Frederick II

(1194–1250)

   Monarch.

   Frederick II was the grandson of frederick i (Barbarossa). He was elected German king at the age of two, but when his father died the following year, the German princes refused to accept him. However, in 1212 he was again named king and, supported by his guardian Pope Innocent III, his position was consolidated. In 1220 he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. As a result of his threatening papal interests in central Italy, he was excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX in 1227 and again in 1239. Meanwhile he reached agreement with the Sultan al Kamil and in 1228 he had himself crowned king in Jerusalem. On this occasion he declared himself to be an instrument of God, following in the footsteps of the biblical King David. Subsequently he continued with his Italian plans and in 1245 Pope innocent iv declared a crusade against him, but with little effect. At the time of his death, the conflict between Pope and Emperor was still unresolved. Frederick was sceptical in religion, tolerant of Jews and Muslims, a brilliant linguist and a flamboyant diplomat: he was an outstanding figure of his age.

   E. Kantorowicz, Frederic II (1931);

   D.P. Waley, The Papal States in the Thirteenth Century (1961).