The Swabian "Staufen" family were representative of a new type of nobility which emerged in Germany in the second half of the 11th century. They were unconnected either with the original German tribes, such as the Saxons or Bavarians, or with the artificial political creation of Lotharingia. The family owed its rise to power to strategically placed castles, in particular the castle of Stauf on the Staufenberg near Göppingen, from which the family took its name. The Staufer broadened their influence by building further castles and eventually centred their activities around the town of Waiblingen in Swabia, from which their Italian supporters eventually adopting the name "Ghibellines".
The Tabula consanguinitatis Friderici I regis et Adelæ reginæ (which provided the basis for their divorce) records "Berta" and "Fridericus" as sister and brother, and their descendants.
Graf 987. Graf im Sundergau 1003.
The name of Friedrich's wife is not known. 1
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