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.
Hnery VIA narrative history of the German people from the Middle Ages to Reunification in 1991. Episodes are 25-35 min long and drop on Thursday mornings.
“A great many things keep happening, some good, some bad”. Gregory of Tours (539-594)
HotGPod is now entering its 9th season. So far we have covered:
Ottonian Emperors (# 1- 21)
– Henry the Fowler (#1)
– Otto I (#2-8)
– Otto II (#9-11)
– Otto II (#11-14)
– Henry II (#15-17)
– Germany in 1000 (#18-21)
Salian Emperors(#22-42)
– Konrad II (#22- 25)
– Henry III (#26-29)
– Henry IV/Canossa (#30-39)
– Henry V (#40-42)
– Concordat of Worms (#42)
Early Hohenstaufen (#43-69)
– Lothar III (#43-46)
– Konrad III (#47-49)
– Frederick Barbarossa (#50-69)
Late Hohenstaufen (#70-94)
– Henry VI (#70-72)
– Philipp of Swabia (#73-74)
– Otto IV (#74-75)
– Frederick II (#75-90)
– Epilogue (#91-94)
Eastern Expansion (#95-108)
The Hanseatic League (#109-127)
The Teutonic Knights (#128-137)
The Interregnum and the early Habsburgs (#138 ff
– Rudolf von Habsburg (#139-141)
– Adolf von Nassau (#142)
– Albrecht von Habsburg (#143)
– Heinrich VII (#144-148)
– Ludwig the Bavarian (#149-153)
– Karl IV (#154-163)
The Reformation before the Reformation
– Wenceslaus the Lazy (#165)
– The Western Schism (#166/167)
– The Ottomans (#168)
– Sigismund (#169-#184
The Empire in the 15th Century
– Mainz & Hessen #186
– Printing #187-#188
– Universities #190
– Wittelsbachs #189, #196-#199
– Baden, Wuerrtemberg, Augsburg, Fugger (#191-195)
– Maps & Arms (#201-#202)
The Fall and Rise of the House of Habsburg
– Early habsburgs (#203-#207)
– Albrecht II (#208)
-Freidrich III (#209-
There is one story from the Middle Ages that most people know, the imprisonment and ransom of King Richard the Lionheart of England. The chivalric knight and hero of the Third Crusade is cowardly set upon by a gallery of villains, his brother, John Lackland, the King of France, Phillippe Auguste and the money grabbing emperor Henry VI, ably assisted by duke Leopold of Austria. We will look at this story from Henry VI. perspective which make Richard look a lot less compelling.
And we throw in one more great story – the birth of an emperor in a tent in the centre of a town witnessed by the matrons of the town….
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 71 – To Catch a King • 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
If you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans Podcast
Facebook: @HOTGPod
Threads: @history_of_the_germans_podcast
Bluesky: @hotgpod.bsky.social
Instagram: history_of_the_germans
Twitter: @germanshistory
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
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