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Frederick Barbarossa: A Prince and the Myth
A rich portrait of Frederick Barbarossa, the medieval monarch who ruled Germany in cooperation with the princes and whose legend inspired Hitler to label his invasion of the Soviet Union “Operation Barbarossa”
“Freed has done so much to illuminate the ins and out of German politics in the late tweflth century, ensuring that his book will be a constant point of reference for scholars.”—David Abulafia, History Today
Frederick Barbarossa, born of two of Germany’s most powerful families, swept to the imperial throne in a coup d’état in 1152. A leading monarch of the Middle Ages, he legalized the dualism between the crown and the princes that endured until the end of the Holy Roman Empire.
This new biography, the first in English in four decades, paints a rich picture of a consummate diplomat and effective warrior. John Freed mines Barbarossa’s recently published charters and other sources to illuminate the monarch’s remarkable ability to rule an empire that stretched from the Baltic to Rome, and from France to Poland. Offering a fresh assessment of the role of Barbarossa’s extensive familial network in his success, the author also considers the impact of Frederick’s death in the Third Crusade as the key to his lasting heroic reputation. In an intriguing epilogue, Freed explains how Hitler’s audacious attack on the Soviet Union in 1941 came to be called “Operation Barbarossa.”
“Freed has done so much to illuminate the ins and out of German politics in the late tweflth century, ensuring that his book will be a constant point of reference for scholars.”—David Abulafia, History Today
Frederick Barbarossa, born of two of Germany’s most powerful families, swept to the imperial throne in a coup d’état in 1152. A leading monarch of the Middle Ages, he legalized the dualism between the crown and the princes that endured until the end of the Holy Roman Empire.
This new biography, the first in English in four decades, paints a rich picture of a consummate diplomat and effective warrior. John Freed mines Barbarossa’s recently published charters and other sources to illuminate the monarch’s remarkable ability to rule an empire that stretched from the Baltic to Rome, and from France to Poland. Offering a fresh assessment of the role of Barbarossa’s extensive familial network in his success, the author also considers the impact of Frederick’s death in the Third Crusade as the key to his lasting heroic reputation. In an intriguing epilogue, Freed explains how Hitler’s audacious attack on the Soviet Union in 1941 came to be called “Operation Barbarossa.”
712 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
8 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
John B. Freed
6 books1 followerJohn Freed is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Illinois State University. A specialist in medieval Germany, he earned his bachelor's degree from Cornell in 1965 and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1969.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 2, 2016
The German emperor Frederick Barbarossa is often ranked with the English king Henry II as the two great monarchs of 12th century Europe. Yet unlike his English counterpart, who has been the subject of numerous academic studies and popular works, the number of English-language biographies that have been written about Frederick have been surprisingly few. John Freed fills the void with this massive new study, a detailed look at Frederick's life based upon the available sources that seeks to address not just Frederick's long reign but how he emerged posthumously as a symbol of German nationalism.
Though born a member of the Staufen dynasty, Freed argues that Frederick's illiteracy indicates that his assumption of the imperial throne was unexpected. Though unprepared for such a role, Frederick assumed it upon the death in 1152 of his uncle Conrad III. The position he assumed was weak, with the main source of wealth being the communes of northern Italy. During the first two decades of his reign Frederick spent many years engaged in a series of campaigns designed to bring the recalcitrant communes to heel, only for his hopes to be dashed with his defeat at the battle of Legnano in 1174. Yet the failed efforts brought with them a silver lining, as the death of so many German nobles in his campaigns brought Frederick an opportunity to expand his power base in Germany, which he did with a measure of success. Dying while on the Third Crusade in 1190, Freed sees his demise abroad as key to his historical image, as Frederick was transformed in the centuries that followed into a legendary "sleeping hero" whose reemergence tied to the idea of a unified Germany.
Freed's book chronicles Frederick's life with considerable thoroughness. This is both a strength and weakness of the book, for while he leaves nothing out his text can often be a dense thicket of names into which the reader must wade to learn about the subject. For those who do, however, they are likely to be rewarded with a deeper understanding of a complicated monarch and his influential but misleading iconography. This is likely to serve as the standard by which future English-language biographies of the emperor are judged, and one unlikely to be surpassed for some time to come.
Though born a member of the Staufen dynasty, Freed argues that Frederick's illiteracy indicates that his assumption of the imperial throne was unexpected. Though unprepared for such a role, Frederick assumed it upon the death in 1152 of his uncle Conrad III. The position he assumed was weak, with the main source of wealth being the communes of northern Italy. During the first two decades of his reign Frederick spent many years engaged in a series of campaigns designed to bring the recalcitrant communes to heel, only for his hopes to be dashed with his defeat at the battle of Legnano in 1174. Yet the failed efforts brought with them a silver lining, as the death of so many German nobles in his campaigns brought Frederick an opportunity to expand his power base in Germany, which he did with a measure of success. Dying while on the Third Crusade in 1190, Freed sees his demise abroad as key to his historical image, as Frederick was transformed in the centuries that followed into a legendary "sleeping hero" whose reemergence tied to the idea of a unified Germany.
Freed's book chronicles Frederick's life with considerable thoroughness. This is both a strength and weakness of the book, for while he leaves nothing out his text can often be a dense thicket of names into which the reader must wade to learn about the subject. For those who do, however, they are likely to be rewarded with a deeper understanding of a complicated monarch and his influential but misleading iconography. This is likely to serve as the standard by which future English-language biographies of the emperor are judged, and one unlikely to be surpassed for some time to come.
March 5, 2021
There are some biographies of Frederick Barbarossa: one in English (by Peter Munz in 1969), and some more recent German ones (Ferdinand Opll, Johannes Laudage, Knut Görich).
As the subtitle says, this book is about separating the historical ruler from the myth of the German King. To be more precise, the myth that German historians have made of this King in light of their own times and purposes. I have read extensively on the history of the Hohenstaufen, but I did most of that some fifteen years ago. I used lots of older literature then (Ferdinand Opll’s biography of Barbarossa was the most recent one available to me), and I must say I did not realize how much I had been taken in with the “classic Germanistic” view of Barbarossa. It appears I was taken in by the glorious heroic portrayal and perhaps also a smidge of anti-religionism. Some of that can be explained by my relative youth (I was still young enough to think there was something “cool” about a war for conquest), but that still leaves me looking at my younger self as somewhat blinkered.
About the book: the gist of the book is about the first half of Barbarossa’s reign, which is only logical because most of the surviving sources date from or describe this period. Freed has a strong grasp of the material, including the abundance of German scholarly efforts – which are not as readily accessible for non-German readers. This includes the more modern biographies mentioned above. Freed gives us a strong deconstruction of the reign and character of the man (as much as it is possible to know the character of someone who has been dead for more than 830 years). That leaves us with an opportunistic and bombastic reign, which has not only not lived up to it’s own hype, but also disappoints when viewed from earlier historical interpretations. The bare bones of the reign are not in doubt, but the interpretation is. And there is a lot of room to divert from the beaten path. Charters, itineraries and a closer reading of the narrative sources provide Freed with a strong argument. Where it used to be said that Barbarossa wanted to carve out an international kingdom for himself, Freed reduces him to looking for a way to offset his weakened position in Germany. Where the traditional historians see Barbarossa championing the empire versus the princes, Freed points to him being dependent on the princes and merely changing allegiance from the Babenberger (favoured by Conrad III) to the Welfs. Barbarossa’s victory over Henry the Lion is portrayed as a defeat, suggesting Barbarossa did not want to punish him, but was unable to prevent the princes from forcing his hand. And those are just the first points that come to mind.
Overall, this is a big book, coming in at 536 pages (hardcover edition) not counting lots and lots of notes. These are worth the effort if you have scholarly aspirations yourself, but should not annoy the casual reader. Freed is a lifelong medieval historian, and that shows. He also manages to divide his narrative into relatively short chapters, which allow for relatively easy reading – and in this he is nothing like the dry and almost tedious Opll that I read so many years ago. The book is tailored for an American audience, which shows through when Freed tries to make a point by comparing an event to modern day events, or events known to us today (an 1850’s German poem “being as popular among German schoolchildren as Paul Revere’s Ride was to their American counterparts” comes to mind here). Overall, it was a lovely read and I daresay Freed’s magnum opus. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the reign and the politics of the day.
As the subtitle says, this book is about separating the historical ruler from the myth of the German King. To be more precise, the myth that German historians have made of this King in light of their own times and purposes. I have read extensively on the history of the Hohenstaufen, but I did most of that some fifteen years ago. I used lots of older literature then (Ferdinand Opll’s biography of Barbarossa was the most recent one available to me), and I must say I did not realize how much I had been taken in with the “classic Germanistic” view of Barbarossa. It appears I was taken in by the glorious heroic portrayal and perhaps also a smidge of anti-religionism. Some of that can be explained by my relative youth (I was still young enough to think there was something “cool” about a war for conquest), but that still leaves me looking at my younger self as somewhat blinkered.
About the book: the gist of the book is about the first half of Barbarossa’s reign, which is only logical because most of the surviving sources date from or describe this period. Freed has a strong grasp of the material, including the abundance of German scholarly efforts – which are not as readily accessible for non-German readers. This includes the more modern biographies mentioned above. Freed gives us a strong deconstruction of the reign and character of the man (as much as it is possible to know the character of someone who has been dead for more than 830 years). That leaves us with an opportunistic and bombastic reign, which has not only not lived up to it’s own hype, but also disappoints when viewed from earlier historical interpretations. The bare bones of the reign are not in doubt, but the interpretation is. And there is a lot of room to divert from the beaten path. Charters, itineraries and a closer reading of the narrative sources provide Freed with a strong argument. Where it used to be said that Barbarossa wanted to carve out an international kingdom for himself, Freed reduces him to looking for a way to offset his weakened position in Germany. Where the traditional historians see Barbarossa championing the empire versus the princes, Freed points to him being dependent on the princes and merely changing allegiance from the Babenberger (favoured by Conrad III) to the Welfs. Barbarossa’s victory over Henry the Lion is portrayed as a defeat, suggesting Barbarossa did not want to punish him, but was unable to prevent the princes from forcing his hand. And those are just the first points that come to mind.
Overall, this is a big book, coming in at 536 pages (hardcover edition) not counting lots and lots of notes. These are worth the effort if you have scholarly aspirations yourself, but should not annoy the casual reader. Freed is a lifelong medieval historian, and that shows. He also manages to divide his narrative into relatively short chapters, which allow for relatively easy reading – and in this he is nothing like the dry and almost tedious Opll that I read so many years ago. The book is tailored for an American audience, which shows through when Freed tries to make a point by comparing an event to modern day events, or events known to us today (an 1850’s German poem “being as popular among German schoolchildren as Paul Revere’s Ride was to their American counterparts” comes to mind here). Overall, it was a lovely read and I daresay Freed’s magnum opus. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the reign and the politics of the day.
May 26, 2025
This may very well be the current definitive biography in the English language of Frederick Barbarossa - political symbol, illiterate, re-establisher of the Corpus Juris Civilis (Roman Rule of Law), "accidental" King of Germany, King of Italy, King of Burgundy and Holy Roman Emperor, who drowned in a river on his way to join the Third Crusade in the Holy Land, and the German version of King Arthur asleep under the mountain.
The text is scholarly and thorough, but pedantic and bogged down with minuté, speculation and alternative theories for the various versions of events. The author also fails to adequately differentiate between the numerous Hernrys, Ottos, Conrads and Freddys. Informative, but requires some effort from the reader to keep everything straight. The book includes family trees, but could have used more maps and a timeline.
The text is scholarly and thorough, but pedantic and bogged down with minuté, speculation and alternative theories for the various versions of events. The author also fails to adequately differentiate between the numerous Hernrys, Ottos, Conrads and Freddys. Informative, but requires some effort from the reader to keep everything straight. The book includes family trees, but could have used more maps and a timeline.
January 14, 2017
Powerful reading, fascinating account of Barbarossa. You just got to like Fred.
July 21, 2025
Absoluut geen hapklare brok deze finale biografie van de Duitse keizer van het Heilig Roomse Rijk, eerder detaillistisch voer voor historici gespecialiseerd in die periode.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews