In Germany, he is known best by his nickname, meaning "red-beard," and whatever honors the English-speaking world heaps on Richard the Lionheart, German speakers have an equal one for Barbarossa. Indeed, the two were contemporaries of each other. Barbarossa was born the nephew of Conrad III, who was then the Holy Roman Emperor. He himself was next in line for the duchy of Swabia, but the Emperor treated him as his own son, even advocating him for the imperial title upon his death. Conrad's request ws not realized until 1152. Barbarossa considered his title a gift from God, given to him through the German princes who had chosen him as Emperor. Dreaming to give the Roman Empire a new birth, he consolidated his power by bringing peace to the warring German princes, and granting them great concessions. However, the most marked aspect of Barbarossa's reign was his long feud with the papacy. In 1156, Pope Adrian sent Barbarossa a letter, reminding him that he held his lands as a fief of the Church. This was a common attitude of the era, but it enraged Barbarossa, for it challenged his right to rule. In 1158, the troubles in Lombardy began, when he began to demand they recognize those royal rights, including his power to install officials. Milan, Piacenza, Brescia, and Cremona and other Italian cities rose against him. By 1162, Barbarossa had subdued Milan and its allies while setting up a series of antipopes in opposition to Alexander III, who favored the Milanese. This struggle resulted in Barbarossa's excommunication in 1165. But, in 1168, Barbarossa was able to install one of his antipopes on the papal throne, Paschal III. The year before, the cities of Parma, Padua, Verona, Piacenza, Bologna, Cremona, Mantua, Bergamo, Brescia, and of course, Milan, had formed an alliance against Barbarossa called the Lombard League, which Alexander eventually came to be the leader of. By the time Barbarossa dealt with the growing Italian threat, they had become too strong, and defeated him at Legnano; significant as one of the first victories of infantry over a force of mounted knights since antiquity. In 1177, he was forced to acknowledge Alexander as pope, and in 1183, to sign the Peace of Constance, by which he gave Lombardy autonomy, but retained imperial suzerainty. However, Barbarossa's gains in central Europe offset his losses in Italy. Poland was made a tributary of the Empire, Bohemia was made a kingdom, and Austria was made a hereditary duchy. In 1180, he put down the Welf rebellion of Henry the Lion, by which time his power was securely established. Ironically, in 1189, it was Barbarossa who began the Third Crusade, a war for the Church he had fought so hard against. Leaving his son Henry, later Henry VI, to run things while he was away, he set out for Asia Minor. After defeating the Turks at Philomelion and Iconium, he was drowned in the Calycandus River in Cilicia on June 10, 1190


References: [Theroff],[AR7]