Frederick Barbarossa
The Holy Roman Emperor whose red beard became a lasting moniker.
Frederick I, known as Barbarossa, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. Born in December 1122 to Duke Frederick II of Swabia (Hohenstaufen) and Judith of Bavaria (Welf), he descended from the empire's two leading families, making him an acceptable choice for the prince-electors. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 1152. He was crowned King of Italy on 24 April 1155 in Pavia and emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155 in Rome. Historians consider him among the Holy Roman Empire's greatest medieval emperors, combining longevity, ambition, organizational skills, battlefield acumen, and political perspicacity.
Quick Facts
- Reign
- 1155 – 10 June 1190
- Coronation
- 18 June 1155, Rome
- Predecessor
- Lothair III
- Successor
- Henry VI
- House
- Hohenstaufen
- Father
- Frederick II, Duke of Swabia
- Mother
- Judith of Bavaria
- Born
- Mid-December 1122
Lore & Background
Frederick's nickname Barbarossa ("Red Beard" in Italian) was first used by the Florentines only in 1298 to differentiate him from his grandson, Frederick II. In reality, his hair was blond, though a contemporary described his beard as "reddish." In German he was known as Kaiser Rotbart ("Emperor Redbeard"). The prevalence of the Italian nickname reflects the centrality of his Italian campaigns.
Two years after his imperial coronation, the term "sacrum" ("holy") first appeared in a document in connection with his empire. He was later formally crowned King of Burgundy at Arles on 30 June 1178. Frederick joined the Third Crusade and opted to travel overland to the Holy Land. In 1190, he drowned attempting to cross the Saleph River, leading to most of his army abandoning the Crusade before reaching Acre.
His contributions to Central European society include the re-establishment of the Corpus Juris Civilis, or Roman rule of law, which counterbalanced papal power that had dominated German states since the Investiture controversy. Due to his popularity, he was used as a political symbol by the Risorgimento, Wilhelmine Germany, and the Nazi movement (Operation Barbarossa, Barbarossa decree).
Reader's Guide
When Conrad III died in February 1152, only Frederick and the prince-bishop of Bamberg were at his deathbed. Both asserted Conrad had, in full possession of his mental faculties, handed the royal insignia to Frederick and indicated he—rather than Conrad's six-year-old son—should succeed him as king. Frederick energetically pursued the crown, and at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 the prince-electors designated him the next German king. He was crowned King of the Romans at Aachen on 9 March 1152.
Frederick inherited a Germany that was a patchwork of more than 1,600 individual states. For a quarter-century after Henry V's death in 1125, the German monarchy was largely nominal with no real power. The king was given no resources outside his own duchy and was prevented from exercising real authority. Frederick had the duchies of Swabia and Franconia, the force of his own personality, and very little else to construct an empire.
The Welf duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion, remained an implacable enemy of the Hohenstaufen monarchy. Frederick's reign involved balancing vassal princes against papal authority, often using imperial elections and crusades to secure loyalty. His story concludes during the Third Crusade, where he drowned crossing the Saleph River in 1190, leading most of his army to abandon the Crusade before reaching Acre.
More in Characters & Dynasties
Elsewhere in Crusader Kings
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced