FREDERICK I BARBAROSSA

As far as family trees go, the one that baby Frederick of Swabia was born into was impressive. The future Frederick I Barbarossa was the descendent of two of Germany’s most powerful families: the Hohenstaufens on his father’s side, and the Welfs on his mother’s. His father, also called Frederick, was Duke of Swabia, while his mother Judith was a daughter of the Duke of Bavaria. Moreover, the young Frederick was a grand-nephew of Henry V, the Holy Roman Emperor.

Frederick’s illustrious lineage was a curse as well as a blessing. The Hohenstaufens and the Welfs were rivals who vied for power in Germany, and conflict between them broke out in 1125, when Frederick was still a toddler. When Henry V died without a legitimate son, Frederick’s father desired the throne as his closest heir but was defeated in the election that decided the destination of the crown. The new King of Germany – officially titled King of the Romans – was Lothair III, formerly the Duke of Saxony. Duke Frederick did not take the result well and ended up clashing with the new king, whose brother-in-law, the new Duke of Bavaria, attacked Swabia on behalf of Lothair.

After ten years of fighting left