Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor (1152-90), surnamed Barbarossa or Redbeard

b. circa 1122; d. 1190

He was the son of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Duke of Swabia, and succeeded his father as Duke of Swabia in 1147, and his uncle, Conrad III, as King of Germany in 1152. He reduced Germany to order during the early years of his reign, and then proceeded to establish the imperial authority in Italy. At Pavia he received the Lombard crown, and in 1152 was crowned Emperor in Rome by Adrian IV. Four years later began the bitter contest between Frederick and Alexander III, Adrian's successor. In the course of this northern Italy was ravaged, Frederick excommunicated, and finally decisively defeated by the Lombard League at Lenano (1176).

The following year he made his peace with the Pope, and was able to turn his attention to Germany, where he had to struggle against Henry the Lion, Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, head of the house of Guelph. In 1189, having settled the affairs of the Empire and established universal peace in his dominions, he resigned the government to his eldest son, henry, and put himself at the head of a Crusade. He won two great victories over the Muslims, but was drowned in Cilicia in 1190.

In Germany Frederick encouraged the growth of towns and took strong and successful measures to establish order. He is popularly remembered as a just and benevolent ruler; but his disastrous Italian campaigns did much to weaken the Empire and impoverish its lands.

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