Frederick I (Barbarossa)

(c. 1122–90)

   Monarch.

   Frederick was the nephew of Emperor Conrad III and was elected King of Germany in 1152 on his uncle’s death. He was anxious to restore the rights of the German monarchy and, to this end, he issued a proclamation of peace and built up an efficient administrative organisation. In 1154 he invaded Italy, with the approval of Pope hadrian iv. He repressed the Lombard communes and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. However, his alliance with the Pope disintegrated when Frederick’s plans threatened the Pope’s secular power. Pope Hadrian’s successor, Alexander III, was not recognised by Frederick, who chose to support the Antipope Victor IV. After a schism lasting seventeen years and in the face of military defeat, the Emperor submitted to Alexander, but not before he had persuaded his antipope to canonise his predecessor, the Holy Roman Emperor charlemagne. In 1189 Frederick embarked on the Third Crusade, which was designed to drive the Sultan Saladin from Jerusalem. This was the culmination of his ambitions as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, but he was drowned in the river Saleph in Cilicia before he could reach the Holy Land.

   G. Barraclough, The Origins of Modern Germany (1947);

   P. Munz, Frederick Barbarossa: A Study in Mediaeval Politics (1969);

   M. Pacaut, Frederick Barbarossa (1970).