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The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
Overview
The later Hohenstaufen, Henry VI, Philipp von Schwaben, Otto IV, Frederick II and Konradin cover some of the most famous events of the High Middle Ages.
The capture of Richard the Lionheart, the conquest of Sicily, the battle of Bouvines, the Fifth Crusade, the court of Frederick II, Cortenuova and the epic final struggle between the pope and the emperor
When Barbarossa drowns in the river Saleph in 1190 the crown transfers to his eldest surviving son, Henry, known to History as Henry VI.
This is the first time since the accession to personal rule of Emperor Henry III in 1039 that the imperial crown moves from father to grown up son without a glitch. In the previous 150 years, the passing of an emperor had been a dramatic event where all the cards were dealt anew. Just remember, Henry IV came to the throne as a child, Henry V by rebellion against his father, Lother III wasn’t in any meaningful way related to the imperial family, Konrad III came in by a coup against the named heir, as did Barbarossa. The French meanwhile had five transitions from father to son, with only one 6-year regency. This consistency in reproduction is one of the key reasons the Capetion dynasty was so much more successful than their German counterparts, though the greatest of the Capetions has only just appeared, Phillipp II Augustus (1180 to 1223). More, and a lot more about him later.
Talking about famous protagonists, the other contemporary of Henry VI is of course Richard the Lionheart (1189 to 1199). Of him we will hear even more.
But today’s episode is mainly about the lay of the land and the first attempt to achieve the main aim of his reign, control of the kingdom of Sicily.
As always, this episode has a dedicated website with the transcript and maps, pictures and additional comments to read along. It is to be found at Episode 70 – From Father to Son • History of the Germans Podcast
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
As always:
Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com
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To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.
So far I have:
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen
The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356
The Reformation before the Reformation
Henry VI (1190-1197)
The least known of the great Hohenstaufen emperors may also have been its most successful. During his reign he takes possession of the immensely rich kingdom of Sicily thanks to the proceeds of the ransom paid by Richard the Lionheart. He maintains some sort of order North of the Alps and even gets the princes to agree to make the empire an inheritable monarchy. But all this is too much for the popes who feel encircled and threatened to the core.
#70 From Father to Son
Emperor Henry VI takes over
In 1190 Henry VI. takes over from his father Barbarossa and one event after another draws his attention until he is defeated before Naples..
#71 To Catch a King
What to do with Richard the Lionheart and his ransom?
In 1194 Henry VI. gets properly lucky – Richard the Lionheart is captured. Only one guess where the ransom money will be deployed…
#72 Clouds on the Horizon
Pope and emperor Henry VI clash over Sicily
Henry VI. is at the top of the tree, king of Sicily and empreror on inheritance only. But he needs one person to agree to all that, the pope..
Philipp von Schwaben/ Otto IV (1198-1214)
Upon the death of emperor Henry IV two men contend for the crown. Philipp von Schwaben is the emperor’s younger brother and the duke of Swabia. His rival is Otto IV, son of Henry the Lion, the deposed duke of Bavaria and Saxony.
#73 One Pope, Three Emperors
Emperor Henry VI is dead and his son just 3 years old
Henry VI’s sudden death threw both the kingdom of Sicily and the Empire into turmoil. In 1198, two new kings are elected, Philipp of Swabia and Otto IV – and baby Frederick II had been elected too…
#74 The War that broke the Empire
The Civil War between Philipp of Swabia and Otto IV
For 10 years Otto IV. and Philipp of Swabia struggle for leadership in Germany, a war fought as much with money and verse as with steel
Frederick II (1196-1250)
There are few individuals in European history that have elicited as much controversy as this man. A ruthless, brutal power player or a free-thinking patron of the arts and sciences a man who drives his eldest son to suicide and elevates his illegitimate sons to become kings. They called him the Stupor Mundi, the Wonder of the World.
#75 Wet Pants and Other Miracles
Otto IV attacks Sicily and Frederick II chases him back to Germany
Frederick II rose from the confines of his besieged royal palace in Palermo to sole ruler of the empire through a series of miracles
#76 Urchin to Emperor
The upbringing of emperor Frederick II “Stupor Mundi”
Aged 5 he had lost both parents, gained and lost a crown. Did he really roam the streets of Palermo alone and hungry before becoming emperor?
#77 A Nail in the Coffin
Frederick II in Germany and the Sanctification of Charlemagne
The reign of Frederick II in Germany from 1212 to1220 drives both a real and a metaphorical nail in the coffin of Charlemagne
#78 A Crusade without Crusaders
The Sixth Crusade that brings Jerusalem back
Frederick II sets off on crusade as an excommunicate. he has a year to regain Jerusalem, otherwise all will be lost
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#79 Return to Sicily
Frederick II as a state builder in Sicily
In 1220-28 Frederick II breaks the power of the barons, expels the Pisans and Genoese and creates the Muslim colony in Lucera
#80 A different kind of Emperor
The Constitutions of Melfi
The constitutions of Melfi of 1231 were the most advanced, most modern law in the Middle Ages foreshadowing Machiavelli and Hobbes
#81 The King in Brackets
The sad story of Henry (VII), son of the emperor and rebel
The sad story of Henry (VII) eldest son and heir of emperor Frederick II who dies of his inability to understand the father he had barely ever met
#82 The Constitution of the Realm
The Mainzer Landfriede on 1235
In 1235 the imperial princes came to Mainz to celebrate the new modus operandi of the Holy Roman Empire: Everybody gets Everything they want
#83 The Court of Frederick II
The Invention of the Sonnet and other tall tales
At Foggia a circle of poets were the first to write in Italian and invented the Sonnet, plus tales taller than the giraffe in his garden
#84 The Art of Hunting with Birds
The Emperor as scientist
„Art of Hunting with Birds“ commissioned by the emperor Frederick II is as much a book about hunting as The Old Man and the Sea is about fishing..
#85 Cortenuova
The great (and only) victory of emperor Frederick II over Milan
The last great battle that made the HRE look as if it was indeed, Holy, Roman and an Empire
#86 Oops, we did it Again
Frederick II is excommunicated again!
After his victory over the Lombards, emperor Frederick II hurtles at ever increasing speed towards excommunication and doom..
#87 The Beast out of the Sea
The War of Words between Pope and Emperor
Excommunication is not the end, but deposition could be. Frederick must to avoid that at all cost – even by battle at sea
#88 A Road to Peace
Can Genghis Khan force a reconciliation between Frederick II and the Papacy?
Frederick II was desperate to reconcile with the pope. Though his foe Gregory IX had died, and he offered submission, things did not improve..
#89 Holy War
Pope Innocent IV calls a crusade against the emperor Frederick II
Pope Innocent IV declared a crusade against the emperor, the first purely political crusade. It culminates in a showdown before Parma
#90 Things Are Falling Apart
The Battle of Parma and the death of Piero delle Vigne
After the destruction of Victoria Frederick lashes out against his trusted advisor, Pietro da Vinea. Then Enzio is captured. The end is nigh.
#91 Hohenstaufen Epilogue
From Manfred of Sicily to the execution of Konradin
Frederick II died in 1250 leaving behind four capable heirs. But over the next 18 years all of them died in the struggle with the pope
#92 Papal Epilogue
From Boniface VIII’s Unam Sanctam to the Babylonian Captivity of the Church
45 years after the triumph over the Hohenstaufen, the papacy gets slapped in the face and their Babylonian Captivity begins
#93 Frederick II’s Afterlife
From Fake Emperors to Ernst Kantorowics
The Emperor Frederick II refuses to die. A revenant for 50 years, by1920 he is forgotten until Ernst Kantorowics produces his biography