We see the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II to its end as he faces off with Gregory IX and then Innocent IV, all the while dealing with the ever rebellious communes of northern Italy in their continuous struggle between pro-imperial Ghibellines and pro-papal Guelphs, up to the Battle of Parma in 1247.
Tag: Rome
We see the early life of Frederick I of Sicily, son of Constance of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI up to the point when he becomes Emperor Frederick II himself with great regret from the popes who had hoped to keep the crown of the empire and that of the kingdom of Sicily separate. Are we in for another great class between Empire and Papacy?
We take another break from our chronological progress to take a look at Venice as we have reached the fourth Crusade, the event that dramatically changed the maritime republic. IN this episode we go from the foundation to the Frankish attack in 810.
This is the second and last part of a collaboration with Assassinations Podcast on the notorious Borgia family. First Niall Cooper focuses on Lucrezia Borgia and then I follow the downfall of the short-lived dynasty.
We see how, after sorting out Milan, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa also goes on to try and deal with pope Alexander III. Meanwhile, the communes start to learn that there can be strength in numbers, with the League of Verona in 1164 and the Lombard and Italic Leagues in 1167.
