This week, after 15 episodes we will finally leave the emperor Barbarossa behind, though it is almost impossible to ever get away from him. No other medieval ruler is still so present in the national psyche, not as the man he was but as the myth he was turned into. So today we say goodbye to the man and next time we will take a look at the myth. 

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the History of the Germans: Episode 65 – The Third Crusade 

This week, after 15 episodes we will finally leave the emperor Barbarossa behind, though it is almost impossible to ever get away from him. No other medieval ruler is still so present in the national psyche, not as the man he was but as the myth he was turned into. So today we say goodbye to the man and next time we will take a look at the myth. 

Quick apology, I was supposed to put up a page for the last episode with transcripts, maps and images. This has unfortunately not yet happened. The same goes for many other things I wanted to do but have not. This page as well as the one accompanying this episode should be up shortly after it is released, as usual under histioryofthegermans/65-2.  

But before we start as always, a reminder. The History of the Germans Podcast is advertising free thanks to the generous support from patrons. And you can become a patron too and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and other privileges from the price of a latte per month. All you have to do is sign up at patreon.com/historyofthegermans or on my website historyofthegermans.com. You find all the links in the show notes. Thanks a lot, to James and the extraordinarily generous Michael who have already signed up. 

As we heard last week Barbarossa is going on crusade, not just as another ruler, but as the emperor to fulfil the last and final act of his career, free Jerusalem from the yoke of Saladin and possibly the last and final act that brings about 1000 years of bliss by putting down his crown in the Church of the Holy sepulchre, fulfilling an ancient prophecy. 

This all sounds a bit bonkers and probably is. But despite its spiritual objectives, Barbarossa went about organising this crusade with his usual rationality and thoroughness.  

It was not his first rodeo. Barbarossa had been on crusade before, 30 years earlier in the ill-fated crusade of his uncle, king Konrad III. And he remembered the lessons learned. 

The first and most crucial one was that participation of unarmed and poor pilgrims had to be avoided at all costs. These men and women had slowed down the progress through the Balkans in 1147, had consumed much of the scarce water and food and were responsible for the majority of the altercations with the local populace. And, most crucially, they were totally useless on the battlefield. He did get support in his attempt to hold back the pilgrims from the pope himself who ordered that only well-equipped and well-funded soldiers should get the absolution that come with a crusade.   

The second crucial point was discipline. Konrad found himself in all sorts of difficulties with local potentates because order in the army was difficult to enforce. Barbarossa was not willing to allow any distractions of that kind. He instated draconian punishments for stealing and plundering ranging from cutting off hands to execution. And he was not shy in following through. He even executed noblemen who had not stuck by the rules. 

In terms of route, there are now two well established ways to get to the Holy Land. One is via Italy. Crusaders would gather at one of the great maritime republics, Genoa, Pisa or Venice and board huge galleys that could take them and their horses and armour across to the crusader harbours in Acre, Tyre or Tripoli. These journeys were perilous and very, very expensive but much quicker. They could also rely on a fully operational supply chain that offered armour, weapons and horses from their warehouses in Italy, the harbours along the route and in the Holy Land itself. The great republics were able to provide financing, either as credit or by money transfer from back home.  

The cost were initially very high because the galleys returned mostly empty. The few Crusaders who survived long enough to book a return passage would leave their  horses behind and bring souvenirs along. One popular souvenir was earth from Mount Golgatha which is assumed to be where the final judgement would start and hence those buried there would be the first to be sent to paradise. The Camposanto in Pisa was covered with earth of Golgatha brought back on crusader galleys because, in the usual one-upmanship of Italian communes, the Pisans wanted to be the first through the gate. 

This route was however not the one Barbarossa chose. He decided to take the longer and even more dangerous land-route through Hungary, Byzantium and Turkish Anatolia. Why he did that is not recorded. It may be for economic reasons, by now Germany had already fallen behind France and England in terms of wealth. It could be because he wanted to avoid getting into a competition with Richard Lionheart and Phillippe Auguste of France over scarce shipping capacity. Or he may have taken advice from his cousin Henry the Lion who had been to Jerusalem in 1172 and had nearly drowned twice on the way down so that he chose the land route on the way back. 

Barbarossa set the date of departure for May 11, 1189. He left his realm in reasonable order. His son, King Henry VI was 24 which made him an old hand as a medieval ruler. He had run several military campaigns and been involved in all his father’s major decisions over the last decade. As for Henry the Lion, despite the formal reconciliation between him and his adversaries in Saxony, staying in Germany was not an option. Henry was given the choice of joining the crusade or going into exile in England for the duration. He chose England. 

The army that left Regensburg in the early summer of 1189 was one of the largest and best equipped Barbarossa had ever commanded. About 3,000 knights and 12,000 well-armed foot soldiers. His son Frederick VI, duke of Swabia was the second in command. As per normal, a gaggle of bishops came along, though no archbishop. Amongst temporal lords the duke of Bohemia, Duke Berthold of Andechs, the margrave of Baden and another roughly 30 counts and 25 noble knights had joined.  

The other group that will play an important role on the crusade and even more so in later Hohenstaufen history were the Ministeriales. Just to recap, a Ministeriale is a serf-knight. He is not a free man but bound to his master by a servile relationship, unable to own land outright and to shift allegiance. Ministeriales receive the same military training as knights and are given fiefs to sustain them.  Ministeriales have been around for over a 100 years by now and rules have softened. Many Ministeriales are able to pass their position onto their sons. These sons often marry into the aristocracy or daughters of other Ministeriales creating over time dynastic complexes that rival free knights and sometimes counts. And they rise to prominence at court. Two of those, Heinrich von Kalden and Markward von Annweiler serve in imperial court roles and are close advisers. They will later be significant supporters of his son Henry VI.  

The first leg of the journey involved crossing Hungary. This went very smoothly. King Bela of Hungary had offered to support the crusaders with food, drink and transport. The emperor, his entourage and the baggage train travelled by boat along the Danube whilst the army followed along on foot.  

At Belgrade the crusaders entered Byzantine territory. From here the journey had to continue on foot. Though the Danube flows down to the Black Sea, shipping ends beyond Belgrade because of the Iron Gates, a section of fast flowing canyons that weren’t navigable for medieval vessels.  

King Bela took his leave and his boats home. Provisions were loaded onto carts and the host followed the smaller great Morava river. The Byzantine governor of the province greeted the emperor and his magnates with all due honours. Barbarossa had agreed free passage with the Byzantine empire a year earlier and John Dukes, one of the leading figures at court in Constantinople had sworn to provide supplies, guides and safety. When he got to the border Barbarossa had expected to find a letter from the Emperor Issac II Angelos welcoming him to his lands, similar to the letter Konrad III had received at that point in 1147. But there was no letter. There was also no escort and were no guides. The Basileus he was told was in campaign in Asia Minor and hence not yet aware of his coming which explains the lack of letter of welcome. 

What had happened? Before we go into the events of 1189, we have to go back to 1180. The emperor Manuel, the one who had featured so regularly in previous episodes had died aged 61 after 37 years on the throne. His reign was already one of near constant crisis as Byzantium had to fight against Hungarians and Serbs on the Balkans, had fallen out with the maritime republics, in particular Venice and tried to wrestle Anatolia back from the Turks and the Crusaders. The great miracle of his reign was that it held together for so long. It was only in 1176 that he suffered a serious defeat at Myriokephalon against the Turks under Kilij Arslan II.  

Upon his death his wife, Maria of Antioch reigned as regent for her 12-year-old son Alexios II Komnenos.  Maria was not only renowned for her beauty, she was also the daughter of a crusader and supported the Italian merchants in Constantinople. Her opposition was led by her stepdaughter, also Maria and Manuel’s cousin Andronicus Komnenos, who preferred a harsher treatment of the Latins, even though she herself was married to a Latin crusader. The conflict exploded onto the streets and resulted in a massacre of the Pisan and Genoese merchants. The Venetians had already been expelled by Manuel. Maria of Antioch was toppled. The rebels made Alexios II sign his mother’s death warrant before the boy himself was secretly murdered.  

Andronicus’ tried to bring order to the fraying empire, but his regime was considered very harsh. In particular the aristocrats he tried to bring in line opposed him.  His regime grew violent and as chaos set in, King William II of Sicily invaded Greece. William II took Durazza, todays Durres in Albania and sacked Thessaloniki. When he mustered to march his troops towards Constantinople, the population revolted and placed Isaac II, Angelos on the throne. Andronicus was handed to the mob who tortured him for three days before he was hung by his feet in the Hippodrome.    

Isaac’s regime was initially more stable than Andronicus. He raised an army and sent William II of Sicily packing in 1186. He pacified the borders through marriage alliances. He himself married the daughter of the King of Hungary one of Byzantine’s greatest foes and his niece was given to the leader of the Serbs who had wriggled out of imperial overlordship and expanded. 

But by 1189 when Barbarossa demanded free passage, things had turned for the worse. The Bulgarians had rebelled against higher taxes and established what is called the Second Bulgarian empire. The general he had sent to put down the revolt had turned his weapons against his master and had marched against Constantinople. The Serbs had also established a pretty much autonomous state. For all intents and purposes, the hold of the Byzantine Empire on the Balkans was fragile.  

Before he had set off, Barbarossa had sent envoys to Isaac II Angelos to confirm the right to free passage and access to supplies through regular markets. He assured him of his peaceful intentions and sole desire to reach Jerusalem. 

However, Isaac II did not get this warm and cosy feeling. Barbarossa was a crusader given previous experiences, a threat. He was also in a close marriage alliance with William of Sicily who had just tried to take Constantinople. The empire was allied with Pisa and Genoa whose citizens had only recently have their limbs torn apart by the mob in his capital. He might even have heard about these age-old diplomatic links to the Seldjuc Turks to his south.  

To say the least, Isaac did not like the idea of a massive Latin army going through his territory. He knew that he did not have the resources to stop Barbarossa and that his other ally, the King of Hungary, would not be willing to prevent a crusade. So, he went out for the full Monty.  

He made an alliance with Saladin, yes, Saladin, the man who had taken Jerusalem from the Christians. Isaac allowed public prayers to be said for the Abasid Caliph in the mosque of Constantinople.  

But where he went completely overboard was when Isaac imprisoned Barbarossa’s envoys, the bishop of Munster and the count of Nassau. The two envoys had their possessions taken and handed over to Saladin’s representatives who taunted the helpless Germans. 

Barbarossa up in Brabitschewo did not know what had happened to his emissaries, but the absence of letters from them made him suspicious. That suspicion grew as he received false intelligence from the governors’ aides.  

After a week of waiting for a more helpful response, the army set off down towards Sofia. What awaited them was the so-called forest of the Bulgars, which is to confuse everyone actually in Serbia. The journey was perilous and the army was constantly attacked by bandits. They finally arrived in Nis, formerly a centre of Byzantine power, but now half destroyed after it had been taken by the Serbs. The Serbs had become a semi-independent polity under their leader Stephan Nemanja. 

The Serbs gave a Barbarossa a splendid reception. They gave the crusaders wine, flour, sheep and cattle as well six extremely useful seals to take along from here. Beyond hard to maintain aquatic animals, they also offered him an alliance that would encompass the recently independent empire of the Bulgars. All they asked was that the emperor would enfeoff them with the lands they already held.  

Tempting as that may have been, Barbarossa refused. Awarding their land to the rebels would have meant war with Constantinople. His objective was however Jerusalem, and he did not want to make the crusade dependent upon being able to overturn the regime of Isaac. 

The other people present in Nis was a delegation from Isaac who saw the emperor drinking and joking with the Serb rulers and – though Barbarossa assured them he would not grant them what they wanted – felt uneasy. They believed that some sort of under the table arrangement had been made to the detriment to Isaac, who quite frankly hadn’t expected anything less.  

The level of mutual suspicion deepened when the Byzantines gathered troops on the passes leading to Sofia whilst the Germans were now given Serbian escorts to protect against the bandits. Sometimes they got through and sometimes the bandits got caught. Bishop Diepold of Passau captured 24 attackers and had them dragged into the camp at the tails of their horses. They admitted to be in the pay of the Byzantine emperor and were hanged by their feet “like wolves” as the chroniclers said. 

When they finally got to Sofia the great reception by senior Byzantine nobles and the promised supplies weren’t there. The city was almost empty, its citizens had fled. There was no food. 

At that point it was clear that emperor Isaac wanted them dead. Reports came that the bodies of crusaders who had died and had been buried in the forest of the Bulgars had been dug up and hung from the trees along the road.  

It nearly came to a battle with regular Byzantine troops a pass called Trajan’s gate. 500 Byzantines had fortified the position and awaited the army. However, as they saw the size of the crusader throng, they fled, leaving the road open to Philippopolis, modern day Plovdiv in Bulgaria. Again, like in Sofia the city is empty of inhabitants but there is some food. 

Envoys from Isaac II arrive with a letter from the emperor. I am sure as usual written in gold on purple paper the letter contains a long list of complaints against Barbarossa who he accuses of wanting to conquer Constantinople and make his son Frederick emperor. His dealings with the Serbs are suspicious. Bottom line is that he would allow the “king of the Germans” to cross at the Hellespont only if he receives hostages of his choosing.  

It is here at the latest that Barbarossa hears about the treatment of his ambassadors at the court of Isaac II. This humiliation of the men travelling under the imperial banner was an insult, not just to Barbarossa and the empire but to the crusade in general and thereby to the whole of Latin Christendom.  

In spite of this double insult, Barbarossa retains his cool. He declares that he would not negotiate until his ambassadors are returned to him safe and sound, their losses compensated and the behaviour explained. Without a valid peace, this is now war. 

The ban on plundering and murdering of the local population is lifted. The army will spend the next 11 weeks in Philippopolis devastating Byzantine lands. This is almost as long as it had taken them to get to where they are. By the end they will control most territory north of Constantinople. 

But that wasn’t why they came. They really wanted to go to Jerusalem. To get there you had to cross the Hellespont. And that meant you needed ships. Not only that, you also needed to be sure the army would not be attacked when it was most vulnerable during the crossing. Given how deteriorated the relationship between Isaac and Barbarossa was, there was no way the Germans would go across without some serious assurances, say some very senior hostages.  

The French knights under Lous VII had the same problem in 1147 and they had come to the same conclusion. The only way to force the Vasilev was by threatening to take Constantinople. And that is exactly what Barbarossa did, thereby proving all of Isaac’s suspicions.  

The war of words escalated once Isaac had sent the bishop of Munster and the count of Nassau who he had held in captivity back. Finally, the court hears from their own mouths how they have been treated. The whole army roars in anger when they hear the imperial representatives were kept in confinement with meagre rations and all their possessions taken from them. The diplomatic exchanges are now bordering on rudeness. Barbarossa calls the Basileos a mere King of the Greeks and points out sarcastically that he would not trust any oath he swears. Isaac responds with equally rude letters.  The patriarch in Constantinople offers absolution to any Greek who kills a crusader. Accusations and counteraccusations run around their respective cultural zones. The western world hears theories that Isaac II has formed a permanent alliance with Saladin to expel the crusaders for good, has allowed Friday prayers in his capital and will ultimately convert to Islam. Saladin, they say, have had sent the Byzantines 25 tons of poisoned fruit and 50 tons of poisoned flour to kill crusaders. All this fuels the notion of Byzantium as a duplicitous people in hock with the Muslims and out to destroy Outre-mer. 

Plans are now afoot to take the city of Constantinople itself. Barbarossa writes to his son to hire a fleet of warships from Pisa and Genoa needed to take the great city on the Bosporus. His army is now regularly engaged in fighting with Byzantine troop contingents and one encounter could almost be described as a battle. Barbarosa moves his main forces to Adrianople, closer to the Bosporus.  The zsar of the Bulgars offers him thousands of archers for a siege of Constantinople. 

It is not farfetched to believe that if the Pisan and Genoese fleets had made it to Constantinople, the city would have been taken, not by the Venetians and French in 1204 but by the Pisans, Genoese and Germans in 1189. Can you imagine the Horses of St. Marks standing next to the leaning tower of Pisa or even weirder, on the façade of Speyer cathedral?  

But it did not happen, because Isaac II finally caved. He wrote to Barbarossa in Adrianbople, now calling him the Emperor of Ancient Rome, to say that he would provide ships to cross the Hellespont and offered him a list of hostages. Barbarossa agrees, but when Isaac makes the agreement public, the mob rejects it and so it is not signed. Barbarossa’s troops now move even closer to the city, cutting it off from vital food supplies.  

Another envoy from Isaac arrives, who now senses that the end is nigh if he does not give in. he promises everything, ships to be put under Barbarossa’s command, hostages, a market to buy provisions at fair prices, the Byzantine army moved four days march away from the point of embarkation, restitution of the envoys possessions etc., etc. pp. 500 citizens of Constantionople are made to swear by the agreement before Markward of Annweiler.  

On March 1^st, 1190 does the army finally march towards the Hellespont, having lost almost half a year in ultimately unnecessary fighting with Isaac II. Barbarossa’s timing is now way off. In his initial plan he would by now be in Jerusalem campaigning against the infidels. Instead, by April do they reach Philadelphia, the last bit of fully Byzantine controlled territory in Anatolia. From here it is a march through 400km of territory devastated and depopulated by perennial war between Turks and Byzantium.   

The next waypoint is Iconium, modern Konya, the capital of sultan Kilij Arslan II. Barbarossa had made an agreement with him too that allowed for free passage. Kilij Arslan was in principle supportive of the crusaders as they kept Saladin in check who he feared may go after him next. 

So far so good, but what Barbarossa had not realised is that Kilij Arslan II had limited control over what happened on the territory he formally was in charge of. The local turkmen tribes did pretty much what they liked and his sons of which he had many, had wrestled power away from daddy creating their own little fiefdom. The nice piece of parchment from Kilij Arslan II guaranteeing protection from attack was worth precisely nothing. 

The other problem was that they had lost far too much time. The last thing an army of Northern European wants to do is march through the boiling summer heat of Anatolia. And that is exactly what happened. Not only that, because they were almost constantly under attack, they wore their armour all the time. Food was now extremely scarce and knights began eating their horses. 

As they marched, they went from one place Christians had been defeated to the next. Doryleum, where Konrad III’s endeavour had perished, Myriokephalon where Manuel was defeated and so on. The roads were treacherous, and horses and provisions fell into crags and canyons. Whenever they encountered a settlement, the crusaders took revenge by murdering the women and children of their tormentors.  

Finally, the Seldjuc Turks showed their true colours. Near Konya they set themselves up for battle. The crusaders worn down by their ordeal, dirty, their armour rusty and short of food, water and horses looked like easy prey.  

On the eve of battle Count Ludwig of Helfenstain bolstered the morale of the crusaders when he declare he had seen  Saint George in his shimmering coat riding his white horse in the sky before the army in his dreams.  

The German army was lined up in a triangular formation. The top was held by the bishops of Wurzburg and Munster, the left flank by Frederick of Swabia and the right flank by the emperor himself. In the centre were the footsoldiers, defending the unarmed civilians and the baggage train. 

The Turks saw the imperial standard and went straight for it. Frederick sent some of his knights to support his father. Since the terrain was for once favourable to the Latins, the knights could fight in their tight formation and launch their thunderous charges. The Turks in light armour had nothing to put against it. And so, against all odds, the crusaders defeated the Turks. 

A few days later they reached the city of Konya. There they camped in the gardens of the sultan outside the walls where there was water and grazing in abundance.  The Turkish army lay outside the city on a crescent shape around the crusader camp. The next morning the army was divided in two parts. One was to fight the Turkish cavalry outside the walls whilst the other was to break into the city.  

That sounds like utter madness and probably was. Besieging a city whilst being attacked in the rear is a challenge at the best of times, but without siege engines and after 400 km march through heat and constant attacks is pretty much hopeless. 

But then luck came to the rescue. Whilst all this went on, both sides were still negotiating. And at some point the old Sultan came out on of the city gates, seemingly willing to hand back a prisoner they had made before. Frederick of Swabia did not quite realise what was going on, aparty from the gate being opened and only a small contingent coming out. He took his half of the army and ran up against the sultan who had turned tail, leading the crusaders into the city. 

The usual sacking and pillaging followed. The other half of the army never had to engage the Turks who had encircled them. The next day the crusaders took away 100,000 mark of silver, provisions to last them for weeks and 6000 horses and mules to replace those they had lost en route. The sultan signed a peace deal and provided noble hostages that guaranteed free passage for the remaining leg of the journey in their lands. 

This was the last battle Barbarossa would ever fight.  

They left Konya a day later as the smell of decaying flesh made staying impossible. They rested for a week in a camp a few miles away, repairing their equipment and enjoying the abundance of food and drink. 

Four days later they reached the border with Armenia at Laranda. The ruler of Armenia, Leon II had been in correspondence with Barbarossa for a long time. Leon II would like to be elevated to King of Armenia, an honour only an emperor can bestow. Because Leon II was in constant conflict with Byzantium, Barbarossa was his man.    

All was set up for such a coronation. The bishop of Wuerzburg had brought the ordo for a coronation under the Latin rites and Leon II had offered to become an imperial vassal. Veen more surprising, this agreement was indeed serious, unlike the promises of the Byzantines and Turks. The army was now guided by local scouts and there were no more attacks.  

The route led along terraces overlooking the river Saleph. It was extremely hot. As there was no longer any concerns about attacks, the strict marching order dissolved. Everyone just shlepped along in broadly the same direction desperately looking for shade of relief from the heat. 

On June 10^th the Armenian guide showed Barbarossa and his entourage a path that led down to the river.  The path was steep, and they had to go on foot. They are now just 8km from the capital of the ruler of Armenia. What exactly happened on the shore of this river we will never know.  

My favourite version is that Barbarossa crossed the river, and now in the shade, sat down for lunch. He would be down in the presence of his new vassal by evening and so decided to have a bath, wash off the dust of the long journey. He was 67 years old, but he had spent his entire life on horseback. He was definitely fitter than I ever was. He was a good swimmer and had enjoyed the occasional swim in the Adriatic with his best friend Otto von Wittelsbach.  

The water of the Saleph is icy cold and it may be that the combination of heat and cold had brought on a sudden heart attack. Or he may have slipped and was dragged along in the water and drowned. When his men realised what had happened, they jumped after him but could only drag him out dead. 

The army is in shock. The emperor who was to go to Jerusalem and bring about 1000 years where Satan would be in chains was dead. The whole endeavour, all the pain and suffering was for nought. More than that 

The fact that the emperor had not had a good death, had not been able to  confess before he died and had not been given the last rites was an indication that the whole enterprise displeased God. 

Almost immediately the great nobles set off for home.  

Barbarossa’s body was brought to Seleucia and embalmed. The crusaders mourned him for four days.  

His intestines were removed and buried in the cathedral of Tarsus, home of the Apostle Paul. Duke Frederick took over as leader of what was left of the crusade. They took the body with them to Antioch. There the flesh was cooked off the bones and buried in the cathedral of St Peter.  

The actual bones remained with the crusaders who journeyed to Tyre, seemingly with the idea of burying them in Jerusalem. As the third crusade never took Jerusalem, the bones never got there. Where they ended up, nobody knows. Many believe he was finally buried in the cathedral of Tyre or maybe Akkon.  

Wild stories began circulating as early as the 13^th century that he had not died at all. The mythical prester John who dwelled in the far east had given him a stone that made him invisible and he is still walking amongst us. By the 19^th century the tale had turned towards the Kyffhauser mountain, 3,400km from Tyre. And there he still sleeps under that Wilhelmine monstrosity, only to rise when Germany needs him. 

The myth of Barbarossa is for next time. It will unfortunately not be next week. I have been on the trot for 22 episodes, and I need a break. So, the next episode will be on July 7^th. Once we covered the myth I was thinking of doing a few episodes about Germany in the year 1200. It has been a while since we have taken a look at how people lived, their customs, laws and behaviours. A lot has changed since the year 1000. I hope you like the idea. 

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