Frederick II

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German King and Roman Emperor, son ofHenry VI and Constance of Sicily; born 26 Dec., 1194; died at Fiorentina, in Apulia, 13 Dec., 1250.

He adopted hisfather's policy of makingItaly the centre of his power, and was interested inGermany only because it guaranteed to him his title to Upper and CentralItaly. On the other hand, he could not arrest the dissolution of the empire hastened by the failure of his predecessorOtto IV. The possessions of the empire and those of his own Hohenstaufenfamily, by means of whichFrederick I had sought to build up his power, were plundered. Frederick's sole desire was for peace inGermany, even if to secure this he had to make the greatestsacrifices; and for this reason, he granted to theecclesiastical and temporal lords a series of privileges, which subsequently developed into the independent sovereignty of these princes. This emperor's policy was entirely dominated by theidea that withoutSicily the possession ofItaly would always be insecure, and that a king ofItaly could not maintain himself without being at the same time emperor. This policy was naturally antagonistic to thepapacy. Thepopes, isolated as they were in CentralItaly, felt themselves compelled to prevent the union of SouthernItaly with the empire. Frederick recognized this fact, and for several years strove to maintain peace by extreme concessions.Innocent III had chosen Frederick to be his instrument for the destruction of theGuelph,Otto IV. In return forInnocent's support, Frederick had beenobliged to make promises to thepope at Eger (12 July, 1215), which would put an end to the undue influence of thecivil power over the Germanbishops. The emancipation of theChurch from the royal power dates from this time. The cause of Frederick's concessions to theChurch lay not in his religious convictions but in his political aims.

Frederick had also beenobliged to acknowledge thepope as his overlord inSicily, thus abandoning hisfather's cherished hopes of unitingSicily with the imperial crown ofGermany, though the attempts of thepope to entirely nullify this "personal union" were far from successful. Italian affairs continued to be the hinge on which turned thepapal policy towards the emperor, for thepopes in their efforts to sustain their traditional supremacy could not allow the emperor a controlling influence inItaly. The conflict between the two powers strangely influenced theCrusades. Frederick had been forced to pledge himself to take part in a newcrusade, for which inadequate preparations had been made by thepope, and the Council of Lateran (1215) fixed 1 June, 1216, as the time for beginning thecrusade.

The condition ofGermany, however, did not permit the absence of the emperor. At Frankfort in April, 1220, theGermany diet passed regulations concerning the Roman expedition and thecrusade. After Frederick's young son Henry had been chosen king, and Engelbert, the powerfulArchbishop ofCologne, named vice-regent, Frederick set out forItaly. He wascrowned emperor atRome (22 Nov., 1220), and renewed hisvow to take the cross, promising to begin the campaign in the following year. By a severe edict againstheretics, he placed thesecular power at the service of theChurch, and thus appeared to have arrived at a complete understanding with thepope. Even when he failed to keep his promise to start thecrusade in the following year, the friendly relations ofpope and emperor remained unaltered. For this the peace-lovingpope deserved the chief credit, though Frederick also strove to avoid a breach by his loyal policy towards theHoly See. Both Pope and emperor, however, saw that this peace was maintained only by skilful diplomacy, and that it was constantly imperilled by their conflicting interests.

Frederick at this time was chiefly solicitous aboutSicily, towards which he was drawn by his Norman parentage on the mother's side, while the character of his own German people did not attract his sympathies. He had grown up inSicily where Norman, Greek, andMohammedan civilization had intermingled, at once strengthening and repelling one another. The king, endowed with great natural ability, had acquired a wonderful fund of learning which made him appear a prodigy to his contemporaries, but, although he was intimately acquainted with the greatest productions of eastern and western genius, his soaring spirit never lost itself in romantic dreams. He eagerly studied both the more and the less important interests of the political and economical life of SouthernItaly. The funding of the University ofNaples sufficiently attests his interest ineducation. He was an intelligent admirer of the beauties of nature, hislove for which was intensified by his natural powers of observation. The unlimited resources of the physical world and its constantly multiplying problems increased the inclination of this sceptical spirit towards a thorough empiricism. In none of his contemporaries doesintellectual subjectivism show itself so strongly and at the same time so one-sidedly. This desire to penetrate into the secrets of theuniverse, as well as hisscandalous sensual indulgence, brought on Frederick the reputation of anatheist. In spite, however, of his sceptical tendencies, he was not anatheist. An epigrammatic utterance about "the three impostors, Moses, Christ andMohammed" has beenunjustly ascribed to him in later times, and he remained true to theChurch. Perhaps hisrationalistic mind took pleasure in the strictlylogical character ofCatholicdogma. He was not, however, a champion ofrationalism, nor had he any sympathy with the mystico-heretical movements of the time; in fact he joined in suppressing them. It was not theChurch of theMiddle Ages that he antagonized, but its representatives. It is in his conflict with thepope that his colossal character becomes manifest. At the same time, it becomes apparent how he combined force and ability with cunning and the spirit of revenge. His most prominent characteristic was his self-conceit. InGermany this megalomania was kept in check, but not so inSicily. Here he could build up a modern state, the foundation of which it istrue had already been laid by the great Norman kings.

The organization of hisSicilian hereditary states was completed by the "Constitutiones imperiales", published atAmalfi, 1231. In theselaws Frederick appears as sole possessor of every right and privilege, an absolute monarch, or rather an enlightened despot standing at the head of a well-ordered civilhierarchy. His subjects in this system hadduties only, but they were well defined. After practically completing the reorganization ofSicily (1235), the emperor attempted, like his powerful grandfather, to re-establish the imperial power in UpperItaly, but with insufficient resources. The result was a new hostile league of the Italian cities. Through the mediation of thepope, however, peace was maintained. During this time ArchbishopEngelbert of Cologne, supported by several princes of the empire who had been efficiently assisted by the royal power in their struggle with the cities, preserved the peace inGermany. After thearchbishop's death, however, a new order set in—a time of savage feuds and widespread disorder followed by the first open quarrel between thepapacy and the emperor. Frederick had completed extensive preparations for acrusade in 1227. Four years previously, he had espoused Isabella (or Iolanthe), heiress ofJerusalem, and now styled himself "Romanorum imperator semper Augustus;Jerusalem et Siciliæ rex". It was his serious intention to carry out his promise to begin hiscrusade in August, 1227 (under pain ofexcommunication), but a malignant fever destroyed a great part of his army and prostrated the king himself. NeverthelessGregory IX declared Frederickexcommunicated (29 Sept., 1227), showing by this step that he considered the time had come to break the illusive peace and to clear up the situation.

Although the radical antagonism between empire andpapacy did not appear on the surface, it was at the root of the ensuing conflict betweenChurch and State. At the beginning of this struggle theexcommunicated emperor started on hiscrusade against the express wish of thepope, wishing nodoubt to justify his attitude by success. On 17 March, 1229, hecrowned himself King ofJerusalem. On 10 June, 1229, he landed atBrindisi on his return. During the emperor's absence the curia had taken vigorous measures against him. Frederick's energetic action after his return forced thepope to recognize the emperor's success in the East and to release him fromexcommunication. The treaty of San Germano (20 July, 1230), in spite of many concessions made by the Emperor, was in reality an evidence ofpapal defeat. Thepope had been unable to break the power of his dangerous adversary. Frederick forthwith resumed his North Italian policy. Again his attempts were frustrated, on this occasion by the threatening attitude of his son Henry, who now appeared as independent ruler ofGermany, thereby becoming hisfather's enemy and unfurling the banner of rebellion (1234). After a long absence, Frederick now returned toGermany, where he tookprisoner his rebel son (1235). Henry died in 1242.

About this time Frederick married Elizabeth ofEngland (at Worms), and in 1235 held a brilliant diet atMainz, where hepromulgated the famous Laws of the Empire, a landmark in the development of the empire and its constitutions. New measures for the maintenance of peace were enacted, the right of private feuds was greatly restricted, and an imperial court with its own seal was constituted, thereby establishing a base for the future national law. As soon as the emperor had established order inGermany, he again marched against the Lombards, which conflict soon brought on another with thepope. The latter had several times mediated between the Lombards and the emperor, and now reasserted his right to arbitrate between the contending parties. In the numerous manifestos of thepope and the emperor the antagonism ofChurch and State becomes daily more evident. Thepope claimed for himself the "imperium animarum" and the "principatus rerum et corporum in universo mundo". The emperor on the other hand wished to restore the "imperium mundi";Rome was again to be the capital of the world and Frederick was to become the real emperor of the Romans. He published an energetic manifesto protesting against the world-empire of thepope. The emperor's successes, especially his victory over the Lombards at the battle of Cortenuova (1237), only embittered the opposition betweenChurch and State. Thepope, who had allied himself withVenice, againexcommunicated the "self-confessed heretic", the "blasphemous beast of the Apocalypse" (20 March, 1239). Frederick now attempted to conquer the rest ofItaly, i.e. thepapal states. His son Enrico captured in a sea-fight all theprelates who by the command ofGregory were coming fromGenoa toRome to assist at ageneral council.Gregory's position was now desperate, and, after his death (22 Aug., 1241), theHoly See remainedvacant for almost two years save for the short reign ofCelestine IV.

During this interval the bitterness existing between the rival parties seemed to moderate somewhat, and about this time the emperor was threatened by a new and dangerous movement inGermany. The German episcopate could ill bear the prospect of being henceforth at the mercy of the reckless tyrant ofItaly. Frederick sought to weaken the hostilebishops by favouring the secular princes and granting privileges to the cities. The energeticInnocent IV ascended thepapal throne on 25 June, 1243. To secure peace with the newly elected pontiff, the emperor was inclined to make concessions. The main issue at stake however was not settled, i.e., thejurisdiction of the emperor in NorthItaly. In order to nullify Frederick's military superiority in the future phases of the struggle,Innocent leftRome secretly and went by way ofGenoa to Lyons. Here he summoned ageneral council (21 June, 1245) by which Frederick was againexcommunicated. Immediately there appeared several pretenders inGermany, i.e., Henry Raspe of Thuringia and William ofHolland. It was only with the greatest difficulty that Frederick's son Conrad could hold his own inGermany, since the greater part of theclergy supported thepope. Most of the lay lords, however, remained faithful to the emperor and exhibited an attitude of hostility to theclergy. A contemporary writer describes as follows the situation in 1246: "Injustice reigned supreme. The people were without leaders andRome was troubled. Clerical dignity was lost sight of and thelaity were split into various factions. Some were loyal to theChurch and took the cross, others adhered to Frederick and became the enemies ofGod's religion."

For some time fortune alternately smiled and frowned on Frederick inItaly, but after completing all his preparations for a decisive battle, he died at Florentina in Apulia, and was buried at Palermo. In German legend he continued to live as the emperor fated to return and reform bothChurch and State. In more recent times, however, he has had to yield his place in popular legend toFrederick Barbarossa, a figure more in harmony with German sentiment.

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