Conradin 147895 218075299 2008-06-09T01:17:21Z PatGallacher 164032 restore deleted info [[Image:CodexManesseFol007rConradin.jpg|thumb|250px|Portrait of Conradin from the [[Codex Manesse]] (Folio 7r).]] :''Conradin is also a character in the short story [[Sredni Vashtar]].'' '''Conrad''' ([[25 March]] [[1252]] &ndash; [[29 October]] [[1268]]), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive '''Conradin''' ({{lang-de|Konradin}}, {{lang-it|Corradino}}), was the [[Duke of Swabia]] (1254&ndash;1268, as '''Conrad IV'''), [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|King of Jerusalem]] (1254&ndash;1268, as '''Conrad III'''), and [[Kingdom of Sicily|King of Sicily]] (1254&ndash;1258, ''de jure'' until 1268, as '''Conrad II'''). He was born in [[Landshut|Wolfstein]], [[Bavaria]], to [[Conrad IV of Germany]] and [[Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany|Elisabeth of Wittelsbach]]. He is sometimes known as '''Conrad V''', though he never succeeded his father in Germany. Having lost his father in 1254 he grew up at the court of his uncle and guardian, [[Louis II, Duke of Bavaria|Louis II, Duke of Upper Bavaria]]. His guardians were able to hold [[Swabia]] for him. Jerusalem was held by a relative from the royal house of [[Cyprus]] as regent. In [[Sicily]], his father's half-brother [[Manfred of Sicily|Manfred]] continued as regent, but began to develop plans to usurp the kingship. We know little of his appearance and character except that he was "beautiful as [[Absalom]], and spoke good [[Latin]]". Although his father had entrusted him to the guardianship of the church, [[Pope Innocent IV]] pursued Conradin with the same relentless hatred he had against his grandfather [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], and attempted to bestow the kingdom of Sicily on a foreign prince. Innocent's successor, [[Pope Alexander IV]], continuing this policy, offered the [[Hohenstaufen]] lands in Germany to [[Alfonso X of Castile|Alfonso X]], king of [[Crown of Castile|Castile]], and forbade Conradin's election as [[king of the Romans]]. Having assumed the title of [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|King of Jerusalem]] and [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]], Conradin took possession of the [[duchy of Swabia]] in 1262, and remained for some time in his dukedom. Conradin's first invitation to [[Italy]] came from the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Guelph]]s of [[Florence]]: they asked him to take arms against Manfred, who had been crowned [[Kingdom of Sicily|king of Sicily]] in 1258 on a false rumor of Conradin's death. Louis refused this invitation on his nephew's behalf. In 1266 the count [[Charles I of Naples|Charles I of Anjou]], called by the new pope [[Pope Clement IV|Clement IV]], defeated and killed Manfred at [[Battle of Benevento|Benevento]], taking possession of southern Italy: envoys from the [[Ghibelline]] cities came then to Bavaria and urged Conradin to come and free Italy. Pledging his lands, he crossed the [[Alps]] and issued a manifesto at [[Verona, Italy|Verona]] setting forth his claim on Sicily. Notwithstanding the defection of his uncle Louis and of other companions who returned to [[Germany]], the threats of [[Pope Clement IV|Clement IV]], and a lack of funds, his cause seemed to prosper. Proclaiming him King of Sicily, his partisans both in the north and south of Italy took up arms; Rome received his envoy with enthusiasm; and the young king himself received welcomes at [[Pavia]], [[Pisa]] and [[Siena]]. In September 1267 a [[Spain|Spanish]] fleet disembarked in the Sicilian city of [[Sciacca]], and most of the island rebelled against the [[Anjou|Angevine]] rule. Only [[Palermo]] and [[Messina]] remained loyal to Charles. The revolt spread to [[Calabria]] and [[Puglia]]. In November of the same year the Church [[excommunication|excommunicated]] him; but his fleet won a victory over that of [[Charles I of Naples|Charles]]; and in July 1268, Conradin himself entered with immense enthusiasm in [[Rome]]. Having strengthened his forces, he marched towards [[Lucera]] to join the [[Saracen]]s troops settled there since the time of his grandfather. On [[August 23]], [[1268]] his multi-national army of [[Italy|Italian]], [[Spain|Spanish]], [[Rome|Roman]], [[Arab]] and [[Germany|German]] troops encountered the one of Charles at [[Battle of Tagliacozzo|Tagliacozzo]], in a hilly area of central Italy. The eagerness of Conradin's soldiers to obtain plunder in the enemy's camp after a momentary victorious assault gave the final victory to the [[France|French]]. Escaping from the field of battle, Conradin reached Rome, but acting on advice to leave the city he proceeded to [[Astura]] in an attempt to sail for [[Sicily]]: but here he was arrested and handed over to Charles of Anjou, who imprisoned him in the [[Castel dell'Ovo]] in [[Naples]], together with the inseparable [[Frederick I, Margrave of Baden|Frederick of Baden]]. He was tried as a traitor, and on [[October 29]], [[1268]] he and Frederick were beheaded. With Conradin's death at 16, the legitimate [[Hohenstaufen]] line became extinct. His remains, with those of Frederick of Baden, lie in the church of the monastery of [[Santa Maria del Carmine]] at [[Naples]], founded by his mother for the good of his soul; and here in 1847 [[Maximilian II of Bavaria|Maximilian]], crown prince of Bavaria, erected a marble statue by [[Bertel Thorvaldsen]] to his memory. In the 14th century [[Codex Manesse]], a collection of [[medieval]] German lyrics, preserved at [[Heidelberg]], there appear two songs written by Conradin, and his fate has formed the subject of several dramas. His hereditary Kingdom of Jerusalem passed to the heirs of his great-great-grandmother [[Isabella I of Jerusalem]], among whom a succession dispute arose. The senior heir in primogeniture was [[Hugh of Brienne]], a second cousin of Conradin's father, but another second cousin [[Hugh III of Cyprus]] already held the office of regent and managed to keep the kingdom as Hugh I of Jerusalem. Conradin's grandmother's first cousin [[Mary of Antioch]] also staked her claim on basis of [[proximity of blood]], which she later sold to Conradin's executioner [[Charles of Anjou]]. The general heiress of his Kingdom of Sicily and the Duchy of Swabia was her aunt [[Margaret of Sicily|Margaret]], half-sister of his father Conrad IV (the youngest but only surviving child of Frederick II and his third wife, Isabella of England) and married with [[Albert II, Margrave of Meissen|Albert, Landgrave of Thuringia]] since [[1255]]. Their son [[Frederick of Meissen|Frederick]] claimed Sicily and Swabia on her right. However, these claims met with little favor. Swabia, pawned by Conradin before his last expedition, was disintegrating as a territorial unit. He went unrecognized in Outremer, and Charles of Anjou was deeply entrenched in power in Southern Italy. Margrave Frederick proposed an invasion of Italy in [[1269]], and attracted some support from the Lombard Ghibellines, but his plans were never carried out, and he played no further part in Italian affairs. Finally, Sicily passed to Charles of Anjou, but the [[Sicilian Vespers]] in 1282 resulted in dual claims on the Kingdom; the Aragonese heirs of Manfred retaining the island of [[Sicily]] and the [[Angevin]] party retaining the southern part of [[Italy]], popularly called the [[Kingdom of Naples]]. ==References== * F. W. Schirrmacher, ''Die letzten Hohenstaufen'' (Göttingen, 1871) * K. Hampe, ''Geschichte Konradins von Hohenstaufen'' (Berlin, 1893) * del Giudice, ''Il Giudizio e la condanna di Corradino'' (Naples, 1876) * G. Cattaneo, ''Federico II di Svevia'' (Rome, 1992) * E. Miller, ''Konradin von Hohenstaufen'' (Berlin, 1897) {{1911}} {{Nuttall}} {{start box}} {{s-reg}} {{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Conrad IV of Germany]]<br>as Conrad I of Sicily<br>Conrad II of Jerusalem}} {{s-ttl|title=[[King of Sicily]]|years=1254 &ndash; 1268 (1258)}} {{s-aft|after=[[Manfred of Sicily|Manfred]]''' or '''[[Charles I of Sicily|Charles I]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[King of Jerusalem]]|years=1254 &ndash; 1268}} {{s-aft|after=[[Hugh III of Cyprus|Hugh I]]}} {{s-reg|de}} {{s-bef|before=[[Conrad IV of Germany|Conrad III]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Swabia]]|years=1254 &ndash; 1268}} {{s-non|reason=Divided into counties}} {{end box}} <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME=Conradin |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Conrad (alternate form); Conrad the Younger (sobriquet); Conradin the Boy (sobriquet); Conrad V (numbered form); Konradin (German); Konrad V (German numbered form); Konrad der Jüngere (German sobriquet); Conrad III (as Duke of Swabia) |SHORT DESCRIPTION=German conqueror |DATE OF BIRTH=[[March 25]], [[1252]] |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Wolfstein]], [[Bavaria]] (now [[Germany]]) |DATE OF DEATH=[[October 29]], [[1268]] |PLACE OF DEATH=[[Naples]] (now [[Italy]]) }} [[Category:Kings of Sicily]] [[Category:Kings of Jerusalem]] [[Category:Dukes of Swabia]] [[Category:Hohenstaufen Dynasty]] [[Category:People from Bavaria]] [[Category:Executed royalty]] [[Category:People executed by decapitation]] [[Category:Medieval child rulers]] [[Category:1252 births|Conradin]] [[Category:1268 deaths|Conradin]] [[ca:Conradí de Sicília]] [[cs:Konradin]] [[de:Konradin]] [[et:Konradin]] [[es:Conradino de Hohenstaufen]] [[fr:Conradin]] [[it:Corrado V del Sacro Romano Impero]] [[ko:콘라딘]] [[nl:Konradijn van Hohenstaufen]] [[ja:コッラディーノ]] [[pl:Konradyn (książę Szwabii)]] [[pt:Conradino da Germânia]] [[ru:Конрадин]] [[scn:Curradinu di Hohenstaufen]] [[sr:Конрадин]] [[sv:Konradin]] [[zh:康拉丁]]