Portal:Holy Roman Empire/Article of the month/August

Frederick Barbarossa

Frederick I or Frederick Barbarossa from the House of Hohenstaufen was Frederick III, Duke of Swabia, from 1147 to 1152. From 1152, he was the King of the Romans (rex Romanorum) and from 1155 Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He was given his nickname Barbarossa (barba "beard", rossa "red") in Italy because of his red-tinted beard.

It is still not clear where the Hohenstaufen emperor was born. The Welf princes, Judith, according to the only documented record, bore her "first child" at a castle near Altdorf, today Weingarten. Because it was common at that time for the mother to give birth to her children in her country of origin, it is quite likely that Frederick was born in the land of her mother. However, it is not certain whether this first child was actually Frederick because there was a high rate of infant mortality at that time.

More...