Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I HOHENSTAUFEN

   Other names for Frederick were BARBAROSSA and Frederick I SWABIA.

  General Notes:

Drowned in the Calycadnus River in Cilicia, Turkey

Frederick I Barbarossa (Red Beard), Duke of Swabia, born in 1122, died in 1190, Roman Emperor, 1152-1190. He was a nephew of Conrad III A German king, his rule marked a happy and prosperous time in Germany.

Frederick I (Holy Roman Empire), called Frederick Barbarossa (1123?-1190), Holy Roman emperor and king of Germany (1152-1190) and king of Italy (1155-1190). He was born in Waiblingen, the nephew of King Conrad III of Germany. After the death of his uncle in 1152, Frederick Barbarossa was made German king and elected Holy Roman emperor.
From the 1150s to the 1170s Frederick was occupied with asserting his power in Italy. He fought with popes Adrian IV and Alexander III, and also with the Lombards. The Lombard League, consisting of the cities of Milan, Parma, Padua, Verona, Piacenza, Bologna, Cremona, Mantua, Bergamo, and Brescia, was formed in 1167 and acknowledged Pope Alexander as its leader. In 1176 Frederick was defeated by the Lombard League at Legnano. The defeat was significant in military history because it was the first major triumph of infantry over a mounted army of feudal knights. After the defeat, Frederick acceded to the demands of the Lombards for autonomy but retained imperial suzerainty over the towns.
Meanwhile, Frederick made Poland tributary to the Holy Roman Empire, raised Bohemia to the rank of a kingdom, and made Austria into an independent hereditary duchy. He also consolidated his power in Germany. Frederick initiated the Third Crusade in 1189, and the next year he set out for Asia Minor. After gaining two victories over the Muslims, he was drowned in the Calycadnus (now Göksu) River in Cilicia (now in Turkey).

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  Noted events in his life were:

• Alt. Birth: Alt. Birth, 1122, Swaben, Bavaria.

• Alt. Death: Alt. Death, 10 Jun 1190, Cilicia, Turkey.

Frederick married Beatrix DE MACON, daughter of Count Palatine Renaud III DE MACON and Agatha DE LORRAINE, on 16 Jun 1156. (Beatrix DE MACON was born about 1143 in Hoch-Bourgogne, France and died on 15 Nov 1184.)