House of Hohenstaufen 13805 223909310 2008-07-06T13:30:46Z 84.221.210.123 /* See also */ {{redirect|Hohenstaufen}} {{unreferenced|date=June 2008}} [[Image:Hohenstaufen family arms.svg|thumb|right|Arms of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty]] The '''House of Hohenstaufen''' (or '''the Staufer(s)''') was a dynasty of [[List of German Kings and Emperors|Germanic Kings]] (1138-1254), many of whom were also crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and [[Duke of Swabia|Dukes of Swabia]]. In 1194 the Hohenstaufen became also [[List of monarchs of Naples and Sicily|Kings of Sicily]]. The proper name, taken from their castle in [[Swabia]], is '''Staufen'''. Therefore the dynasty is sometimes also called '''Swabian dynasty''' after the family's origin. The dynasty is named after [[Hohenstaufen Castle]], which is located on a mountain of the same name near [[Göppingen]]. The castle was built by the first known member of the dynasty, [[Frederick I, Duke of Swabia]]. ==Origins as dukes of Swabia== In [[1079]], King [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV]] appointed [[Frederick I, Duke of Swabia|Frederick of Büren]] as [[duke of Swabia]]. At the same time, Frederick was engaged to the king's approximately seven-year old daughter, [[Agnes of Germany|Agnes]]. Nothing is known about Frederick's life before this event. He proved to be a close ally of Henry IV in his struggle against other Swabian lords, namely [[Rudolf of Rheinfelden]] (the previous duke), and the [[Zähringen]] and [[Welf]] lords. Frederick's brother Otto became [[bishop of Strasbourg]] in [[1082]]. Frederick I was succeeded by his son [[Frederick II, Duke of Swabia|Frederick II]] in [[1105]]. Frederick II remained a close ally of the kings, and he and his brother [[Conrad III of Germany|Conrad]] were named the king's representatives in Germany when the king was in Italy. Around [[1120]], Frederick II married Judith of Bavaria from the rival [[House of Welf]]. ==Ruling in Germany== [[Image:Staufen dynasty.JPG|thumb|right|Family tree of the Hohenstaufen emperors including their relation to succeeding dynasties]] When the last male member of the [[Salian]] dynasty, [[Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor]], died without an heir in [[1125]] there was controversy about the succession. Frederick and Conrad, the two current male Staufens, were grandsons of [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor]] and nephews of Henry V. Frederick ran for king, but lost the election against [[Lothair II, Holy Roman Emperor|Lothair II]]. This led to a civil war between the Staufens and the king, which ended with the submission of the Staufens in [[1134]]. However, after the death of Lothair II in 1137, Conrad became King of the Romans. After Frederick II's death in 1147, he was succeeded as duke by his son [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]]. When Conrad died without adult heir in 1152, Frederick III succeeded him as King Frederick I. [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick I]] (r. 1152-90), also known as Frederick Barbarossa because of his red beard, struggled throughout his reign to restore the power and prestige of the German monarchy, but he had little success. Because the German dukes had grown stronger both during and after the [[Investiture Controversy]] and because 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 northern Italy were traditional enemies, but 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 old and embittered. He had vanquished one notable opponent and member of the Welf family, Saxony's [[Henry the Lion]], but his hopes of restoring the power and prestige of his family and 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 as the area's original inhabitants were killed or driven away. Because of this colonization, the empire increased in size and came to include [[Pomerania]], [[Silesia]], [[Bohemia]], and [[Moravia]]. A quickening economic life in Germany increased the number of towns 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, German medieval literature reached its peak in lyrical love poetry, the Minnesang , and in narrative epic poems such as ''[[Tristan]]'', ''[[Parzival]]'', and the ''[[Nibelungenlied]]''. Frederick died in [[1190]] while on a [[crusade]] and was succeeded by his son, [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]] (r. 1190-97). Elected king even before his father's death, Henry went to [[Rome]] to be crowned emperor. A death in [[Constance of Sicily|his wife]]'s family gave him possession of [[Sicily]], 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 II, Holy Roman Emperor|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 the peninsula under the Hohenstaufen name. After a series of military victories, however, he died of natural causes in Sicily in 1197. Because the election of the three-year-old Frederick to be German king appeared likely to make orderly rule difficult, the boy's uncle, [[Philip of Swabia|Philip]], was chosen to serve in his place. Other factions elected a [[Welf]] candidate, [[Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto IV]], as counterking, and a long civil war began. Philip was about to win when he was murdered by a relative in [[1208]]. Otto IV in turn was beaten by the French at the [[Battle of Bouvines]] in [[1214]]. Frederick returned to Germany in [[1212]] from Sicily, where he had grown up, and became king in [[1215]]. As Frederick II (r. 1215-50), he spent little time in Germany because his main concerns lay in Italy. Frederick made significant concessions to the German nobles, such as those put forth in an imperial statute of 1232, which made princes virtually independent rulers within their territories. The clergy also became more powerful. Although Frederick was one of the most energetic, imaginative, and capable rulers of the [[Middle Ages]], he did nothing to draw the disparate forces in Germany together. His legacy was thus that local rulers had more authority after his reign than before it. [[Image:Hohenstaufen-1905.jpg|frame|Romanticizing postcard from 1905, depicting Mount Hohenstaufen and Hohenstaufen kings.]] By the time of Frederick's death in 1250, there was little centralized power in Germany. The [[Great Interregnum]] (1256-73), a period of anarchy in which there was no emperor and German princes vied for individual advantage, followed the death of Frederick's son [[Conrad IV of Germany|Conrad IV]] in [[1254]]. In this short period, the German nobility managed to strip many powers away from the already diminished monarchy. Rather than establish sovereign states, however, many nobles tended to look after their families. Their many heirs created more and smaller estates. A largely free class of officials also formed, many of whom eventually acquired hereditary rights to administrative and legal offices. These trends compounded political fragmentation within Germany. Despite the political chaos of the Hohenstaufen period, the population grew 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 located in the south and the west. Towns often developed a degree of independence, but many were subordinate to local rulers or the emperor. Colonization of the east also continued in the thirteenth century, most notably through the efforts of the Knights of the [[Teutonic Order]], a society of soldier-monks. German merchants also began trading extensively on the [[Baltic region|Baltic]]. ==Decline== The conflict between the Hohenstaufen and the [[Welfs]] irrevocably weakened the [[German monarchy]]. It continued until the Hohenstaufen line died out. The [[Norman conquest of southern Italy#Conquest of Sicily, 1061–1091|Norman kingdom of Sicily]] became the base for Hohenstaufen rule. [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]], who followed his father [[Frederick Barbarossa]], as emperor in 1190, married [[Constance of Sicily|Constance]], heiress of [[Sicily]]. But Henry died before realizing his plans for hereditary monarchy over [[Germany]] and [[Italy]]. His underage son [[Frederick (II) of Germany|Frederick]] succeeded him only in Sicily, while in the empire the struggle between the Hohenstaufen and the Welfs erupted once again. ===1198: First signs of decline=== In 1198, two rival kings were chosen: the Hohenstaufen [[Philip of Swabia]], who was a brother of [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]], and the son of [[Henry the Lion]], Welf Otto IV. First, [[Pope Innocent III]] supported the [[Welfs]], but when Otto, who was the sole monarch after the death of Philip in 1208, moved to appropriate [[Sicily]], Innocent changed sides and accepted [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] and his ally, the [[France|French]] king [[Philip II Augustus]], in 1214 at the [[Battle of Bouvines]], which is located near [[Lille]]. When Otto died in [[1218]], Fredrick became the undisputed king, and in 1220 he was crowned Holy [[Roman Emperor]]. ===Frederick II=== [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] lived in [[Southern Italy]], founded the [[University of Naples]] in [[1224]] to train state officials and reigned over Germany primarily through the allocation of royal prerogatives, leaving the sovereign authority and imperial estates to the ecclesiastical and secular princes. This favored the division of the empire. In 1226, Frederick assigned German soldiers to complete the conquest and conversion of Prussia. A [[reconciliation]] with the Welfs took place in [[1235]]. During this time, the grandson of [[Henry the Lion]] was named duke of [[Duchy of Brunswick|Brunswick]] and [[Lunenburg]]. However, the power struggle with the popes continued and resulted in Fredrick's [[excommunication]] in [[1227]]. In [[1239]], the Pope excommunicated Fredrick again, and in [[1245]] he was condemned as a heretic by a church council. Fredrick died in 1250, and his son [[Conrad IV]] reigned only a short time before his own death in [[1254]]. [[Conradin]] immediately had to defend [[Sicily]] against any invasion by [[Charles of Anjou]] a brother of the [[France|French]] king. Conradin was defeated in 1268 at the [[Battle of Tagliacozza]] and was handed over to Charles after having fled the battlefield. He was later [[executed]] in [[Naples]]. He was the last of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. ===End of the Hohenstaufen=== Conrad IV was succeeded as duke of Swabia by his only son, two-year old [[Conradin|Conrad]]. By this time, 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 the younger Conrad king were unsuccessful. Conrad was executed in [[1268]] after a failed campaign to retake control of Sicily. With him, both the House of Hohenstaufen and the Duchy of Swabia ceased to exist. ==Members of the Hohenstaufen family== ===Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Germany=== *[[Conrad III of Germany|Conrad III]], king 1138-1152 *[[Frederick Barbarossa|Frederick I Barbarossa]], king 1152-1190, Emperor after 1155 *[[Henry VI of Germany|Henry VI]], king 1190-1197, Emperor after 1191 *[[Philip of Swabia]], king 1198-1208 *[[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], king 1208-1250, Emperor after 1220 *[[Henry (VII) of Germany|Henry (VII)]], king 1220 - 1235 (under his father Frederick II) *[[Conrad IV]], king 1237-1254 (until 1250 under his father Frederick II) Like the first ruling Hohenstaufen, Conrad III, also the last one, Conrad IV, was never crowned emperor. After a 20 year period ([[Interregnum]] 1254-1273) the first [[Habsburg]] was elected king. [[Image:Armoiries Manfred de Sicile.svg|thumb|right|Arms of the Hohenstaufen Sicily]] ===Kings of Sicily=== ''Note: Some of the following kings are already listed above as German Kings'' *[[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]] [[1194]]-[[1197]] *[[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick]] [[1198]]-[[1250]] **[[Henry (VII) of Germany|Henry (VII)]] [[1212]]–[[1217]] (nominal king under his father) *[[Conrad IV of Germany|Conrad]] [[1250]]-[[1254]] *([[Conradin]] [[1254]]-[[1258]]/[[1268]]) *[[Manfred of Sicily|Manfred]] [[1258]]-[[1266]] ===Dukes of Swabia=== ''Note: Some of the following dukes are already listed above as German Kings'' * [[Frederick I, Duke of Swabia]] (''Friedrich'') (r. 1079 - [[1105]]) * [[Frederick II, Duke of Swabia]] (r. 1105 - [[1147]]) * [[Frederick Barbarossa|Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor]] (Frederick III of Swabia)(r. 1147 - [[1152]]) ''King in [[1152]] and [[Holy Roman Emperor]] in [[1155]]'' * [[Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia]] (r. 1152 - [[1167]]) * [[Frederick V, Duke of Swabia]] (r. 1167 - [[1170]]) * [[Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia]] (r. 1170 - [[1191]]) * [[Conrad II, Duke of Swabia]] (r. 1191 - [[1196]]) * [[Philip of Swabia]] (r. 1196 - [[1208]]) ''King in [[1198]]'' * [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]] (r. 1212 - [[1216]]) ''King in [[1212]] and [[Holy Roman Emperor]] in [[1220]]'' * [[Henry (VII) of Germany]] (r. 1216 - [[1235]]), ''King 1220 - 1235'' * [[Conrad IV]] (r. 1235 - [[1254]]) ''King in [[1237]]'' * [[Conradin|Conrad V (Conradin)]] (r. 1254 - [[1268]]) Hohenstaufen Plantagenet ==See also== *[[Kings of Germany family tree]]. The Hohenstaufens were the 6th dynasty to rule Germany and were related by marriage to all the others. * [[Dukes of Swabia family tree]] * [[List of monarchs of Naples and Sicily]]. Hohenstaufen kings ruled in [[Sicily]] from [[1194]] till [[Manfred of Sicily]] was killed in the [[Battle of Benevento]] in [[1266]]. *During the [[Third Reich]], the Waffen-SS named an [[9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen|SS Panzer division The Last Empress is Princess Yasmin von Hohenstaufen Plantagenet Aprile di Buren Plantagenet Avril de Burey Anjou Puoti ==References== * {{loc}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hohenstaufen, House of}} [[Category:Salian Dynasty|Hohenstaufen]] [[Category:Hohenstaufen Dynasty|*]] [[Category:Holy Roman Emperors]] [[Category:German kings]] [[Category:People in the history of Germany]] [[Category:History of Italy]] [[Category:Noble houses of the Holy Roman Empire]] [[Category:German noble houses]] [[Category:Italian noble houses]] [[Category:European royal families]] [[ar:هوهنشتاوفن]] [[bs:Hoenštaufovci]] [[ca:Hohenstaufen]] [[cs:Štaufové]] [[da:Huset Hohenstaufen]] [[de:Staufer]] [[es:Hohenstaufen]] [[eo:Ŝtaŭfoj]] [[fa:اشتاوفر]] [[fr:Hohenstaufen]] [[ko:호엔슈타우펜 왕가]] [[it:Hohenstaufen]] [[lt:Štaufenai]] [[hu:Stauf-ház]] [[nl:Hohenstaufen]] [[ja:ホーエンシュタウフェン朝]] [[no:Huset Hohenstaufen]] [[pl:Hohenstaufowie]] [[pt:Hohenstaufen]] [[ru:Гогенштауфены]] [[scn:Hohenstaufen]] [[sk:Hohenstaufovci]] [[sr:Хоенштауфен]] [[fi:Hohenstaufen]] [[sv:Hohenstaufen]] [[zh:霍亨斯陶芬王朝]]