FREDERICK
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FREDERICK
of authority, which found expression at the Diet of
Wiirzburg (1157), Frederick undertook a second Ital-
ian campaign in 1158. In the meantime, conditions
had changed in Italy; the pope, from being an oppon-
ent of the Normans, had become their ally. The
friendly relations between the pope and emperor had
suffered a shock after t he Diet of Besan9on ( 1 1 57) . On
that occasion the papal legate had called the imperial
dignity a benefice {beneficium) of the popes. The ex-
pression was ambiguous, since the Latin word bene-
ficium might mean either a personal benefit or a feudal
concession. There is no doubt, however, that the in-
dignant German princes were right in understanding
it to be an assertion of the superiority of the popes over
the emperors. In sharp denial of this claim, Frederick
^•^ '
Seal of iKEItEUICK bARB.iROSSA
" Frederic[us] Dei Gra[tia] Romano[rum] Imperator Aug[ustu]3'* From a document in the State archives at BerUn
defended his imperial sovereignty. The relations be- tween pope and emperor became more strained. Pope Adrian was considering the excommunication of the emperor, when his death relieved the existing tension. Relying on his owti resources, Frederick now began another campaign against the cities of Northern Italy. Milan succumbed after a short siege (7 Sept., 1158). At the Diet of Roncaglia the emperor undertook to define with precision the rights of the empire as against its subject rulers and cities, also to restore the earlier strong suzerainty by the appointment of imperial offi- cials (podesta) in the North Italian cities. His inten- tion was to establish peace, but the Lombards failed to understand this and openly rebelled. During his war with the city of Cremona occurred the disputed papal election of 1159. As supreme protector of Christendom, Frederick claimed the right to decide this quarrel. Of course, had he been able to enforce his claims it would have been a proof of the supremacy of the empire. The Synod of Pa via, assembled by Frederick in Feb., 1160, decided in favour of Victor IV. Thereupon, as Victor's protector, Frederick un- dertook to win over to the cause of this antipope the other rulers of Kurope. Milan, in the meantime, had surrendered (March, 1162) and met with a fearful ca.stigation.
The succes.ses of the emperor excited the envy of the Other European rulers. Pope Alexander III, ani-
mated with the spirit of Gregory VII, refused to
acknowledge the imperial supremacy. Around the
pope gathered all the enemies of Frederick. The uni-
versal papal power was destined to triumph over the
idea of a universal imperial power. The Western
rulers were determined to resist every attempt to re-
establish the imperial hegemony in the West. Fred-
erick was again left to his own resources and, after a
short sojovu-n in Germany, undertook a new expedi-
tion to Italy (1163). For a time the death of the anti-
pope, Victor IV, gave rise to hopes of a reconciliation
between Frederick and Alexander III, but soon the
emperor recognized another antipope. Paschal III.
At the same time an anti-imperial alliance, the Lom-
bard League, was formed by the cities of Verona, Vi-
cenza. and Padua; it was joined by Venice, Constan-
tinople, and Sicily. Internal troubles caused by the
schism prevented the emperor from coping success-
fully with the famous League. Some of the German
clergy, moreover, had espoused the cause of .\lexander
III, and Frederick was unable to overcome their oppo-
sition. Nevertheless, he again left Germany (1166),
marched through the disaffected cities of Northern
Italy, and, accompanied by the antipope, entered
Rome. There a deadly fever destroyed his army,
while behind him the Lombard insurrection assumed
more dangerous proportions. Lengthy negotiations
followed, and the emperor again attempted to over-
throw the coalition of the League and Pope .\lexander
(1174). The great battle of Legnano (29 May, 1176)
destroyed the imperial hopes, and left Frederick will-
ing to enter on negotiations for peace. The most im-
portant result of the ensuing treaty of Venice (1177)
was the failure of the emperor to establish his suprem-
acy over the pope; and in acknowledging the com-
plete equality of .Alexander, whom he now recognized
as pope, Frederick confessed the defeat of the im-
perial pretensions.
While Frederick was fighting in Northern Italy, the head of the Guelphs, Henry the Lion, had refused to give him armed assistance. Now he openh' rebelled against Frederick. The emperor overthrew Henry, and henceforth aimed at impeding the growth of his powerful vassals by dividing the dukedoms as much as possible. Bavaria, without StjTia however, was at this time granted to the Guelph house of Wittelsbach, which act naturally revived the feud between the Houses of Guelph and Hohenstaufen.
The Treaty of Constance (25 June, 1183) between Frederick and the Lombards deprived the pope of his important ally, the combined cities of Northern Italy. Shortly afterwards, Frederick's son Henry married Constance, the Xorman princess of Sicily. The papacy was now threatened both from the north and the south. Friendly relations between the pope and the emperor were also endangered by complaints about the exer- cise of the Jus spolii and the collection of the tithes by laymen. The coronation of Frederick's son Henry as King of Italy (27 Jan., 1186) led to an open rupture. The political weakness of the papacy was offset to some extent by the fact that Philipp von Heinsberg, Arch- bishop of Cologne and a powerful prince, became the champion of the pope. I?y skilful management and with the aid of a majority of the German bishops Frederick evaded the threatening peril.
The death of IMian HI and the election of Gregory VIII brought about a change in the dealings of the Curia with the empire, owing chiefly to the gloomy reports from the Holy Land.
At the Diet of Mainz in 1188, Frederick took the ero.ss, and on 11 May, 11S9, started for Palestine. On 10 June, 1 190. he met with a sudden death while cross- ing the River Saleph in .Vsia Minor.
SCMtiNSFELD, Jahrhitrher des deutschen Keichrs vntcr Fried- rich I. (Leipzig. 190S), Vol, I. 11,52-11.58; Pkutz. Kaiser Fried- rich I. (Danzig. 1871-73); Hadck, Friedrich Barbarossa alt Kirchenpolitiker (Leipzig, 1898): Wolfram. Friedrich I. und das Womuser Konkordal (Marburg, 1883); Schabfer, Die Verurlei-
