Frederick Barbarossa

Life and legacy

Frederick was born into the Hohenstaufen dynasty and elected King of Germany in 1152, partly because he could bridge the long-running feud between the Hohenstaufen and Welf families through his dual lineage. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV in 1154. From the start, Frederick aimed to restore what he saw as the rightful authority of the empire, drawing on the model of Justinian and Charlemagne.

His greatest challenge was northern Italy, where wealthy, independent-minded cities like Milan, Venice, and Genoa resisted imperial control. Frederick conducted six expeditions into Italy between 1154 and 1178. At the Diet of Roncaglia in 1158, he enlisted legal scholars from the University of Bologna to define imperial rights based on Roman law, asserting the emperor's authority to appoint magistrates and collect taxes. When Milan defied him, Frederick besieged and destroyed the city in 1162. The harsh treatment unified the Italian cities against him.

The Lombard League, an alliance of northern Italian cities backed by Pope Alexander III, defeated Frederick's forces at the Battle of Legnano in 1176. This defeat forced Frederick to negotiate. At the Peace of Venice in 1177, he recognized Alexander III as pope, and at the Peace of Constance in 1183, he granted the Italian cities substantial self-government while retaining nominal imperial overlordship. The settlement was a pragmatic compromise that demonstrated Frederick's ability to adapt.

Within Germany, Frederick proved a more effective ruler. He maintained peace, promoted colonization of lands east of the Elbe, and managed the great feudal lords through a combination of charm, legal acumen, and strategic marriage alliances. His court at various German and Italian palaces was a center of chivalric culture. He also forced his rival Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, into exile in 1180, redistributing Henry's vast territories.

In 1189, Frederick took the cross for the Third Crusade at the age of sixty-seven, leading the largest army of the crusade overland through the Balkans and Anatolia. On June 10, 1190, he drowned while crossing the Saleph River in Cilicia. His death demoralized his army, most of which disbanded. In German legend, Frederick became a sleeping emperor, said to rest beneath the Kyffhäuser mountain, waiting to return in Germany's hour of greatest need.

Key accomplishments

• Led six campaigns into northern Italy to assert imperial authority over the Lombard cities
• Convened the Diet of Roncaglia in 1158, defining imperial rights through Roman law
• Negotiated the Peace of Constance in 1183, establishing a pragmatic settlement with the Italian communes
• Maintained peace and stability within Germany and expanded eastward colonization
• Led the largest army of the Third Crusade before his death by drowning in 1190

Quotes

An emperor who submits to the pope is not worthy of the name.

Attributed in Rahewin's continuation of Otto of Freising's Gesta Friderici (c. 1160)

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