• Born: 1122, Waiblingen, Schwaben, Bayern
• Married (1): 10 Jun 1156, Wurzburg, Unterfranken, Bayern
• Married (2): 1147
• Died: 10 Jun 1190, Saleph River in Cilicai, Armenia
• Buried: In Holy Land

  Research Notes:

The Tabula consanguinitatis Friderici I regis et Adelæ reginæ (which provided the basis for their divorce) names "regem Fridericum" as son of "ducem Fridericum".

He succeeded in 1147 as FRIEDRICH III Duke of Swabia, resigning in 1152 in favour of his cousin Friedrich, son of Konrad III King of Germany, who succeeded as Duke Friedrich IV.... He left Germany in May 1147 with his uncle King Konrad III on the Second Crusade. William of Tyre records him as "Fredericus Suevorum dux…ex fratre primogenitor nepos" in relation to King Konrad. He was designated as successor by his uncle King Konrad shortly before the latter died, and was elected as FRIEDRICH I "Barbarossa" King of Germany at Frankfurt-am-Main 4 Mar 1152, crowned at Aachen 9 Mar 1152. He negotiated the Treaty of Constanz 23 Mar 1153 with Pope Eugenius III, who agreed his imperial coronation. Pope Eugenius died 8 Jul 1153 before the coronation could take place. King of Italy 1154. After refusing the Romans' offer of a secular imperial coronation, he was eventually crowned as Emperor FRIEDRICH I at Rome 18 Jun 1155 by Pope Hadrian IV. He succeeded as Comte de Bourgogne on his second marriage in 1156, de iure uxoris, and received the homage of the Burgundian magnates at Besançon in 1157. In 1157, he invaded Poland and compelled Duke Boleslaw IV to recognise German suzerainty. Tensions in Italy, and particularly with the papacy, came to a head in 1166 when Emperor Friedrich's army marched to Rome where they defeated the Romans at Tusculum, captured the city, and enthroned his own papal candidate Pascal III, although the emperor was obliged to return to Germany as the army was decimated by malaria. He invaded Italy again in 1174, and in May 1176 his troops were defeated at Legnano near Milan. A peace treaty was signed at Venice 24 Jul 1177. On his return from Italy, he was crowned as king of Burgundy ("regnum Arelatense") at Arles 30 Jul 1178, thereby symbolically laying claim to the whole of Burgundy. He took the cross at Mainz 27 Mar 1188, in answer to the appeal of Pope Gregory VIII in Oct 1187 to relieve Jerusalem after its capture by Saladin, although he did not finally leave Germany until May 1189. He received a warm welcome in Hungary and Serbia, but tensions developed with Emperor Isaakios II after he entered Byzantine territory 23 Jun 1189 at Branicevo. Anxious to protect his own interests, Emperor Isaakios signed a treaty of alliance with Saladin, which worsened the situation. After taking Philipopoulos [Plovdiv] and Adrianople, as well as threatening Constantinople, Emperor Friedrich forced Emperor Isaakios to give him provisions and ships to cross into Asia Minor, which he did in Mar 1190.

Friedrich was drowned while preparing to cross the river Calycadnus to enter Seleucia, apparently after falling into the river in heavy armour. His body, ineffectively preserved in vinegar and taken with the army to Palestine, had disintegrated by the time it arrived at Antioch.... ¹