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115-598: Staufen refers to: Hohenstaufen , a dynasty of German emperors Staufen im Breisgau , a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany Staufen, Aargau , in Switzerland Staufen (protein) , a protein found in the egg of Drosophila Staufen, Austria , a mountain in the western part of Austria Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

230-529: A brief illness. Upon learning of Gregory V's death, Otto III installed his long-time tutor Gerbert of Aurillac as Pope Sylvester II . The use of this papal name was not without cause: it recalled the first pope of this name, who had allegedly created the "Christian Empire" together with Emperor Constantine the Great. This was part of Otto III's campaign to further link himself with both the Roman Empire and

345-403: A brilliant, energetic, pious leader, Otto was portrayed by nineteenth century historians as a whimsical, overidealistic dreamer who failed in his duty towards Germany. Modern historians generally see him in a positive light, but several facets of the emperor remain enigmatic and debates on the true intentions behind his Imperial Renovation ( renovatio imperii Romanorum ) program continue. Otto III

460-632: A chronicler referred to the "emperors of Stauf". In 1247, the Emperor Frederick II himself referred to his family as the domus Stoffensis (Staufer house), but this was an isolated instance. Otto of Freising (d. 1158) associated the Staufer with the town of Waiblingen , and around 1230, Burchard of Ursberg referred to the Staufer as of the "royal lineage of the Waiblingens" ( regia stirps Waiblingensium ). The exact connection between

575-459: A largely free class of officials previously formed, many of these assumed or acquired hereditary rights to administrative and legal offices. These trends compounded political fragmentation within Germany. The period was ended in 1273 with the election of Rudolph of Habsburg , a godson of Frederick. Conrad IV was succeeded as duke of Swabia by his only son, two-year-old Conradin . By this time,

690-628: A lieutenant of the king. When Boniface VII died in 985, Pope John XV was chosen to succeed him. Although the details of the election are unknown, it is likely that Crescentius II played a key role in the process. For a number of years, Crescentius II exercised authority over the city, severely limiting the autonomy of the pope in the process. When the Empress Theophanu was in Rome between 989 and 991, Crescentius II nominally subordinated himself to her, though he maintained his position as ruler of

805-515: A monastery in Germany, where he would die in 1001. Crescentius II retreated again to the Tomb of Hadrian, the traditional stronghold of the Crescentii , and was then besieged by Otto III's imperial army. Towards the end of April, the stronghold was breached, and Crescentius II was taken prisoner and executed by decapitation . His body was put on public display at Monte Mario . Otto III made Rome

920-540: A niece of Pope Leo IX . Their son Frederick I was appointed Duke of Swabia at Hohenstaufen Castle by the Salian king Henry IV of Germany in 1079. At the same time, Duke Frederick I was engaged to the king's approximately seventeen-year-old daughter, Agnes . Nothing is known about Frederick's life before this event, but he proved to be an imperial ally throughout Henry's struggles against other Swabian lords, namely Rudolf of Rheinfelden , Frederick's predecessor, and

1035-530: A nun in the abbey. Sophia refused to accept the authority of the Bishop of Hildesheim, instead recognizing only that of the Archbishop of Mainz. The conflict escalated until it was brought before the royal court of Otto III and Theophanu. The royal intervention eased the tensions between the parties by providing that both bishops would anoint Sophia, while anointing the remaining nuns of the abbey would be left to

1150-534: A peace settlement. With Otto III in control of the city, Gregory V was reinstated as pope. John XVI fled, but the Emperor's troops pursued and captured him, cut off his nose and ears, cut out his tongue, broke his fingers, blinded him, and then brought him before Otto III and Gregory V for judgement. At the intercession of Saint Nilus the Younger , one of his countrymen, Otto III spared John XVI's life and sent him to

1265-546: A short while. Prior to his sudden death in December 983, Otto II had installed Pietro Canepanova as pope. Calling himself Pope John XIV , Canepanova was a non-Roman from Lombardy who had served as Otto II's chancellor in Italy. After Otto II's death, John XIV intervened in the dispute between Henry II of Bavaria and Theophanu over the regency, issuing an edict ordering Henry to turn Otto over to his mother. During that turmoil,

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1380-425: A wholesale denuding of royal power and it did not prevent imperial officials from enforcing Frederick’s prerogatives. The Statutum affirmed a division of labor between the emperor and the princes and laid much groundwork for the development of particularism and, perhaps even federalism in Germany. Even so, from 1232 the vassals of the emperor had a veto over imperial legislative decisions and any new law established by

1495-533: Is shown clearly in the imperial Landfried issued at Mainz in 1235, which explicitly enjoined the princes as loyal vassals to exercise their own jurisdictions in their own localities. The jurisdictional autarky of the German princes was favoured by the crown itself in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the interests of order and local peace. The inevitable result was the territorial particularism of churchmen, lay princes, and interstitial cities. However, Frederick II

1610-495: Is thus recognized as the founder of the independent Polish state and the first ruler of Poland, and his son, Boleslaus I, was the first to be crowned King of Poland. Mieszko I remained a powerful ally of Otto I for the remainder of his life. Although he was a pagan, in 965 he married the Christian Dobrawa , daughter of Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia . He then converted to Christianity in 966, bringing Poland closer to

1725-403: Is unlikely that a particularly “strong ruler” such as Frederick II would have even pragmatically agreed to legislation that was concessionary rather than cooperative, neither would the princes have insisted on such. Frederick II used the political loyalty and practical jurisdictions of the German aristocracy to support his kingly duty of imposing peace, order, and justice upon the German realm. This

1840-703: The Archbishop of Mainz , was ex officio the secular Archchancellor of Germany . Though Theophanu was regent, Willigis was given considerable leeway in administering the kingdom. One of the Empress's greatest achievements was her success in maintaining German supremacy over Bohemia , as Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia , was forced to accept the authority of Otto III. In 986 the five-year-old Otto III celebrated Easter at Quedlinburg. The four major dukes of Germany (Henry II of Bavaria, Conrad I of Swabia, Henry III of Carinthia, and Bernard I of Saxony) also paid tribute to

1955-472: The Bishop of Utrecht , ahead of him in order to attempt a peace negotiation between him and the conspirators. The negotiations failed when the conspirators refused to swear allegiance to anyone other than Otto III, with Bernard I, Duke of Saxony , maintaining allegiance to the child king. In response to his failure to gain control over Saxony, Henry II promised to hold future peace negotiations and then headed for

2070-622: The Catholic Church . From the beginning of his reign, Otto III faced opposition from the Slavs along the eastern frontier. Following the death of his father in 983, the Slavs rebelled against imperial control , forcing the Empire to abandon its territories east of the Elbe river. Otto III fought to regain the Empire's lost territories throughout his reign with only limited success. While in

2185-527: The Duchy of Bavaria . With his long-standing familial ties in the region, many bishops and counts recognized him as the rightful heir to the throne. Henry III, Duke of Bavaria , who had been installed as Duke by Otto II, refused to recognize Henry II and remained loyal to Otto III. With his successes and failures in Saxony and Bavaria, Henry II's claims depended on gaining support in the Duchy of Franconia , which

2300-597: The Investiture Controversy under his Salian predecessors. As royal access to the resources of the church in Germany was much reduced, Frederick was forced to go to Italy to find the finances needed to restore the king's power in Germany. He was soon crowned emperor in Italy, but decades of warfare on the peninsula yielded scant results. The Papacy and the prosperous city-states of the Lombard League in northern Italy were traditional enemies, but

2415-699: The King of the Romans ) through a customary election, but lost to the Saxon duke Lothair of Supplinburg . A civil war between Frederick's dynasty and Lothair's ended with Frederick's submission in 1134. After Lothair's death in 1137, Frederick's brother Conrad was elected King as Conrad III. Because the Welf duke Henry the Proud , son-in-law and heir of Lothair and the most powerful prince in Germany, who had been passed over in

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2530-475: The Kingdom of Sicily in 1189 and 1194 respectively, a source of vast wealth. Henry failed to make royal and Imperial succession hereditary, but in 1196 he succeeded in gaining a pledge that his infant son Frederick would receive the German crown. Faced with difficulties in Italy and confident that he would realize his wishes in Germany at a later date, Henry returned to the south, where it appeared he might unify

2645-470: The Latin documents of the time varies considerably: Sthouf, Stophe, Stophen, Stoyphe, Estufin , etc. The castle was built or at least acquired by Duke Frederick I of Swabia in the latter half of the 11th century. Members of the family occasionally used the toponymic surname de Stauf or variants thereof. Only in the 13th century would the name come to be applied to the family as a whole. Around 1215,

2760-595: The Minnesang , and in narrative epic poems such as Tristan , Parzival , and the Nibelungenlied . Frederick died in 1190 while on the Third Crusade and was succeeded by his son, Henry VI . Elected king even before his father's death, Henry went to Rome to be crowned emperor. He married Princess Constance of Sicily , and deaths in his wife's family gave him claim of succession and possession of

2875-827: The Muslim Emirate of Sicily at the Battle of Stilo . Otto II had been campaigning in Southern Italy with hopes of annexing the whole of Italy into the Holy Roman Empire . Otto II himself escaped the battle unharmed but many important imperial officials were among the battle's casualties. Following the defeat and at the insistence of the Empire's nobles, Otto II called an assembly of the Imperial Diet in Verona at Pentecost , 983, where he proposed to

2990-581: The Ottonian dynasty , Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu . Otto III was crowned as king of Germany in 983 at the age of three, shortly after his father's death in Southern Italy while campaigning against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily . Though the nominal ruler of Germany, Otto III's minor status ensured his various regents held power over

3105-488: The Palatine Hill and planned to restore the ancient Roman Senate to its position of prominence. He revived the city's ancient governmental system, including appointing a City Patrician , a City Prefect , and a body of judges whom he commanded to recognize only Roman law . In order to strengthen his title to the Roman Empire and to announce his position as the protector of Christendom , Otto III took for himself

3220-589: The Silesian dukes of the Piast dynasty. With the German colonization, the Empire increased in size and came to include the Duchy of Pomerania . A quickening economic life in Germany increased the number of towns and Imperial cities , and gave them greater importance. It was also during this period that castles and courts replaced monasteries as centers of culture. Growing out of this courtly culture, Middle High German literature reached its peak in lyrical love poetry,

3335-620: The Slavic uprising on the Empire's eastern border made the Empire's political situation extremely unstable. With a minor on the throne, the Empire was thrown into confusion and Otto III's mother Theophanu assumed the role of regent for her young son. Otto III's cousin Henry II had been deposed as Duke of Bavaria by Otto II in 976 following his failed rebellion and imprisoned within the Bishopric of Utrecht . Following Otto II's death, Henry

3450-457: The Tomb of Hadrian , out of fear of retribution. The new supreme pontiff crowned Otto III as emperor on 21 May 996, in Rome at St. Peter's Basilica . The Emperor and Pope then held a synod at St. Peter's on 25 May to serve as the Empire's highest judicial court . The Roman nobles who had rebelled against Pope John XV were summoned before the synod to give an account of their actions. A number of

3565-587: The Zähringen and Welf lords. Frederick's brother Otto was elevated to the Strasbourg bishopric in 1082. Upon Frederick's death, he was succeeded by his son, Duke Frederick II , in 1105. Frederick II remained a close ally of the Salians, he and his younger brother Conrad were named the king's representatives in Germany when the king was in Italy. Around 1120, Frederick II married Judith of Bavaria from

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3680-560: The monarchs from the Houses of:   - Hohenstaufen (1138–1208; 1215–1254)   - Süpplinburg (1125–1137)   - Welf (1208–1215) Notes: For further detailed dynastic relationships, see also Family tree of the German monarchs . Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of

3795-675: The patron of Otto Orseolo , the son of Venetian Doge Pietro II Orseolo . He then pledged to support Otto Orseolo as the next Doge of Venice, leading to a period of good relations between the Holy Roman Empire and the Republic of Venice after years of conflict under Otto II. Reaching Pavia for Easter , 996, Otto III was declared King of Italy and crowned with the Iron Crown of the Lombards . The king failed, however, to reach Rome before Pope John XV died of fever . While Otto III

3910-494: The Archbishop of Piacenza, John Philagathos, to Constantinople as his representative to arrange a marriage between himself and a Byzantine princess following the example of his father, Otto II, who solidified his claim to the throne by marrying the Byzantine Theophanu. For a while the discussions were about Zoe Porphyrogenita . The Lutici federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes had remained quiet during

4025-516: The Bishop of Hildesheim alone. In 989 Theophanu and Otto III made a royal expedition to Italy to visit the grave of Otto II in Rome. After crossing the Alps and reaching Pavia in northern Italy, the Empress had her longtime confidant John Philagathos appointed as Archbishop of Piacenza . After a year in Italy, the royal court returned to Germany, where Theophanu died in Nijmegen on 15 June 991, at

4140-580: The Child , grandson of the late Saxon duke Henry the Lion, was named Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg . The power struggle with the popes continued and resulted in Frederick's excommunication in 1227. In 1239, Pope Gregory IX excommunicated Frederick again, and in 1245 he was condemned as a heretic by a church council. Although Frederick II was perhaps one of the most energetic, imaginative, and capable rulers of

4255-593: The Christian states of Bohemia and the Empire. Dobrawa died in 977, and Mieszko I then strengthened his alliance with the Empire by marrying Oda , the daughter of the Saxon Margrave Dietrich of Haldensleben in 978, and by marrying his son Bolesłaus I of Poland to a daughter of Margrave Rikdag of Meissen. Following the death of Otto I in 973, Mieszko I sided with Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, against Otto II during Henry's failed revolt in 977. After

4370-584: The Church. Like his grandfather before him, Otto III strongly aspired to be the successor of Charlemagne . In 1000, he visited Charlemagne's tomb in Aachen , removing relics from it and transporting them to Rome. Otto III also carried back parts of the body of Bishop Adalbert of Prague, which he placed in the church of San Bartolomeo all'Isola he had built on the Tiber Island in Rome. Otto III also added

4485-560: The Czech territory. To strengthen the Bohemian-Polish alliance, Boleslaus I's daughter Dobrawa was married to the pagan Mieszko I of Poland in 965. The marriage helped bring Christianity to Poland. He died in 972 and was succeeded as Duke by his oldest son Boleslaus II . After initially siding with Henry II against Otto II during Henry's failed revolt in 977, Boleslaus II swore loyalty to Otto II. When Otto II died suddenly in 983 and

4600-464: The Elbe Slavs in order to secure Saxony's eastern border. When Otto III left Italy for Germany, the situation in Rome remained uncertain. In September 996, a few months after receiving a pardon from Otto III, Crescentius II met with the Archbishop of Piacenza, John Philagathos, a former adviser to the late Empress Theophanu, to devise a plan to depose the newly installed Pope Gregory V. In 997, with

4715-401: The Emperor had pardoned him and left the city, Crescentius II again rebelled, deposing Gregory V and installing John XVI as pope. Otto III returned to the city in 998, reinstalled Gregory V, and executed both Crescentius II and John XVI. When Gregory V died in 999, Otto III installed Sylvester II as the new pope. Otto III's actions throughout his life further strengthened imperial control over

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4830-628: The Empire's campaigns to put down the Great Slav Rising , led by the Polabian Lutici tribes during the 980s and 990s. Germany and the Duchy of Bohemia came into significant contact with one another in 929, when German King Henry I had invaded the Duchy to force Duke Wenceslaus I to pay regular tribute to Germany. When Wenceslaus I was assassinated in 935, his brother Boleslaus I succeeded him as Duke and refused to continue paying

4945-572: The Empire. His cousin Duke Henry II of Bavaria , initially claimed regency over the young king and attempted to seize the throne for himself in 984. When his rebellion failed to gain the support of Germany's aristocracy, Henry II was forced to abandon his claims to the throne and to allow Otto III's mother Theophanu to serve as regent until her death in 991. Otto III was then still a child, so his grandmother, Adelaide of Italy , served as regent until 994. In 996, Otto III marched to Italy to claim

5060-514: The German throne, with limited success. Among those who supported his claims were Duke Mieszko I of Poland and Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia . Henry II was also supported by Archbishop Egbert of Trier , Archbishop Gisilher of Magdeburg , and Bishop Dietrich I of Metz . Those who opposed Henry II's claims fled to Quedlinburg in Saxony to conspire against him. When he became aware of this conspiracy, he moved his army towards Quedlinburg in hopes of crushing his opposition. Henry II sent Folcmar ,

5175-657: The Great , the Pope was granted secular authority over western Europe . These actions resulted in increased tensions between the Roman nobility and the Church, who had traditionally reserved the right to name the pope from among their own members. After his coronation, Otto III returned to Germany in December 996, staying along the Lower Rhine (especially in Aachen ) until April 997. His specific activities during this time are not known. In summer 997, Otto III campaigned against

5290-669: The Hohenstaufen but he spent little time in Germany. His main concerns lay in Italy and the Kingdom of Sicily, where he ruled as an absolute monarch supported by a sophisticated administrative apparatus. The institutions of Sicily and Italy seemed to be better political laboratories, more conducive to Frederick’s remarkable brand of innovation and absolutist tendencies. He founded the University of Naples in 1224 to train future state officials and reigned over Germany primarily through

5405-615: The Holy Roman Empire as a constituent state. Bohemia would be a major factor in the many battles along the Empire's eastern border. Boleslaus I helped Otto I crush an uprising of Slavs along the Lower Elbe in 953, and they joined forces again to defeat the Hungarians at the battle of Lechfeld in 955. In 973 Otto I established the bishopric of Prague , subordinated to the archbishopric of Mainz, in order to Christianize

5520-815: The Kingdom of Sicily. The sophistication of the Constitutions or the Liber Augustalis set Frederick as perhaps the supreme lawgiver of the Middle Ages. The Constitutions drew upon decades of Siculo-Norman governmental tradition stretching back to his maternal grandfather, Roger II of Sicily . Almost every aspect in Frederick’s tightly-governed kingdom was regulated, from a rigorously centralized judiciary and bureaucracy, to commerce, coinage, financial policy, weights and measures, legal equality for all citizens, protections for women, and even provisions for

5635-605: The Muslims. While still in central Italy, however, Otto II suddenly died on 7 December 983, and was buried in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome . Otto III was crowned as king on Christmas Day 983, three weeks after his father's death, by Willigis , the archbishop of Mainz , and by John X , the archbishop of Ravenna . News of Otto II's death first reached Germany shortly after his son's coronation. The unresolved problems in southern Italy and

5750-474: The Netherlands. The first ruling Hohenstaufen, Conrad III, like the last one, Conrad IV, was never crowned emperor. After a 20-year period (Great interregnum 1254–1273), the first Habsburg was elected king. Note: The following kings are already listed above as German Kings Note: Some of the following kings are already listed above as German Kings Note: Some of the following dukes are already listed above as German Kings The colors denotes

5865-449: The Roman aristocracy saw an opportunity to remove the non-Roman John XIV and install a pope from among themselves. The Antipope Boniface VII , who had spent nine years in exile in the Byzantine Empire , joined forces with Byzantine nobles in southern Italy and marched on Rome in April 984 in order to claim the papal throne for himself. With the aid of the sons of Crescentius the Elder — Crescentius II and John Crescentius — Boniface VII

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5980-435: The Romans in Germany. None of these claimants were able to achieve any position of authority much less the power and imperial grandeur of the Hohenstaufen. The German princes vied for individual advantage and managed to strip many powers away from the diminished monarchy. Rather than establish sovereign states however, many nobles tended to look after their families. Their many male heirs created more and smaller estates, and from

6095-424: The Saxon Margrave Gero , to address the Polan threat, while Otto I traveled to Italy to be crowned as emperor. Gero defeated Mieszko I in 963 and forced him to recognize Otto I as his overlord. In return for submitting tribute to the newly crowned Emperor, Otto I granted Mieszko I the title of amicus imperatoris ("Friend of the Emperor") and acknowledged his position as dux Poloniae ("Duke of Poland"). Mieszko I

6210-412: The Welfs, but when Otto, now sole elected monarch, moved to appropriate Sicily, Innocent changed sides and accepted young Frederick II and his ally, King Philip II of France , who defeated Otto at the 1214 Battle of Bouvines . Frederick had returned to Germany in 1212 from Sicily, where he had grown up, and was elected king in 1215. When Otto died in 1218, Frederick became the undisputed ruler, and in 1220

6325-422: The abolition of the bishopric of Merseburg , Otto III and Pope Gregory V began the process of reviving the Diocese. Otto I had established the Diocese in 968 following his victory over the Hungarians in order to Christianize the Polabian Slavs but it had been effectively destroyed in 983 with the Great Slav Rising following the death of Otto II that year. Otto III arranged for his imperial palace to be built on

6440-434: The active support of Byzantine Emperor Basil II , Crescentius II led a revolt against Gregory V, deposed him, and installed John Philagathos as Pope John XVI , an antipope , in April 997. Gregory fled to Pavia in northern Italy, held a synod, and excommunicated John. The new bishop of Piacenza, Siegfried , came north to meet Otto at Eschwege in July. Otto detached the city from the county of Piacenza and granted it to

6555-399: The administrative capital of his Empire and revived elaborate Roman customs and Byzantine court ceremonies. During his time in Italy, the Emperor and the Pope attempted to reform the Church, and confiscated church property was returned to the respective religious institutions. Additionally, after the death of the Bishop of Halberstadt in November 996, who had been one of the masterminds behind

6670-561: The age of 14. At an assembly of the Imperial Diet held in Solingen in September 994, Otto III was granted the ability to fully govern the kingdom without the need of a regent. With this, Adelaide retired to a nunnery she had founded at Selz in Alsace . Although she never became a nun, she spent the rest of her days there in the service of the Church and in acts of charity. As Otto III was still unmarried, from 995 until 997 his older sister Sophia accompanied him and acted as his consort. One of Otto III's first actions as an independent ruler

6785-429: The age of 31. She was buried in the Church of St. Pantaleon in Cologne . Because Otto III was still a child (only eleven when his mother died), his grandmother, the Dowager Empress Adelaide of Italy , became regent, together with Archbishop Willigis of Mainz, until he became old enough to rule on his own in 994. As Otto III grew in age, the authority of his grandmother gradually waned until 994 when Otto III reached

6900-483: The age of six onward, Otto III would receive education and training from Bernward of Hildesheim and Gerbert d'Aurillac . During the regency of Theophanu, the Great Gandersheim Conflict broke out, concerning control of Gandersheim Abbey and its estates. Both the Archbishop of Mainz and the Bishop of Hildesheim claimed authority over the abbey, including the authority to anoint the abbey's nuns . The conflict began in 989 when Otto III's older sister Sophia became

7015-484: The allocation of royal prerogatives, leaving the sovereign authority and imperial estates to the ecclesiastical and secular princes. In 1232, Henry (VII), King of Germany and Frederick’s eldest son, was forced by the German princes to promulgate the Statutum in favorem principum ("statute in favor of princes"). Frederick II, embittered but aiming to promote cohesion in Germany in preparation for his campaigns in northern Italy, pragmatically agreed to Henry’s confirmation of

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7130-401: The annual tribute to Germany. This action caused Henry I's son and successor Otto I to launch an invasion of Bohemia. Following the initial invasion, the conflict deteriorated into a series of border raids that lasted until 950 when Otto I and Boleslaus I signed a peace treaty. Boleslaus I agreed to resume paying tribute and to recognize Otto I as his overlord. The Duchy was then incorporated into

7245-430: The assembly to have the three-year-old Otto III elected as king of Germany and Italy , becoming Otto II's undoubted heir apparent . This was the first time a German ruler had been elected on Italian soil. After the assembly was concluded, Otto III traveled across the Alps in order to be crowned at Aachen, the traditional location of the coronation of the German kings. Otto II stayed behind to address military action against

7360-423: The bishop in perpetuity. Putting down the Slavic forces in eastern Saxony, Otto III began his second expedition into Italy in December 997. Accompanied by his sister Sophia into Italy, Otto III named his aunt Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg , as his regent in Germany, becoming the first non-duke or bishop to serve in that capacity. Otto III peacefully retook Rome in February 998 when the Roman aristocracy agreed to

7475-480: The boy's uncle, Duke Philip of Swabia , brother of late Henry VI, was designated to serve in his place. Other factions however favoured a Welf candidate. In 1198, two rival kings were chosen: the Hohenstaufen Philip of Swabia and the son of the deprived Duke Henry the Lion , the Welf Otto IV . A long civil war began; Philip was about to win when he was murdered by the Bavarian count palatine Otto VIII of Wittelsbach in 1208. Pope Innocent III initially had supported

7590-441: The charter. It was a charter of liberties for the leading German princes at the expense of the lesser nobility and the entirety of the commoners. The princes gained whole power of jurisdiction, and the power to strike their own coins. The emperor lost his right to establish new cities, castles and mints over their territories. The Statutum was more a confirmation of political realities which had existed for generations in Germany than

7705-465: The child king. Imitating similar ceremonies carried out under Otto I in 936 and Otto II in 961, the dukes served Otto III as his ceremonial steward , chamberlain , cupbearer , and marshal , respectively. This service symbolized the loyalty of the dukes to Otto III and their willingness to serve him. Most significant was the submission of Henry II, who demonstrated his loyalty to his cousin despite his failed rebellion two years earlier. The next year, from

7820-407: The city of Breisach , but at the last minute, Henry's resolve weakened. Nevertheless, Lothair continued to campaign into German lands and succeeded in overrunning the Verdun by March 985. Henry II took the young Otto III and traveled to Saxony . There, Henry II invited all the great nobles of the kingdom to celebrate Palm Sunday at Magdeburg for 985. He then campaigned openly for his claim to

7935-418: The city. After taking the crown in 994, Otto III faced first a Slavic rebellion, which he put down, and then an attempt by Crescentius II to seize power in Italy. When Otto III turned his attention to Italy, he not only intended to be crowned Emperor but also to come to the aid of Pope John XV , who had been forced to flee Rome. Otto set out for Italy from Ratisbon in March 996. In Verona , he became

8050-414: The city. While marching to reclaim the city in 1002, Otto suffered a sudden fever and died in Castle Paterno in Faleria at the age of 21. With no clear heir to succeed him, his early death threw the Empire into political crisis. Otto was a charismatic figure associated with several legends and notable figures of his time. Opinions on Otto III and his reign vary considerably. Recognized in his own day as

8165-479: The early years of Otto III's reign, even during Henry II's failed rebellion. In 983, following Otto II's defeat at the battle of Stilo , the Slavs revolted against Imperial control , forcing the Empire to abandon its territories east of the Elbe River in the Northern March and the Billung March . With the process of Christianization halted, the Slavs left the Empire in peace, and with Henry II's rebellion put down, Theophanu launched multiple campaigns to re-conquer

8280-536: The east, Otto III strengthened the Empire's relations with Poland , Bohemia , and Hungary . Through his affairs in Eastern Europe in 1000, he was able to extend the influence of Christianity by supporting mission work in Poland and through the crowning of Stephen I as the first Christian king of Hungary. Returning to Rome in 1001, Otto faced a rebellion by the Roman aristocracy, which forced him to flee

8395-694: The election, refused to acknowledge the new king, Conrad III deprived him of all his territories, giving the Duchy of Saxony to Albert the Bear and that of Bavaria to Leopold IV, Margrave of Austria . In 1147, Conrad heard Bernard of Clairvaux preach the Second Crusade at Speyer , and he agreed to join King Louis VII of France in a great expedition to the Holy Land which failed. Conrad's brother Duke Frederick II died in 1147, and

8510-408: The emperor had to be approved by the princes. These provisions not withstanding, royal power in Germany remained strong under Frederick. By the 1240s the crown was almost as rich in fiscal resources, towns, castles, enfeoffed retinues, monasteries, ecclesiastical advocacies, manors, tolls, and all other rights, revenues, and jurisdictions as it had ever been at any time since the death of Henry VI. It

8625-477: The entire Middle Ages, he seemed to be less concerned with drawing the disparate forces in Germany together. Frederick was pragmatic enough to realize that for all his ability and power, his time and focus could only be fully concentrated either north or south of the Alps, where the bulk of his resources lay. Frederick II’s most profound legal legacy remains the Constitutions of Melfi promulgated in 1231 in

8740-515: The environment and public health. Per the Constitutions, Frederick II was lex animata and ruled as an absolute monarch. The Constitutions have been regarded as perhaps the “birth certificate” of the modern continental European state. From 1240, Frederick II was determined to push through far-reaching reforms to establish the Sicilian kingdom and Imperial Italy as a unified state bound by a centralized administration. The new unified administration

8855-553: The family and Waiblingen is not clear, but as a name for the family, it became very popular. The pro-imperial Ghibelline faction of the Italian civic rivalries of the 13th and 14th centuries derived its name from Waiblingen. In Italian historiography, the Staufer are known as the Svevi (Swabians). The origin remains unclear, however, Staufer counts are mentioned in a document of emperor Otto III in 987 as descendants of counts of

8970-409: The fear of Imperial domination caused them to join ranks to fight Frederick. Under the skilled leadership of Pope Alexander III , the alliance suffered many defeats but ultimately was able to deny the emperor a complete victory in Italy. Frederick returned to Germany. He had vanquished one notable opponent, his Welf cousin, Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony and Bavaria in 1180, but his hopes of restoring

9085-401: The late Staufer period, the population had grown from an estimated 8 million in 1200 to about 14 million in 1300, and the number of towns increased tenfold. The most heavily urbanized areas of Germany were in the south and the west. Towns often developed a degree of independence, but many were subordinate to local rulers if not immediate to the emperor. Colonization of the east also continued in

9200-573: The lost eastern territories, beginning in 985. Even though he was only six at the time, Otto III personally participated in these campaigns. During the expedition of 986 against the Slavs, Otto III received the homage of Duke Mieszko I of Poland , who provided the Imperial army with military assistance and gave Otto III a camel . Although the Lutici were subdued for a time in 987, they continued to occupy

9315-521: The new Duke of Carinthia . The regency of Theophanu , from 984 until her death in 991, was largely spared internal revolt. She struggled throughout to reinstate the Diocese of Merseburg , which her husband Otto II had absorbed into the Archdiocese of Magdeburg in 981. Theophanu also retained Otto II's court chaplains , in particular Count Bernward of Hildesheim and Archbishop Willigis, who, as

9430-754: The northern Slavs and the Vikings, but he did successfully re-conquer Brandenburg in 993, and in 995 he subdued the Obotrite Slavs . In the fall of 995, after Otto III reached his majority, he again took to the field against the Lutici , this time aided by the Polish Duke Bolesław I the Brave . Then in 997 he had to deal with a new Lutician attack on Arneburg on the Elbe, which they managed to retake for

9545-471: The office of duke of Swabia had been fully subsumed into the office of the king, and without royal authority had become meaningless. In 1261, attempts to elect young Conradin king were unsuccessful. He also had to defend Sicily against an invasion, sponsored by Pope Urban IV (Jacques Pantaléon) and Pope Clement IV (Guy Folques), by Charles of Anjou , a brother of the French king. Charles had been promised by

9660-541: The peninsula under the Hohenstaufen name. After a series of military victories, however, he fell ill and died of natural causes in Sicily in 1197. His underage son Frederick could only succeed him in Sicily and Malta, while in the Empire the struggle between the House of Staufen and the House of Welf erupted once again. Because the election of a three-year-old boy to be German king appeared likely to make orderly rule difficult,

9775-405: The popes the Kingdom of Sicily, where he would replace the relatives of Frederick II. Charles had defeated Conradin's uncle Manfred, King of Sicily , in the Battle of Benevento on 26 February 1266. The king himself, refusing to flee, rushed into the midst of his enemies and was killed. Conradin's campaign to retake control ended with his defeat in 1268 at the Battle of Tagliacozzo , after which he

9890-503: The power and prestige of the monarchy seemed unlikely to be met by the end of his life. During Frederick's long stays in Italy, the German princes became stronger and began a successful colonization of Slavic lands. Offers of reduced taxes and manorial duties enticed many Germans to settle in the east in the course of the Ostsiedlung . In 1163 Frederick waged a successful campaign against the Kingdom of Poland in order to re-install

10005-577: The privileges of the Holy See laid out by Otto I. Under the Diploma Ottonianum issued by Otto I, the Emperor could only veto papal candidates. Otto III, however, had nominated and successfully installed his own candidate. The Emperor also refused to acknowledge the Donation of Constantine , which Otto III declared a forgery. Under a decree supposedly issued by Roman Emperor Constantine

10120-488: The prototype for the great signori who dominated Italy in later generations, each a petty sovereign in Frederick’s image—some even continued to claim the title of imperial vicar. By the time of Frederick's death in 1250, the crown in Germany was still formidable and Conrad IV , Frederick’s eldest surviving legitimate son and heir, enjoyed a strong position. However after Conrad’s death in 1254, The Great Interregnum followed which saw several rival claimants elected as King of

10235-420: The rebels, including Crescentius II, were banished for their crimes. Pope Gregory V, however, wished to inaugurate his papal reign with acts of mercy and pleaded for clemency from the Emperor, who issued pardons to those he convicted. In particular, while Crescentius II was pardoned by Otto III, he was deprived of his title of Patricius but was permitted to live out his life in retirement at Rome. Following

10350-540: The region of Riesgau near Nördlingen in the Duchy of Swabia , who were related to the Bavarian Sieghardinger family. A local count Frederick (d. about 1075) is mentioned as progenitor in a pedigree drawn up by Abbot Wibald of Stavelot at the behest of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1153. He held the office of a Swabian count palatine ; his son Frederick of Büren ( c.  1020 –1053) married Hildegard of Egisheim - Dagsburg (d. 1094/95),

10465-411: The revolt was put down, Mieszko I swore loyalty to Otto II. When Otto II died suddenly in 983 and was succeeded by the three-year old Otto III, Mieszko I again supported Henry II in his bid for the German throne. When Henry's revolt failed, Mieszko I swore loyalty to Otto III. Mieszko I's son Bolesław I succeeded him as Duke in 992, and Poland continued its alliance with the Empire. Polish forces joined

10580-533: The rival House of Welf . When the last male member of the Salian dynasty, Emperor Henry V , died without heirs in 1125, a controversy arose about the succession. Duke Frederick II and Conrad , the two current male Staufers, by their mother Agnes, were grandsons of late Emperor Henry IV and nephews of Henry V. Frederick attempted to succeed to the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor (formally known as

10695-811: The skin of Saint Bartholomew to the relics housed there. Around 960, the Polish Piast dynasty under Mieszko I had extended the Duchy of Poland beyond the Oder River in an effort to conquer the Polabian Slavs , who lived along the Elbe River. This brought the Polans into Germany's sphere of influence and into conflict with Otto I's Kingdom of Germany , who also desired to conquer the Polabian Slavs. Otto I sent his trusted lieutenant,

10810-573: The support of existing Italian religious communities. For instance, he granted royal immunity to the Abbey of San Salvatore, a rich monastery along the shores of the Lago di Bientina in Tuscany. Through the election of Gregory V, Otto III exercised greater control over the Church than his grandfather Otto I had decades earlier. The Emperor quickly demonstrated his intention to withdraw Imperial support for

10925-554: The synod, Otto III appointed Gerbert of Aurillac, the Archbishop of Reims , to be his tutor. Counseled by Gerbert and Bishop Adalbert of Prague , Otto III set out to reorganize the Empire. Influenced by the ruin of ancient Rome and perhaps by his Byzantine mother, Otto III dreamed of restoring the glory and power of the Roman Empire , with himself at the head of a theocratic state . He also introduced some Byzantine court customs. To shore up his power in Italy, Otto III sought

11040-612: The thirteenth century, most notably through the efforts of the Teutonic Knights. German merchants also began trading extensively on the Baltic . The Kyffhäuser Monument was erected to commemorate Frederick I, and was inaugurated in 1896. On October 29, 1968, the 700th anniversary of the death of Konradin, a society known as "Society for Staufer History" ( de ) was founded in Göppingen . The Castel del Monte, Apulia which

11155-603: The throne for himself. According to Gerbert of Aurillac , Henry II adopted a Byzantine -style joint-kingship. Towards the end of 984, Henry II sought to form alliances between himself and other important figures in the Ottonian world, chief among them his cousin King Lothar of France . In exchange for Lothar's agreement to make Henry II king of Germany, Henry II agreed to relinquish Lotharingia to Lothar. The two agreed to join their armies on 1 February 985, in order to take

11270-466: The title Staufen . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Staufen&oldid=771015185 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Hohenstaufen The name Hohenstaufen

11385-893: The titles "the Servant of Jesus Christ ," "the Servant of the Apostles ", "Consul of the Senate and People of Rome," and "Emperor of the World". Between 998 and 1000, Otto III made several pilgrimages . In 999, he made a pilgrimage from Gargano to Benevento , where he met with the hermit monk Romuald and the Abbot Nilus the Younger (at that time a highly venerated religious figure) in order to atone for executing Crescentius II after promising his safety. During this particular pilgrimage, his cousin Pope Gregory V died in Rome after

11500-430: The titles of king of Italy and Holy Roman emperor , which had been left unclaimed since the death of Otto II in 983. Otto III also sought to reestablish Imperial control over the city of Rome, which had revolted under the leadership of Crescentius II , and through it the papacy . Crowned as emperor, Otto III put down the Roman rebellion and installed his cousin as Pope Gregory V , the first pope of German descent. After

11615-464: The trend in German historiography has been to prefer the name 'Staufer', which is closer to contemporary usage. The name 'Staufen' itself derives from Stauf ( OHG stouf , akin to Early Modern English stoup ), meaning ' chalice '. This term was commonly applied to conical hills in Swabia during the Middle Ages. It is a contemporary term for both the hill and the castle, although its spelling in

11730-428: The young king's attention. In September 991, when Otto III was eleven, Slavonic raiders captured the city of Brandenburg . In 992 this invasion, as well as an incursion of Viking raiders, forced Otto III to lead his army against the invaders, and he suffered a crushing defeat in this campaign. The next year, Germany suffered an outbreak of famine and pestilence. In 994 and 995, Otto III led fruitless campaigns against

11845-536: Was a direct possession of the German kings. The Franconian nobles, led by Archbishop Willigis of Mainz (the Primate of Germany ) and Conrad I, Duke of Swabia , refused to abandon Otto III. Fearing outright civil war, Henry II relinquished Otto III to the joint-regency of his mother and grandmother on 29 June 985. In return for his submission, Henry II was restored as the Duke of Bavaria , replacing Henry III who became

11960-593: Was a ruler of vast territories and “could not be everywhere at once”. The transference of jurisdiction was a practical solution to secure the further support of the German princes. By the 1226 Golden Bull of Rimini , Frederick had assigned the military order of the Teutonic Knights to complete the conquest and conversion of the Prussian lands. A reconciliation with the Welfs took place in 1235, whereby Otto

12075-443: Was able to imprison John XIV in the Tomb of Hadrian . Four months later, on 20 August 984, John XIV died in his prison, either starved or poisoned, probably on the orders of Boniface. With Otto's regency seated in Germany, Crescentius II took the title of Patricius Romanorum ( Patrician of the Romans ) and became the effective ruler of Rome, although he did not act entirely independently of central authority, presenting himself as

12190-516: Was born in June or July 980 somewhere between Aachen and Nijmegen , in modern-day North Rhine-Westphalia . The only son of Emperor Otto II and Empress Theophanu , Otto III was the youngest of the couple's four children. Immediately prior to Otto III's birth, his father had completed military campaigns in France against King Lothar . On 14 July 982, Otto II's army suffered a crushing defeat against

12305-546: Was built during the 1240s by the Emperor Frederick II was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1996. The German artist, Hans Kloss , painted his Staufer-Rundbild depicting in great detail the history of the House of Hohenstaufen, in Lorch Monastery . From 2000 to 2018, the Committee of Staufer Friends ( de ) has built thirty-eight Staufer steles ( de ) in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic and

12420-478: Was crowned Holy Roman Emperor . Philip changed the coat of arms from a black lion on a gold shield to three leopards, probably derived from the arms of his Welf rival Otto IV . The conflict between the Staufer dynasty and the Welf had irrevocably weakened the Imperial authority and the Norman kingdom of Sicily became the base for Staufer rule. Emperor Frederick II was the most brilliant and extraordinary of

12535-486: Was first used in the 14th century to distinguish the 'high' ( hohen ) conical hill named Staufen in the Swabian Jura (in the district of Göppingen ) from the village of the same name in the valley below. The new name was applied to the hill castle of Staufen by historians only in the 19th century to distinguish it from other castles of the same name. The name of the dynasty followed suit, but in recent decades,

12650-470: Was handed over to Charles, who had him publicly executed at Naples . With Conradin, the direct line of the Dukes of Swabia finally ceased to exist, though most of the later emperors were descended from the Staufer dynasty indirectly. The last member of the dynasty was Manfred's son, Henry [Enrico], who died in captivity at Castel dell'Ovo on 31 October 1318. During the political decentralization of

12765-657: Was in Pavia, Crescentius II, fearing the king's march on Rome, reconciled with Otto III and agreed to accept his nominee as pope. While in Ravenna , Otto III nominated his cousin and court chaplain Bruno, who was then only twenty-three years old, and sent him to Rome with Archbishop Willigis to secure the city. In early May 996, Bruno was consecrated as Gregory V , the first pope of German nationality. Despite submitting to Otto III, Crescentius shut himself in his family's stronghold,

12880-652: Was released from prison. As Otto III's nearest male Ottonian relative, Henry II claimed the regency over his infant cousin. Archbishop of Cologne Warin granted Henry II the regency without substantial opposition. Only Otto III's mother Theophanu objected, along with his grandmother, the Dowager Empress Adelaide of Italy , and his aunt, Abbess Matilda of Quedlinburg . Adelaide and Matilda, however, were both in Italy and unable to press their objections. As regent, Henry II took actions aimed less at guardianship of his infant cousin and more at claiming

12995-450: Was succeeded in Swabia by his son, Duke Frederick III . When King Conrad III died without adult heir in 1152, Frederick also succeeded him, taking both German royal and Imperial titles. Frederick I (Reign 2 January 1155 – 10 June 1190), known as Frederick Barbarossa because of his red beard, struggled throughout his reign to restore the power and prestige of the German monarchy against the dukes, whose power had grown both before and after

13110-470: Was taken over directly by the emperor and his highly trained Sicilian officials whose jurisdiction now ranged across all of Italy. For the rest of Frederick’s reign, there was a continuous movement toward the extension and perfection of this new unified administrative system, with the emperor himself as the driving force. Despite his mighty efforts however, Frederick’s unified Italian state proved ephemeral after his death. The vicars and captains-general provided

13225-402: Was to appoint Heribert of Cologne as his chancellor over Italy, a position he would hold until Otto's death in 1002. Otto III followed in his grandfather Otto I's footsteps in the beginning of his reign, by appointing a new pope, Gregory V, and leaving Rome. Gregory V was expelled and Otto III returned to Rome in 998 where he stayed permanently until his death. In the summer of 995, Otto sent

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