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Thomas Bein
FREDERICK I BARBAROSSA (d. 1190)
Perhaps the greatest fi gure of the twelfth century, Fred-
erick I Barbarossa ruled the empire from 1152 until his
untimely death while on crusade in 1190. Barbarossa
was an effective and sometimes brutal ruler whose reign
was marked by his efforts to establish his authority in
Italy, often stormy relations with the papacy, and equally
stormy relations with the princes in Germany. His ef-
forts in one area often infl uenced the course of events
in another, and his reign strengthened the place of his
family in the empire and laid the foundation for both
subsequent successes and defeats.
According to his biographer Rahewin, Barbarossa
had golden hair, a reddish beard, piercing eyes, and a
cheerful face. He was also a devout son of the church
who honored the clergy and was a great builder of
palaces and other public buildings. A “lover of war-
fare, but only that peace may be secured thereby,”
Barbarossa, Rahewin tells us further, possessed the
virtues of an emperor. Indeed, his military prowess
and imperial bearing would be of value for Barbarossa
when his uncle, Conrad III, chose him as his successor.
Barbarossa was chosen because Conrad’s son was still
a minor and because of Barbarossa’s relations to two
of the greatest families in the empire, the Staufen and
the Welfs (Guelfs).
Although he was chosen for his important family
connections in the German lands of the empire, one of
Barbarossa’s primary concerns was the establishment of
his authority in Italy. Relations with Italy, and especially
with Rome, formed the core of his conception of the
imperial authority because without formal coronation
by the pope, Barbarossa could not claim the imperial
title. As a consequence he spent much time in Italy, and
shortly after the death of Conrad, Barbarossa made his
fi rst trip there. His relations began on a promising note as
he and Pope Eugenius III (1145–1153) agreed to respect
each other’s interests in the Treaty of Constance (March
23, 1153). In 1155, Frederick was crowned emperor by
the English pope, Hadrian IV (1154–1159), and restored
Hadrian to the throne in Rome by suppressing a revolt
led by Arnold of Brescia. But cordial relations would
not last as both sides railed to adhere to the terms of the
treaty, and advisers for both sides, including Rainald of
Dassel and Roland Bandinelli, stressed principle over
compromise. In 1157, the fi rst great confl ict erupted at
the imperial court in Besançon over Hadrians declara-
tion that Barbarossa had received the empire as a ben-
efi cium, or fi ef, from the pope. Hadrian would apologize
for the use of the term, explaining it meant “favor,” but
too late as relations had begun to sour.
An even greater breach would emerge during the
reign of Alexander III (1159–1181), the former Roland
Bandinelli. A disputed election in 1159 led to a schism
and the emergence of two popes, Alexander III and
Victor IV (1159–1164). The prolonged schism made
Barbarossa’s already complex dealings with Italy more
diffi cult. The northern Italian cities that had opposed the
expansion of the emperor’s authority into Italy found
a natural ally in Alexander, who, in turn, found much
support from the king of France. Barbarossa’s activities
during the schism had mixed success. In the 1160s he
managed to raze the northern Italian power of Milan
and force Alexander out of Italy. He witnessed the
succession of a series of imperial antipopes, including
Paschal III (1164–1168), who crowned Barbarossa’s
wife, Beatrix, empress and who was enthroned in Rome
by the emperor. Frederick’s invasions of Italy witnessed
victories over his rivals in northern Italy and Rome, and
his efforts to establish a universal power to rival Rome
that had begun in 1157 with the use of the term sacrum
imperium (holy empire) were continued with his can-
onization of Charlemagne in 1165. But Frederick had
been excommunicated by Alexander, and support for the
pope was too strong throughout western Christendom
and especially in Italy. The northern Italian cities formed
a league at Verona that built a castle at Alessandria that
would be a key stronghold and then rallied around the
rebuilt city of Milan in the Lombard League. Moreover,
although the emperor managed to take the city of Rome
in 1166, he did so at great cost because many of his
troops and key advisers, especially Rainald of Dassel,
died from malaria. He never managed to take Alessan-
dria and was defeated by the league in 1176 at the battle
of Legnano. A peace conference followed the defeat
and led to the peace of Venice in 1177. The settlement
lifted the excommunication and recognized the imperial
bishops appointed by Barbarossa. It also established
a permanent peace between emperor and pope and a
fi fteen-year truce between emperor and the Lombard
cities. Finally, it granted Barbarossa extensive rights in
the much coveted Mathildine lands of Tuscany.
Much of the confl ict with Rome involved the broader
concerns of imperial rights in Italy, and relations with
Rome were greatly complicated by Barbarossa’s Italian
policies. As emperor, Barbarossa saw control of Italy asFREDERICK I BARBAROSSA