The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa"The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa" is the "official biography" of German king and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. This historical firsthand account was begun by his maternal uncle, Bishop Otto of Freising, the leading medieval church figure and notable historian, and continued by a less well known cleric, Rahewin. This chronicle is the single most important source for the early reign of Frederick Barbarossa and the most valuable biographical study to come out of the twelfth century. In a letter written to his uncle, Frederick recounted his life and the principal events of his reign. The first of the four books that constitute this account were written by Otto and cover events from 1075 to 1152, from the reign of Henry IV through that of Conrad III. The second book draws heavily on the letter, providing invaluable insight into Frederick's attempts to establish and consolidate the Hohenstaufen empire. The final two books, written by Rahewin, follow the emperor's reign through 1160, during which time Frederick restored order at home, recovered imperial control of Burgundy, and re-created an imperial party in Italy |
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abbot aforesaid ambassadors apostolic Apulia archbishop arms army authority Bavaria bishop blessed Peter Boethius brother called camp captive cardinal deacon cardinal priest chancellor church of St clergy Cologne concerning Conrad council count palatine court Crema Cremona crown deacon death deed divine duchy Duke Frederick Duke Henry election enemy expedition faith father favor Frederick Barbarossa gave obedience Greeks Guido held Henry the Lion Holy Roman Church honor Ibid imperial Italy Josephus Josephus Wars Jugurtha Kalends king knights land legates letter lord emperor lord pope Lord Victor Mainz mantle matter Milan Milanese noble oath Octavian Otto of Freising Otto's Pavia peace person Piacenza Pope Hadrian present prince Psalms Rahewin realm received Regensburg Rhine Roland Roman pontiff Rome royal Sallust Sallust Jugurtha Saxony sent sentence siege soldiers spirit stronghold subsistent thing summoned Swabia tion Tortona town valor venerable Verona victory Welf words Zähringen