Thirty years after the signing of the Concordat of Worms
the emperor Frederick I, called Barbarossa from his red beard, succeeded to the
throne. Frederick, the second emperor, of the Hohenstaufen dynasty [37] was
capable, imaginative, and ambitious. He took Charlemagne and Otto the Great as
his models and aspired like them to rule Christian Europe and the Church. His
reign is the story of many attempts, ending at length in failure, to unite all
Italy into a single state under German sway.
[37] The name of this German family comes from that of
their castle in southwestern Swabia.
FREDERICK AND THE PAPACY
Frederick's Italian policy brought him at once into
conflict with two powerful enemies. The popes, who feared that his success
would imperil the independence of the Papacy, opposed him at every step. The
great cities of northern Italy, which were also threatened by Frederick's
soaring schemes, united in the Lombard League to defend their freedom. The
popes gave the league their support, and in 1176 A.D. Frederick was badly
beaten at the battle of Legnano. The haughty emperor confessed himself
conquered, and sought reconciliation with the pope, Alexander III. In the
presence of a vast throng assembled before St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice,
Frederick knelt before the pope and humbly kissed his feet. Just a century had
passed since the humiliation of Henry IV at Canossa.
