouths. It used to be said that the insulting gesture, (called fico), of holding one's fist with the thumb in between the middle and forefinger came by its origin from this event.[84] Use by the National Socialists The German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 was codenamed Operation Barbarossa by Adolf Hitler.[85] Issue Frederick's first marriage, to Adelheid of Vohburg, did not produce any issue. From his second marriage, to Beatrice of Burgundy, he had the following children: Sophie (1161-1187), married to Margrave William VI of Montferrat. Beatrice (1162-1174). She was betrothed to King William II of Sicily but died before they could be married. Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (Pavia, 16 July 1164 - 28 November 1170). Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (Nijmegen, November 1165 - Messina, 28 September 1197). Conrad (Modigliana, February 1167 - Acre, 20 January 1191), later renamed Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia after the death of his older brother. Gisela(October/November 1168 - 1184). Otto I, Count of Burgundy (June/July 1170 - killed, Besançon, 13 January 1200). Conrad II, Duke of Swabia and Rothenburg (February/March 1172 - killed, Durlach, 15 August 1196). Renaud (October/November 1173 - in infancy). William (June/July 1176 - in infancy). Philip of Swabia (August 1177 - killed, Bamberg, 21 June 1208) King of Germany in 1198. Agnes (1181 - 8 October 1184). She was betrothed to King Emeric of Hungary but died before they could be married. Frederick Barbarossa in fiction Cyrus Townsend Brady's Hohenzollern; a Story of the Time of Frederick Barbarossa (1901) begins with a dedication to "the descendants of the great Germanic race who in Europe, in America, and in the Far East rule the world".[86] Umberto Eco's novel Baudolino (2000) is set partly at Frederick's court, and also deals with the mystery of Frederick's death. The imaginary hero, Baudolino, is the Emperor's adopted son and confidant. John Crowley's novel Little, Big (1981) features Frederick Barbarossa as a character in modern times, awoken from his centuries of sleep. In the book, he becomes the President of the United States and rules as a tyrant.[87] The Land of Unreason, by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, mentions the castle of the Kyffhäuser. In The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film), the title character is said to be in possession of "an ornament worn by Frederick Barbarossa at his coronation in 1152." The video game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings has a campaign which follows Fredrick Barbarossa from the period of his struggles in Germany to his death on the Third Crusade. It is of note that Barbarossa never appears as an actual unit in the game, though the objective of the final level (after his death) is to take a unit named "Emperor in a Barrel" to the Dome of The Rock in Jerusalem. In the video game Stronghold Warchest, Emperor Frederick is an AI opponent that players can challenge in skirmish play. Frederick is a character in the video game Stronghold: Crusader. The video game Medieval II Total War: Kingdoms features Frederik Barbarossa in the crusade campaign. Barbarossa launches a crusade to the Holy land with 100,000 strong men. During the next 'turn,' he drowns in the sea and because of his death the crusade is canceled. Andreas Seiler's novel Real Wizard (2008) is an attribution to the 1,000 year old myth, with aspects of life and death of the Emperor. It includes a generalised German history of unification as a background to the story. ISBN 978-0-646-49625-2 In The Man from U.N.C.L.E episode "The Deadly Game" (S1E05), former S.S. scientist Wolfgang Volp tries to revive Hitler from suspended animation; he refers to Hitler by the codename "Barbarossa". In the movie Sword of War (also entitled Barbarossa), Barbarossa is one of the main characters, played by Rutger Hauer. References Jump up ^ Peter Moraw, Heiliges Reich, in: Lexikon des Mittelalters, Munich & Zurich: Artemis 1977-1999, vol. 4, 2025-2028. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Canduci, pg. 263 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 199 ^ Jump up to: a b c Comyn, pg. 200 Jump up ^ Le Goff, J. Medieval Civilization, 400-1500, Barnes and Noble, New York, 2000, p. 266. Jump up ^ Dahmus, J. The Middle Ages, A Popular History, Garden City, New York, 1969, p. 300-302. Jump up ^ Bryce, The Holy Roman Empire, MacMillan, 1913, pg. 166 Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F. Medieval History, Macmillan and Company, 1969, p. 302-3. Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid. p. 428-429. Jump up ^ Dahmus, p. 359, ibid. Jump up ^ Brown, R. A., The Origins of Modern Europe, Boydell Press, 1972. Jump up ^ Davis, R. H. C. A History of Medieval Europe, Longmans, 1957, p. 318-319. Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 202 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 201 ^ Jump up to: a b c Comyn, pg. 230 Jump up ^ Falco, G. The Holy Roman Republic, Barnes and Co., New York, 1964, p. 218 et seq. Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 227 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 228 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 229 Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid. p. 368-9. ^ Jump up to: a b Comyn, pg. 231 ^ Jump up to: a b Comyn, pg. 232 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 233 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 203 Jump up ^ Davis, R. H. C., A History of Medieval Europe, Longmans, 1957, p. 319. Jump up ^ "Peace of the Land Established by Frederick Barbarossa Between 1152 and 1157 A.D.". The Avalon Project. Yale Law School. Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 234 Jump up ^ [1] Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 235 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 236 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 238 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 240 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 241 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 242 ^ Jump up to: a b Comyn, pg. 243 Jump up ^ Dahmus, J., The Middle Ages, A Popular History, Doubleday & Co. Garden City, New York, 1969, p. 295. Jump up ^ Munz, Peter. Frederick Barbarossa: A Study in Medieval Politics. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1969, p. 228. Jump up ^ Davis, R. H. C., p. 326-7, ibid. Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 245 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 246 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 247 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 248 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 249 ^ Jump up to: a b Comyn, pg. 250 ^ Jump up to: a b Comyn, pg. 251 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 252 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 253 ^ Jump up to: a b Kampers, Franz. "Frederick I (Barbarossa)". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 21 May 2009. Jump up ^ Le Goff, J. Medieval Civilization 400-1500. Barnes and Noble, New York, 2000, p. 104; reprint of B. Arthaud. La civilization de l'Occident medieval, Paris, 1964. Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 257 Jump up ^ Davis, R. H. C., p. 332 et seq., ibid. Jump up ^ Brown, R. A., p. 164-5 "The Origins of Modern Europe", Boydell, 1972 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 260 Jump up ^ online in the Yale Avalon project Jump up ^ Le Goff, J., ibid. p. 96-97 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 263 Jump up ^ Davis, R. H. C., p. 333, ibid. Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 264 Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid. pp. 433-434. Jump up ^ Le Goff, J. ibid. pp. 102-3. Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid. p. 429. Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 262 Jump up ^ Dahmus, J., p. 240 "The Middle Ages, A Popular History", Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, New York, 1968 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 265 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 266 Jump up ^ J. Phillips, The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople, 66 Jump up ^ Konstam, Historical Atlas of the Crusades, 162 Jump up ^ Comyn, pg. 267 Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid., p. 340-342 Jump up ^ Davis, R. H. C., p. 322, ibid. Jump up ^ Davis, R. H. C., p. 324 Jump up ^ Davis, R. H. C., p. 325, ibid. Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid. p. 422-423 Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid. p. 424 Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid p. 360. Jump up ^ Sidonius Apollinaris, Epistles 1.2, a description of Theodoric II of the Visigoths (453-66). See Mierow and Emery (1953) p. 331. Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid. p. 428-429 Jump up ^ Brown, R. A., p. 172, ibid. Jump up ^ Kantorowicz, Frederick II; last chapter Jump up ^ Jarausch, KH. “After Unity; Reconfiguring German Identities”, Berghahn Books Inc. New York, 1997, P 35, ISBN 1-57181-041-2 Jump up ^ Le Goff, J., ibid. p. 190 Jump up ^ Cantor, N. F., ibid. p. 359-360 Jump up ^ Walford, Edward, John Charles Cox, and George Latimer Apperson. "Digit Folklore part II". The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past 1885 Volume XI: January-June. Jump up ^ Novobatzky, Peter and Ammon Shea. Depraved and Insulting English. Orlando: Harcourt, 2001 Jump up ^ Ian Kershaw, Hitler. 1936-45: Nemesis (Penguin, 2001), p. 335. Jump up ^ Brady, Charles Townsend (1901). Hohenzollern; a Story of the Time of Frederick Barbarossa. New York: The Century Co. Jump up ^ Crowley, John William (2006). Little, big. New York: Perennial. pp. 346, 429. ISBN 978-0-06-112005-3. Sources Primary sources Otto of Freising and his continuator Rahewin, The deeds of Frederick Barbarossa tr. Charles Christopher Mierow with Richard Emery. New York: Columbia University Press, 1953. Reprinted: Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994. Ibn al-Athir Romuald of Salerno. Chronicon in Rerum Italicarum scriptores. Otto of Sankt Blasien The "Bergamo Master". Carmen de gestis Frederici I imperatoris in Lombardia. Chronicon Vincentii Canonici Pragensis in Monumenta historica Boemiae by Fr. Gelasius Dobner (1764)[3] [4] Secondary sources Haverkamp, Alfred. Friedrich Barbarossa, 1992 Novobatzky, Peter and Ammon Shea. Depraved and Insulting English. Orlando: Harcourt, 2001 Canduci, Alexander (2010), Triumph & Tragedy: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Immortal Emperors, Pier 9, ISBN 978-1-74196-598-8 Comyn, Robert. History of the Western Empire, from its Restoration by Charlemagne to the Accession of Charles V, Vol. I. 1851 Munz, Peter. "Frederick Barbarossa: A Study in Medieval Politics". Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1969 Opll, Ferdinand. Friedrich Barbarossa, 1998 Reston, James. Warriors of God, 2001 Federico Rossi Di Marignano: "Federico Barbarossa e Beatrice di Borgogna. Re e regina d'Italia", Mondadori, 2009, ISBN 88-04-58676-1 ISBN 9788804586760 Walford, Edward, John Charles Cox, and George Latimer Apperson. "Digit Folklore part II". The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past 1885 Volume XI: January-June. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Frederick I., Roman Emperor". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press Gianluca Raccagni, The Lombard League (1164-1225), Oxford University Press 2010. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Another version: Frederick Barbarossa (Italian: Redbeard) duke of Swabia (as Frederick III, 1147-90) and German king and Holy Roman emperor (1152-90), who challenged papal authority and sought to establish German predominance in western Europe. He engaged in a long struggle with the cities of northern Italy (1154-83), sending six major expeditions southward. He died while on the Third Crusade to the Holy Land. Frederick was the son of Frederick II, duke of Swabia, and Judith, daughter of Henry IX, duke of Bavaria, of the rival dynasty of the Welfs. After succeeding his father as duke of Swabia, Frederick was elected German king on March 4, 1152, in Frankfurt, succeeding his uncle, Emperor Conrad III. Frederick's contemporaries believed that, because he united in himself the blood of the Welfs and the Hohenstaufen, he would solve the internal problems of the kingdom. The announcement of his election, which he sent to Pope Eugenius III, made it plain that Frederick I was not ready to recognize the preeminence over the emperors that the popes had won during the quarrel over the right of investiture of bishops and abbots. Frederick, moreover, filled several vacant episcopal sees, thereby violating the Concordat of Worms of 1122. Nevertheless, he was to learn that he could not prevail against the papacy as easily as the earlier emperors, Otto I and Henry III, had done because the political balance of the West had changed. Under the powerful emperor Manuel I Comnenus, the Byzantine Empire had grown to be a political factor in the Mediterranean and in Italy. Southern Italy and Sicily were united in the Norman kingdom of Roger II. The cities of the Lombards, which had been little more than a nuisance to the earlier emperors, had now become invincible. Frederick started his struggle for the old goal of the predominance of the Empire over the European monarchies with great political skill. By not recognizing the treaty of alliance between his predecessor, Conrad III, and Manuel I Comnenus of Byzantium against Roger II of Sicily, Frederick forced Pope Eugenius III to sign the Treaty of Constance (1153) with him because the Pope was more exposed to pressure from the Norman kingdom to the south as well as from Arnold of Brescia in Rome. Frederick promised not to make peace with the Roman commune, headed by Arnold (whom he hanged) or with the Normans without the agreement of the Pope. He also promised not to concede any Italian land to the Byzantine Emperor and, finally, to maintain the position of the papacy (honor papatus). Eugenius III, on his part, promised that Frederick would receive the imperial crown and that the rights of the empire would be maintained. When Manuel of Byzantium offered Frederick a Byzantine princess as wife and attempted to induce him to fight against the Norman kingdom, Frederick refused. The successor of Eugenius III, Pope Adrian IV, honoured the Treaty of Constance and crowned Frederick emperor on June 18, 1155, in Rome. The German princes refused to give Frederick the support necessary to attack the Sicilian kingdom, which, under Roger's son William I (reigned 1154-66), was passing through a crisis. Although Manuel now formed an allegiance with the rebellious Norman barons, the city of Genoa, and the Pope, Adrian still would not accept the Byzantine offer of help against William I of Sicily. After William had brought his crisis to an end, he was able to force the Pope to sign the Concordat of Benevento in 1156 by which Adrian gave William Sicily and the Norman principalities on the mainland as far north as Naples and Capua and granted him special rights for the Sicilian church. This new treaty was in violation of the Treaty of Constance. Cardinal Roland (later Pope Alexander III) was supposed to explain the Pope's new policy to the princes and to the Emperor at the imperial Diet of Besançon 1157. A letter from the Pope, which was translated in an inflammatory manner by the imperial chancellor Rainald of Dassel, caused a critical argument between the papal delegation and the German princes over whether or not the empire was dependent upon the papacy. Adrian explained later that he meant the word beneficium, which had caused all the trouble, to mean benefit and not fief. In 1158, after Frederick had solved several decisive domestic problems (see below), he began his second campaign in Italy, seeking the complete restoration of the imperial rights. After laying siege to and conquering Milan, which had attempted to oppose him, Frederick opened the Diet of Roncaglia. The goal of this Diet was to define and guarantee the rights of the emperor, which would bring the empire an estimated 30,000 pounds of silver per year. Frederick attempted, beginning in 1158 and especially after 1162, not only to achieve the granting of these rights but also to put a systematic financial administration into effect. His goal was to reduce imperial Italy to a system of well-controlled castles, palaces, and cities, with the self-government of the cities controlled by imperial officials. What the Emperor saw as a restoration of the imperial rights, however, was considered by the cities as a curtailment of their freedom. A tax called the fodrum was levied on all the inhabitants of imperial Italy; in return the Italian nobles and communes were excused from service in Frederick's armies and were guaranteed his protection. A portion of the Italian money went to the German princes; this enabled Frederick to win their support without making too many political concessions to them in Germany. The ecclesiastical princes of the empire, however, still had to render full service for Italy; the archbishopric of Mainz suffered severe financial losses because Archbishop Christian was active for a long time in Italy as imperial legate. The Italian taxes allowed Frederick to enlist mercenaries (Brabantini) in order to free himself militarily, to a certain extent, from the fief holders. The money of Italy was not, however, the only motive of Frederick's Italian policy. The Pope, as well as the cities, felt threatened by a tightly organized imperial state in Italy. In 1159 Cardinal Octavian was elected Pope Victor IV with the support of Frederick, and Cardinal Roland was elected Pope Alexander III in a tumultuous and disputed voting session. Alexander, supported by many cardinals, was also immediately recognized by William of Sicily as the true pope. At the council of 1160 in Pavia, convened by the Emperor, only Victor IV was present and was declared the rightful pope, thereby earning Alexander's hostility. Alexander III, one of the greatest lawyers of the church, wanted to found a papacy that would be independent of the Emperor; he excommunicated Frederick in 1160. France, England, Spain, Hungary, the Lombards, and even Emperor Manuel joined Alexander's party; Alexander retired to France in 1161, where he remained until 1165. John of Salisbury asked at that time: “Who made the Germans judges of the nations?” Barbarossa's attempt to persuade King Louis VII of France to try to heal the schism when they met at Saint-Jean-de-Losne on the Saône was of no avail. Alexander attempted to bring Frederick back into the church but with no success. At Alexander's urging, the Byzantine emperor Manuel Comnenus now prepared to form an alliance with France and was ready to recognize the Pope. In 1162 Milan was destroyed by Frederick. When Victor IV died in 1164, Paschal III (reigned 1164-68) was quickly elected as the new imperial pope on the urging of Rainald of Dassel, perhaps against the will of the Emperor. Because of friction between Louis VII and Henry II of England and because the latter was embroiled in an argument with Thomas Becket, Barbarossa decided to form an alliance with Henry II. At the Diet of 1165 in Würzburg, Frederick swore not to recognize Alexander III. The promises made by the English delegates that Frederick's political wishes would be recognized were denied by Henry II, who preferred to keep Alexander under pressure, thus making things more difficult for Becket. Following the death of William I of Sicily in 1166, Frederick felt that the time had come to strike a decisive blow against Alexander III, who had returned to Rome, and against Sicily. The Lombard League was formed to defend against the Emperor's fourth expedition to Italy. Frederick's expedition ended in disaster, however, when malaria broke out in his army. Rainald of Dassel died in Rome at this time, causing a change in the imperial strategy. When Frederick negotiated peace between Louis VII and Henry II and then sent the Bishop of Bamberg in 1170 to Alexander III and envoys to Byzantium, a détente resulted that even Alexander could not escape. In his fifth Italian campaign (1174) Frederick did not defeat the Lombards militarily, but they were forced to subject themselves to him in the Armistice of Montebello. Because Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony refused to come to his aid, however, Frederick lost the Battle of Legnano against the Lombards. He was now ready to deal with the Pope, and in 1176 they signed the Treaty of Anagni. In the Peace of Venice (1177) Barbarossa acknowledged Alexander III as the true pope. In front of the Church of St. Mark's, Barbarossa received the kiss of peace from the Pope. At Venice the imperial delegates had been able to improve the Emperor's position. Above all was the fact that, although a truce had been negotiated with the Lombards, they were not included in the peace treaty. A treaty with the Lombards was finally confirmed in the year 1183. Barbarossa meanwhile had also initiated sweeping changes in his empire, where Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony was the strongest prince next to him. When Barbarossa took office, Henry had laid claim to Bavaria, the domain of the margrave Henry II Jasomirgott of Austria. Barbarossa bestowed Bavaria on Henry the Lion, and as compensation he elevated the margravate to a dukedom, with special rights. The Emperor also left the dukedom of Saxony and Mecklenburg under Henry the Lion's control, and in 1154 the Duke received the privilege of investing bishops in the colonial land east of the Elbe. The year 1158 was of great importance for the empire; Barbarossa founded the imperial territory of Pleissnerland (south of Leipzig), elevated Duke Vladislav II of Bohemia to king, and granted the Archbishop of Bremen important privileges, restoring the Bishop's lost political power. Also in 1158 Frederick promised to enfeoff Waldemar I the Great of Denmark-that is, make him his vassal with certain rights. Meanwhile, Henry the Lion founded the cities of Munich and Lübeck (1158). The founding of Lübeck brought German merchants to the Baltic Sea. The Duke closed a contract between the Germans and the inhabitants of Gotland and sent envoys to Scandinavia and Russia. A trade agreement was closed in 1189 with Novgorod. About 1180 German merchants reached Riga; their advance was protected by Henry's conquest of Mecklenburg (1177). By 1148 Henry had the county and the town of Stade, the most important harbour on the Elbe, in his control. At the same time German colonists had settled in Brandenburg under the margrave Albert I the Bear and in Silesia. Barbarossa had restored the dependence of the Polish dukes during two expeditions to Poland in 1157 and 1172. Henry the Lion, the most powerful prince in northern Germany, made Brunswick his residence. He had repeatedly challenged other princes in feuds, but Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg, Albrecht of Brandenburg, Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia, and Archbishop Rainald of Cologne offered repeated resistance. It is not completely certain that Duke Henry's refusal of aid to Frederick in 1176 was the sole cause of his downfall. Apparently his manifold breach of the peace of the land caused the Emperor to accuse him, to conquer Lübeck, and, in 1180, through a council of the princes in Gelnhausen, to depose him. Henry lost his dukedom; Westphalia was given to the Archbishop of Cologne, and Bavaria was granted to Otto of Wittelsbach. Henry, who was married to Mathilde of England, went in exile to King Henry II of England. As a result of Henry the Lion's trial, the feudal system was made a still stronger basis of the imperial constitution. Thereafter, only those princes who had received their land directly from the Emperor were admitted to the exclusive circle of imperial princes (Reichsfürsten). Barbarossa elevated the princes of Pomerania to dukes, and the counts of Andechs became the dukes of Merania (in the neighbourhood of Trieste). Steiermark became a dukedom. Another important measure of Barbarossa was the elevation of the Bishop of Würzburg to duke of Franconia in 1168. Barbarossa had attempted to hold the increasing power of the princes in check. By 1152 he had found a solution for the area of Burgundy, which also belonged to the empire. He made Duke Berthold IV of Zähringen his representative for the dukedom of Burgundy as far as the Mediterranean and married Béatrix, the daughter of Count Rainald of Burgundy (1156). Barbarossa attempted to build his own imperial territory between the areas controlled by the princes. This territory was composed of castles, cities, landholdings, ministerial seats, and single rights that were more or less thickly scattered from Swabia to Thuringia. This large territory was ruled by imperial ministerials (ministeriales imperii). These men had great power because many of them belonged to the Emperor's circle. The most famous of them was Kuno of Münzenberg, whose castle is preserved in the Wetterau north of Frankfurt and who founded the town of Friedberg. The territorial “peace laws” belong to his efforts to keep the Emperor in power. Chivalry gave Barbarossa's time a special stamp. He expressed his enthusiasm for knighthood as the ideal way of life at the festival of Pentecost at Mainz in 1184, where he dubbed his sons knights. This festival was surpassed by the “Diet of Jesus Christ” in 1188, when the margravate of Namur was transformed into an imperial principality. More important was Barbarossa's call to the Third Crusade in the spring of 1189 to free Jerusalem from Saladin's army, which had captured it in 1187. Before his departure he returned the former possessions of the Countess Mathilde of Tuscany, a part of the papal state, to the Pope. In 1190 the Emperor drowned while trying to cross the Saleph River. Frederick Barbarossa had attempted to continue the imperial policy of the rulers of the Saxon and Salian lines. His state was still founded upon the noble, the high noble, and above all the newly founded rank of the imperial servants. The imperial cities in Germany were governed by royal officials (advocatis sculteti), and the citizens had their part in the government. The cities played no role in politics. Frederick had to recognize that the church, after the quarrel of investiture, had become a firmly controlled institution, with its powers strictly defined by law. The church had joined itself to the struggle for freedom of the economically powerful states in upper Italy. Pope Alexander III was able to force the kings of Europe (especially Louis VII of France) not to enter into a political agreement with Barbarossa. Only Philip II Augustus of France signed a treaty with Barbarossa in order to free himself from the pressures created by the Anglo-Norman occupation on the mainland. There was no chance that a continuation and increase of the imperial policy in the territories controlled by the empire would have broken the power of the princes. Germany developed into a system of territorial states after Barbarossa's death, while France developed during the time of Philip II Augustus into a centralized monarchial state. Barbarossa had a strong feeling for law and imperial prestige. His steadfast opposition to the popes and to Henry the Lion made him the symbol of German unity in the romantic glorification of the 19th century. People since the 14th century believed he was sleeping in the imperial castle of Kyffhäuser and hoped for his return. A monument to him was erected there during the years 1890-96. Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite.
William B.
