Most other medieval German rulers are all but forgotten, so why has interest in the Hohenstaufen never completely disappeared. They were by no means the most successful emperors, that crown has to go the Ottonians, nor was their reign the most fateful, that award goes to the later Salians. Frederick Barbarossa and his grandson Frederick II have been such fascinating personalities that almost any age could project their own perceptions and expectations onto them, from champion of national uni ...
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Ep. 16 (59) - The City of Straw - Barbarossa's failed siege of Alessandria
30:27
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(1168-1174) This week we talk about Barbarossa’s next moves after his disastrous fourth Italian campaign. It takes him a few years to come to grips with the failure of his great imperial programme before he makes one last attempt to resurrect it.By Dirk Hoffmann-Becking
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(1162-1167 again) This week we will talk about the second part of the pincer movement that brought that Hohenstaufen construct of imperial power crashing down to earth. The first was the schism in the Latin church and the second was the link-up of almost all northern Italian communes in a coalition against Barbarossa, the Lombard League. The music …
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Ep. 14 ( 57) - The Hand of God - The siege of Rome in 1167 that changes everything
38:10
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This week we do what we have done so many times and seem to be unable to avoid, talk about the conflict between pope and emperor. And that always means trouble, bad decisions and a siege of Rome. But boy, this time is not another standard schism, this time it is showdown. The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip…
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Ep. 13 (56) - The Siege of Crema - Barbarossa razes Milan to the ground
33:11
33:11
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1159-1162 This week we will see how the Italian Communes take the Laws of Roncaglia. Not well is the understatement of the 12th century. Prepare for some epic sieges and harsh imperial justice. 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 a…
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Ep. 12 (55) - The Laws of Roncaglia - Barbarossa brings back Roman Law
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By September 1158 Barbarossa had completed one of the shortest and most efficient Italian campaigns of the medieval period. He had set off from Augsburg in mid-July and by early September Milan had capitulated. By October, most troop contingents both those from north of the Alps and those of the communes were on their way home and all of Italy was …
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Ep. 11 (54) - A Bohemian Bluff - Barbarossa conquers Milan for the first time
31:13
31:13
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(1158) This week we will see Barbarossa try using his freshly minted army to take down the city of Milan, a city of 150,000 and the one commune that he needs to defeat if he really wants to establish imperial rule in Italy, 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 Joha…
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Ep. 10 (53 - Sacrum Imperium - The moment when the Empire becomes Holy and Roman
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(1155-1158) This week we will see how Barbarossa addresses the big issue he had in his first Italian campaign, the size of the army and how he creates the Holy Roman Empire in the process. 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 ar…
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Ep. 9 (52) - The Honour of the Empire - Bringing the broken Empire back together
39:40
39:40
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1153-1155 This week we finally get our narrative going. Barbarossa will boost the honour of the empire by burning cities, hanging heretics, slaughtering rabble-rousing Romans and inventing the concept of the university. 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 S…
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Ep. 8 (51) - The Barbarossa - Who was the Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa?
18:57
18:57
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1152 In this episode we examine Barbarossa's background, childhood and education. What is it that made him so exceptional? And we investigate whether the Cappenberger Head is indeed an individual likeness of the emperor, or just another image of what an emperor is supposed to look like.By Dirk Hoffmann-Becking
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Ep. 8 (50) - Barbarossa Begins - A Stolen Election?
27:04
27:04
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(1149-1152) In his last few years the ill and exhausted king Conrad III relies more and more on his nephew, Frederick, the duke of Swabia called Barbarossa because of his ginger beard. Barbarossa forms the cornerstone linking the warring houses of Welf and Waiblingen. His military capabilities and diplomatic skills propell the barely 30 year old to…
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Ep. 7 (49) - Konrad's Catastrophe - The Disaster that is the Second Crusade
33:20
33:20
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1147-1149 The title is a bit of a spoiler. Suffice to say that Cornad III's great crusade does not go quite as planned. He had set off with an army of between 20,000 and 60,000 from Regensburg in June 1147 making his way doen to Constantinople via Hungary and the Balkans. Ever eager for glory he had set off a month before his rival, king Louis VII …
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Ep. 6 (48) - Konrad's Conundrum - Imperial Coronation or Crusade?
32:11
32:11
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1144-1147 - King, not really Emperor Conrad III may have signed a precarious peace with his greatest opponent, Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony. But the kingdom remains in turmoil. Feuds are everywhere, devastating the land. His half-brother bishop Otto of Freising sees all that death and destruction as a clear portend of the imminent arrival of the …
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Ep. 5 (47) - Konrad's Coup - The Hohenstaufen Konrad III snatches the crown from the Welf
29:04
29:04
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1138-1142 This week we will watch another candidate having the royal title snatched from his fingers. Henry the Proud, duke of Bavaria, duke of Saxony, Margrave of Tuscany and Este, richest landowner in Germany and Italy, son-in-law of the previous emperor and his designated successor is a shoo in for the imperial title. Only Conrad of Hohenstaufen…
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Ep. 4 (46) - A Topsy Turvy World - Lothar III and the schism between Anaclet II Innocent II
35:36
35:36
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1130-1137 - Emperor Lothar III is getting embroiled in the schism between popes Innocent II and Anaclet II. Anaclet II is properly elected and holds Rome whilst Innocent II enjoys the support of the most influential church leader of the time, St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Fear of St. Bernard drives Lothar into the camp of Innocent II which means he has…
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Ep.3 (45) - Triple Division - The role of Bernard of Clairvaux
30:51
30:51
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This week we take a little detour to catch up with our friends in Rome, the popes. Do not worry, the popes are no longer all goody two shoes, we are back to the usual shenanigans of murder, backstabbing, betrayal and the Normans. The church is divided three ways, between the two rival Roman clans of the Frangipani and the Pierleoni, between the old…
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Ep. 2 (44) - A Saxon Emperor - Lothar III takes the crown and ends in a civil war with the Hohenstaufen
28:00
28:00
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Lothar III being duly elected and crowned declares a 12 month peace for the whole realm., only to break it himself a few months later. Frederick of Hohenstaufen, his rival for the crown is unwilling to hand over the crown lands he is still holding. And after gentle insistence did not achieve much, cold hard steel need to be put to work. In the firs…
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Ep. 1 (43)- All Change, All Change - The tumultuous Election of Emperor Lothar III
35:15
35:15
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Between March and June of 1977 675,000 people visited the Alte Schloß in Stuttgart to see an exhibition entitled “Die Zeit der Staufer” (the Time of the Hohenstaufen in English). Over 1,000 items from 17 countries were on display, with the Cappenberger Kopf, the image of emperor Frederick Barbarossa, this episode’s artwork as its star exhibit. Nobo…
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