Podcast
vvvThe podcast that does what it says on the tin: a narrative history of the German people that starts in the year 919 AD and hopes to get all the way to 1991. Episodes are 25-35 min long and drop on Thursday mornings. As Gregory of Tours (539-594) said: “A great many things keep happening, some good, some bad” .
The show is now entering its 8th season. So far we have covered:
The Ottonian Emperors (Ep. 1- 21)
– Henry the Fowler (Ep. 1)
– Otto I (Ep. 2-8)
– Otto II (Ep.9-11)
– Otto II (Ep. 11-14)
– Henry II (ep. 15-17)
– Germany in the Year 1000 (ep. 18-21)
The Salian Emperors and the Investiture Controversy (Ep. 22-42)
– Konrad II (Ep. 22- 25)
– Henry III (Ep. 26-29)
– Henry IV & Canossa (Ep. 30-39)
– Henry V and the Concordat of Worms (Ep. 40-42)
Barbarossa and the early Hohenstaufen (Ep. 43-69)
– Lothar III (Ep. 43-46)
– Konrad III (Ep. 47-49)
– Frederick Barbarossa (Ep. 50-69)
Frederick II and the later Hohenstaufen (Ep. 70-94)
-Henry VI (Ep. 70-72)
– Philipp of Swabia (Ep. 73-74)
– Otto IV (Ep. 74-75)
– Frederick II (Ep. 75-90)
– Epilogue (ep. 91-94)
Eastern Expansion (Ep. 95-108)
The Hanseatic League (Ep. 109-127)
The Teutonic Knights (Ep. 128-137)
The Interregnum and the early Habsburgs (Ep. 138 ff
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
Facebook: @HOTGPod
Twitter: @germanshistory
Instagram: history_of_the_germans
Reddit: u/historyofthegermans
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
Key Events
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.
1190-1192
For the first time in 150 years does the empire see a smooth transition of the crown from father to son. His wife’s inheritance of the kingdom of Siciliy did not remain uncontested. A first campaign ends unsuccessfully before the walls of Naples
1193-1194
Henry VI. wins the lottery – twice. King Richard of England is captured and the usurper Tancred of lecce died – Sicily is his – and his 40-year-old wife gives him an heir
1195-1197
The wonderous gains of 1194 need to be conserved. And that means an agreement with the papacy – not that easy
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.
1197-1200
The crusade meant to appeas ethe papacy sets off – minus the emperor. Uprisings in Sicily hold him back and then he suddenly dies, throwing both the kingdom of Sicily and the empire into turmoil
1201-1208
The conflict between Philipp and Otto is only partially won on the battlefield. Diplomacy, bribery and entertainment play its role. But what nobody expected was murder most foul.
1208-1214
Only one male member of the House of Waiblingen is left. Otto IV goes after him inciting the wrath of pope Innocent III. Five miracles and the most important battle in medieval Europe later, Otto IV dies alone and forgotten in his palace in Brunswick
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.
1194-1214
Little is known but much has been written about the youth of emperor Frederick II, not only because it was exceedingly turbulent, but also because it forged a man who burst on the European stage aged 14 already displaying many of those personality traits that would make him known as the Stupor Mundi, the Astonishment of the World. How did he become who he became?
1212-1220
This week we take a look at the reign of Frederick II in Germany from 1212 to 1220. Most of what he did was putting a nail in an actual coffin whilst also putting the metaphorical nail into the carcass of imperial rule in Germany
1220-1228
This is a story I was looking forward to telling for quite some time. It has everything – mindless fighting, stubbornness, and fake armies as well as elaborate diplomacy, cultural awareness and stunning success. It is the story of the crusade of Frederick II, that has no parallel, for one because Frederick did undertake it whilst excommunicated by the pope and further, because he brought Jerusalem back under Christian control for one last time, without a shot being fired.
1228-1229
For 30 years after the death of the last Hauteville king in 1190 the institutions of that kingdom had been eroded, the crown estate squandered, and powerful local forces had been riding roughshod over the royal administration. Fredrick will bring this land back under his firm control. That is however not your usual return of the king story, because the way he does it is no longer typically medieval…..
1229-1231
This week we come to what was long believed to be his masterpiece, the Constitutions of Melfi. Even if It isn’t the creation of a modern state in the 13th century as Kantorowicz had believed there is still something fundamentally different here. The Middle Ages is a world where progress comes from people moving forward whilst looking back. They ask questions about the world and seek the answers in the past, in the Bible, the Church Fathers, Aristotle, Averroes etc. Only where the ancients are silent will great minds like Albertus Magnus look at the real world, undertake experiments and collect observation to derive their answers. Frederick is different. He does turn around and look at the natural world first and at dusty books second.
1231-1235
today we will leave the shores of the Mediterranean to travel up north, though not with a train of mules carrying gold and silver, camels, dromedaries, leopards and apes as Fredrick II did in 1235. The reason for that journey was nowhere near as joyous as the display of wealth and exotic animals suggests. It is a tale of a father and son relationship that went disastrously wrong…
1235
What do you do once you have condemned your eldest son and heir to life imprisonment? Exactly, you have a party, or more precisely you have two parties. But as always with Frederick II, these are not just knees-up for entertainment, but elaborately staged political events. The first is a wedding, the second a grand get-together of the whole realm and then there is a third, a funeral of a kind you would not have expected from our rational, seemingly agnostic hero. Lots to unpack as always…
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Near the town of Andria in Puglia rising from a rock that makes it visible for miles stands entirely on its own a stone structure we call the Castel del Monte. Its ground plan is unique, and like many other of the Emperor’s buildings it was probably sketched by Frederick himself: a regular octagon of yellowish limestone; its smooth perfectly-fitting blocks showing no joins and producing the effect of a monolith. Of all that remains of Frederick II nothing epitomises the personality of the great emperor more than this building, which may have been a fortification or a hunting lodge or an enormous marble crown celebrating the concept of universal imperial power.
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De Arte venandi cum Avibus, The art of hunting with birds was produced around 1260. Yes, this is a book about hunting and quite frankly I normally put books about hunting in the same category as books about golf – extremely interesting to those who play golf, crushingly boring to everybody else. But this book is not about hunting, it is about nature about the beginnings of science and the awakening of the critical mind. Let’s take a look..
1235-1237
The last great battle that made the HRE look as if it was indeed, Holy, Roman and an Empire,
1237-1239
After his great victory Frederick II demands an unconditional surrender from Milan – the city refuses and war resumes. Meanwhile Gregory IX is busy forging alliances against the emperor
1239-1241
Frederick II has been excommunicated. A public relations war ensues. Meanwhile war rages on land and sea.
1241-1244
One last attempt at reconciliation. Will new pope Innocent IV take the Road to Narni to peace, or flee Italy?
1245-1247
Finally Innocent IV gets what he wants, the deposition of Frederick II, plus even a crusade against a consecrated Latin monarch. But not much happened after that until we get to Parma…
1248-1250
The never-ending war is exactly what it is, a never ending, unwinnable war against an enemy that hides on the other side of the Alps and cannot be attacked. Money is running seriously low, and Frederick II is getting concerned about the loyalty of his closest associates. And those he will lose, one due to the vagaries of war, the other through a bout of paranoia.
Epilogue (1250-1303)
With the death of Frederick II the Hohenstaufen story usually comes to an end. But it isn’t really the end of the story. There are four heirs to get through and obviously the question whether the papacy, the victor of this struggle will enjoy the fruits of their success. And we look at the perception of the Hohenstaufen in the 19th and 20th century with a special episode on Ernst Kantorowicz.
1250-1268
When Frederick II died there were four legitimate male descendants of the emperor, his son Konrad IV, elected king of the Romans, his son Henry, a mere six years old, but from most noble blood, his son Manfred from his relationship with Bianca Lancia who he had married on her deathbed. And there was a grandson, the child of his unlucky oldest son Henry (VII). 18 years later when this episode ends, the House of Hohenstaufen will be wiped from the face of the earth.
1268-1308
The popes have won the 200-year fight with the emperors, first the Salians and then the Hohenstaufen. A total war that ended in total victory. The imperial family of the Henrys of Waiblingen has been annihilated either in battle, through illness or at a last resort by execution. The empire is reduced from dominating power in Europe to coordinating mechanism for the princes. How could anyone deny that, to use the words of pope Boniface VIII, “it is altogether necessary for salvation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff”.
Well, someone will deny that and six years after these words were uttered the church will march north into its Babylonian Captivity in Avignon. How did that happen?
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