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FREDERICK

the various parts of his rcahn and manfully exerted utilize them in pursuing his imperial policy. The himself to establish internal peace. There was no rea- conduct of Frederick in Northern Italy and the mis- son why the secular princes of his empire should op- taken concept of the relations between Church and pose the newly chosen king; his naturally conservative State could not fail to bring about a conflict with the mind knew how to deal with existing forces. Of the papacy. In this conflict for supremacy in Northern princes, whose power was already approaching sover- Italy, the pope was forced to prove that he was able to eignty, he demanded only respect for the existing defend the position of equality with the king, which the order". He sought also to unite the interests of the Ger- papal see had acquired, and in this way to gain a com- nian princes, especially those of the House of Guelph plete victory over the emperor. The king, a deeply with the interests of the empire. The Gregorian, religious man, was, indeed, convinced that the secular

hierarchical party in Germany was in a state of com- plete dissolution. From the bishops Frederick had no reason to fear radical opposition to his policy towards tlie Church, dissatisfaction with the papal administra- tion in Germany being then widespread. He suc- ceeded in recovering the influence formerly exercised by the German king in the selection of bishops. Many powerful men were at that time to be found among the German clergy, prominent among them being the pro- vost of Hildesheim, Rainald von Dassel, consecrated .Arch- bishop of Cologne in May, 1156, and made chancellor of the empire. For eleven years he was the most faithful coun sellor of Frederick. Rainald was a formidable opponent of the papacy; in him the bishop almost wholly disappears in the statesman. Similar to Frederick in character, he vig- orously supported the anti- hierarchical policy of the emperor. Another prelate, also a stanch supporter of the king, was Wichmann, Arch- bishop of Magdeburg, more of a soldier than a bishop, and uncanonically promotetl from the See of Zeitz to the Arch- bishopric of Magdeburg. Thus assisted by the various estates of the empire, Frederick sought to make the power of the crown as independent as possible. This he did by vigorously furthering the interests of his ancestral house. The administrators of his family property, the ministeriales, were not only managers of great estates, but at the same time an ever-ready body of warriors. The nego- tiations between the king and the pope concerning the appointment to the See of Magdeburg revealed for the


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Frederick B.^rbarossa as Crusader Miniature of 1188, Vatican Library

and ecclesiastical powers should co-operate with each other, but he made it clear that even the pope should respect in him the imperial lord. If Frederick be- came master of Italy, the pope would have to acknowl- edge this supremacy. In the beginning, it seemed probable that Frederick would triumph. The pope

needed German help. Threat-

" ened by the Normans from without, he was not even se- cure in his own city, which governed itself through a sen- ate elected Ijy popular vote and tolerated the revolutionary Arnold of Brescia within its walls. It was in these cir- cumstances that the Treaty of Constance was signed be- tween the pope and the king (March, 1153). This treaty was aimed against the enemies of the pope both in Rome and Southern Italy. In return the pope promised to crown Fred- erick emperor and to help him against his enemies.

In October, 1154, Frederick began his march Romewards. Owing to the weakness of his army, the king did not succeed at this time in subjecting to his power Northern Italy and the rebellious city of Milan. In 1155 he went on with his army to Rome, where he met the newly elected Pope .Adrian IV, who maintained himself in Rome with difficulty and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the German king. Frederick could not establish permanent order in Rome. The Treaty of Constance, promising the pope help against the Romans and Normans, was therefore not carried out. On 18 June, 1155, after having delivered Arnold of Brescia into the pope's hands, Frederick was

^ ^ crownetl as Roman emperor in spite of the opposition

first time a radical difference between the policies of of the reliellious Romans. In Southern, as in North-

the Church and the State. During these stormy con- troversies, forerunners of the approaching tempest, Frederick was strengthened in his views regarding the superiority of the royal over the papal power, chiefly thi-ough intercourse with the leading jurists of the Uni-

crn, Italy Frederick made little progress during this Italian expedition. During the years 1155-1158, Freilerick reached the heig!it of his power, and ener- getically safeguarded the tranquillity of his realm. The difficult Bavarian question, replete with imminent

versity of Bologna. The conception of the dignity of danger of war, was successfully settled; Henry Jaso-

the Roman emperor placed before him by these men mirgott surrendered Bavaria to Henry the Lion and in

confirmed him in his claims to the supremacy of the return received Austria as an intlepcndent duchy, a

German kings over the Church, which he based upon step that was pregnant with consequences for the

the rights exercised by them during the Carlovingian future of Germany. Frederick's policy was also suc-

period. The whole internal and external policy of cessful along the eastern and western boundaries of

Frederick was controlled by the idea of restoring the his empire. His suzerainty in Burgundy was, in the

ancient imperium mundi. In Northern Italy, where many prosperous communes had acquired independ- ence, the former imperial suzerainty had passed away. Frederick failed to see that in these cities a new polit- ical factor was developing, and underrated the powers of resistance of these free municipal republics. Con- cerned oidy with itumediate advantages, he sought to recoverthe regalia (income from vacant sees and bene-

main, re-established, after Frederick, with the con- sent of the Curia, had separated from Adela von Vohburg, and married Beatrice, the heiress of Bur- gundy. On his eastern frontier, he succeeded more and more in Germanizing and Christianizing the local tribes. In this respect, Henry the Lion was the chief pioneer of the future imperial policy. Frederick maintained amicable relations with Demnark, Poland,

fices), which the cities had gradually usurped, and to and Hungary. Impelled by his proud consciousness