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Emperor Frederick I

Frederick Barbarossa
Friedrich I. Barbarossa.jpg
A golden bust of Frederick I, given to his godfather Count Otto of Cappenberg in 1171. It was used as a reliquary in Cappenberg Abbey and is said in the deed of the gift to have been made "in the likeness of the emperor".
Holy Roman Emperor
Reign 2 January 1155 – 10 June 1190
Coronation 18 June 1155, Rome
Predecessor Lothair III
Successor Henry VI
King of Italy
Reign 1155–1190
Coronation c. 1155, Pavia
Predecessor Conrad III
Successor Henry VI
King of Germany
formally King of the Romans
Reign 1152–1190
Coronation 9 March 1152, Aachen
Predecessor Conrad III
Successor Henry VI
King of Burgundy
Reign 1152–1190
Coronation 30 June 1178, Arles
Born 1122
Died 10 June 1190 (aged 67–68)
Saleph River, Cilician Armenia
Burial Church of St Peter, Antioch
Spouse
Issue
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House Hohenstaufen
Father Frederick II, Duke of Swabia
Mother Judith of Bavaria
Religion Roman Catholicism

Frederick I (German: Friedrich; 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick Barbarossa, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 1152. He became King of Italy in 1155 and was crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155. Two years later, 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. He was named Barbarossa by the northern Italian cities which he attempted to rule: Barbarossa means "red beard" in Italian; in German, he was known as Kaiser Rotbart, which has the same meaning.

Before his imperial election, Frederick was by inheritance Duke of Swabia (1147–1152, as Frederick III). He was the son of Duke Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and Judith, daughter of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, from the rival House of Welf. Frederick therefore descended from the two leading families in Germany, making him an acceptable choice for the Empire's prince-electors.

Historians consider him among the Holy Roman Empire's greatest medieval emperors. He combined qualities that made him appear almost superhuman to his contemporaries: his longevity, his ambition, his extraordinary skills at organization, his battlefield acumen and his political perspicuity. Among his contributions to Central European society and culture include the reestablishment of the Corpus Juris Civilis, or the Roman rule of law, which counterbalanced the papal power that dominated the German states since the conclusion of the Investiture Controversy.


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