Frederick Barbarossa
(Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor)
1122–1190
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Shortly after being made Duke of Swabia, 25-year-old Frederick set out with his uncle Conrad III to fight in the Second Crusade, an expedition that proved disastrous but that led the king to appoint his nephew as successor to the German crown. Within a span of four years, Frederick was elected King of Germany, King of Italy, and Holy Roman Emperor. The empire that Frederick inherited was actually a collection of over 1600 individual states, each with its own prince, and the new king achieved little success in his attempts to unite the largely different provinces.
Like his predecessors, Frederick argued with the pope over who held ultimate authority in the Church, and after being excommunicated he undertook six expeditions to Italy to try to arouse support for his anti-pope Paschal III. He was largely unsuccessful, however, and during two of his visits he was forced out of the country by the powerful Lombard League, a group of Roman citizens who opposed the harsh Imperial taxes. Finally, in 1177, Frederick and the true pope, Alexander, were reconciled, and the Emperor recognized the pope’s supremacy in the Church. This solved, he turned his attention eastward, where new problems were brewing in the Holy Land. He set out on the Third Crusade with a massive army but did not manage to reach Antioch before he was carried away by the Saleph River and drowned. German legend tells that Frederick is not truly dead but sleeps with his knights in the caves of a Bavarian mountain, to awake only when ravens cease to fly around its peak.
Key events during the life of Frederick I:
| Born | |
| Beccame Duke of Swabia | |
| Accompanied Conrad III on the Second Crusade | |
| Elected and crowned King of Germany | |
| Crowned King of Italy | |
| Crowned Holy Roman Emperor | |
| Excommunicated | |
| Six campaigns to Italy | |
| Frederick and Alexander III were reconciled | |
| Two eldest sons were knighted | |
| Embarked on the Third Crusade | |
| Drowned in the Saleph River |
| Book Links |
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Other Resources
| Frederick the Red-beard in | Stories from German History by Florence Aston |
| Frederick Barbarossa in | Thirty More Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin |
| Frederick of Hohenstaufen in | Historic Boys by E. S. Brooks |
| What Befell after the Taking of Jerusalem in | The Crusaders by Alfred J. Church |
| House of Hohenstaufen in | Germany: Peeps at History by John Finnemore |
| Frederick Barbarossa in | Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Haaren |
| Decline of the Papal Power in | The Story of the Middle Ages by Samuel B. Harding |
| Frederick Barbarossa and the Lombard Cities in | Patriots and Tyrants by Marion Florence Lansing |
| Frederick I, Redbeard in | The History of Germany by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall |
| Holy Roman Empire: Strife with the Popes in | The Story of Europe by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall |
| Frederick Barbarossa and Milan in | Historical Tales: German by Charles Morris |
| Frederick Barbarossa in | The Discovery of New Worlds by M. B. Synge |
Image Links | ||
|---|---|---|
 The Submission of the Milanese to Frederick Barbarossa. in Stories from German History |
 Frederick Barbarossa in Thirty More Famous Stories Retold |
 Fredrick at the feet of Henry the Lion in Famous Men of the Middle Ages |
 The Legend of Barbarossa in The Story of the Middle Ages |
 Barbarossa Saves the Papal Legate at Besancon in Greatest Nations - Germany |
 Barbarossa Kneels to Henry the Lion in Greatest Nations - Germany |
 Henry the Lion Kneels to Barbarossa in Greatest Nations - Germany |
 Barbarossa waits until his country needs him in Stories from the Crusades |
 Frederick Barbarossa in Patriots and Tyrants |
Frederick Barbarossa in European Hero Stories |
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| Fifth of the Latin Kings of Jerusalem. | |
| Reclaimed kingdoms in England and Normandy after chaotic reign of Stephen. Founded Plantagenet dynasty. | |
| Alexander III | Vigorous exponent of papal authority. Resisted Frederick Barbarossa and Henry II of England. |