essential to his authority, and, consequently, the emperor
spent much time on the peninsula, undertaking a number
of campaigns there. His efforts to establish his authority
in Italy were shaped by his appreciation of Roman law
and the teachings of the masters at Bologna. The clearest
example of the infl uence of Roman law on Barbarossa
and the desire to establish his rights in Italy can be found
in the so-called Roncaglia decrees of 1158. The decrees
were pronounced during the emperor’s second Italian
expedition and while tensions between Frederick and
Pope Hadrian remained high. The decrees, the result of a
council that included a number of jurists from Bologna,
listed and defi ned royal rights, (regalia) in Italy. The re-
galia included, as Rahewin notes, “dukedoms, marches,
counties, consulates, mines, market tolls, forage tax,
wagons tolls, transit tolls, mills, fi sheries, bridges,” and
an annual tax on land arid persons. The decrees also
asserted Frederick’s rights to nominate and confi rm the
various magistrates and judges of the cities of northern
Italy. Finally, the decrees instituted the newly develop-
ing law of fi efs in Italy, limiting the rights of alienation
of fi efs and defi ning more precisely the nature of a fi ef.
The promulgation of the Roncaglian decrees was an ef-
fort by Frederick to establish himself as the governing
authority in Italy, a legal pronouncement followed by
ruthless enforcement. Although an important step for
Barbarossa, the proclamation of the decrees was greatly
resented by the northern Italian cities and led to much
confl ict between them and the emperor. In fact, the
animosity generated by the decrees would complicate
Barbarossa’s efforts in Italy, a controversy that, in some
ways, would not be resolved until the peace of Venice.
Frederick’s other great concern was, of course,
Germany and his relations with the German princes,
especially with the Welf family and its greatest scion,
Henry the Lion. To avoid the confl icts of his predeces-
sor, Barbarossa needed to work at reconciliation with
the major families of the realm from the very beginning
of his reign. To satisfy the Staufen line he made his dis-
placed cousin and son of Conrad III, the eight-year-old
Frederick of Rothenburg, duke of Swabia. He granted
the Babenberger Henry Jasomirgott the duchy of Austria
after earlier depriving him of his Bavarian title. But the
greatest grants were made to the Welf, Henry, who was
granted the duchy of Bavaria and Saxony. And as duke
of Saxony, Henry was allowed to expand his authority
in the north by Frederick as a means of maintaining
Henry’s support for the emperor. Having placated the
great families, Barbarossa sought to strengthen his posi-
tion and that of his family. A fi rst step was taken when
Barbarossa married Beatrix, the heiress to the county
of Burgundy and parts of Province. Barbarossa sought
to expand familial and imperial lands throughout the
realm, attaching Staufen territory to himself and also
laying claim to possessions of other nobles when pos-
sible. Moreover, his willingness to allow Henry the Lion
to fall for failure to attend imperial courts and for abuse
of power as duke enabled Barbarossa to restructure the
duchies of the realm, break up the larger duchies of the
Lion, raise lesser noble families to higher authority, and
establish feudal law in Germany. Finally, Barbarossa
intervened in disputed episcopal elections and made
greater use of ministeriales (clerics) during his reign to
make his authority more effective.
Barbarossa’s last great act was his participation in
the Third Crusade. Long a supporter of these holy wars
and a participant in the Second Crusade, Frederick
took the cross at an assembly at Mainz in 1188. With
great hope, Barbarossa led a large force toward the
Holy Lands and enjoyed early success along the way.
Unfortunately, while crossing the river Saleph on June
10, 1190, Barbarossa drowned. His army fragmented,
with part returning home and part continuing on. The
death of the emperor weakened the crusader army and,
perhaps, undermined chances for success. Despite his
unfortunate end, Barbarossa had made a lasting impact
on the empire and left it at peace and in the relatively
capable hands of his son, Henry VI (d. 1197).
See also Gerhoh of Reichersberg; Hadrian IV,
Pope; Henry IV, EmperorFurther Reading
Benson, Robert L. “Political Renovatio: Two Models from Ro-
man Antiquity,” in Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth
Century, ed. Robert L. Benson and Giles Constable with Carol
D. Lanham. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982, pp.
339–386.
Die Urkunden Friedrichs I, ed. Heinrich Appelt. Monumenta
Germaniae historica. Die Urkunden der deut-schen Konige
und Kaiser 10, 1–3. Hannover: Hahn, 1975–1979.
Fuhrmann, Horst. Germany in the High Middle Ages, trans. Timo-
thy Reuter. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Gillingham, J. B. The Kingdom of Germany in the High Middle
Ages (900–1200). London: Historical Association, 1971.
Leyser, Karl. “Frederick Barbarossa and the Hohen-staufen
Polity,” in Communications and Power in Medieval Europe:
The Gregorian Revolution and Beyond, ed. Timothy Reuter.
London: Hambledon Press, 1994, pp. 115–142.
––––. “Frederick Barbarossa: Court and Country,” in Communica-
tions and Power in Medieval Europe: The Gregorian Revolu-
tion and Beyond, ed. Timothy Reuter. London: Hambledon
Press, 1994, pp. 143–155.
Morena, Otto. Historia Frederici I, ed. Ferdinand Güterbock.
Monumenta Germaniae historica. Scriptores rerum germani-
carum. Nova series 7. Berlin: Weidmann, 1930.
Munz, Peter. Frederick Barbarossa: A Study in Medieval Politics.
Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1969.
Otto of Freising and Rahewin. Gesta Friderici Imperatoris, ed.
G. Waitz. Monumenta Germaniae historica. Scriptores rerum
germanicarum 46. Hannover: Hahn, 1912.
——, and his Continuator, Rahewin. The Deeds of Frederick
Barbarossa, trans. Charles Chrisopher Mierow. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 1994.
Michael FrassettoFREDERICK I BARBAROSSA