Emperor Frederick II: Scourge of the Papacy

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2024

⏱️ 34 minutes

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Summary

One of the most important of Holy Roman Emperors, Frederick II was revered and reviled in equal measures. He was a scholar, an architect, a poet, a scientist and a composer. Yet rumours swirled that he was a pagan, a sensualist who kept a harem, even secretly a Muslim, who was excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church numerous times.

In this explainer episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Eleanor Janega tells the compelling story of one of her favourite historical figures; a ruler who fought for recognition, both on the battlefield and in the court of public perception.

Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Jane and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	In the 13th century a man appeared on the European stage
0:13.2	who was equally revered and reviled.
0:16.4	Speaking six languages, he was a scholar, an architect, a poet,
0:21.5	a dedicated natural philosopher, which we would now call a scientist, and a composer.
0:27.9	Depending on who you asked, he was either the stupor Mundi, the astonishment of the world, or the preambulous Antichristy, the predecessor of
0:36.5	Antichristy. Rumors swirled that he was a pagan, an epicure, essentialist who kept a harem, or secretly a Muslim.
0:48.0	Gossip notwithstanding, what he was without a shadow of a doubt, was one of the most important holy Roman
0:55.0	emperors the world has ever seen. I'm Dr. Eleanor Yannaga and today on gone medieval from history hit we will be
1:07.0	considering one of my favorite historical figures of all time the Emperor
1:11.2	Frederick the second Renaissance man and political the Emperor Frederick II
1:32.0	the Second, Renaissance man and political player par excellence Frederick II was born in the Italian town of Lessie on the 26th of December 1194, becoming the air apparent to both Sicily and the Holy Roman Empire.
1:36.6	The road to his recognition was by no means a smooth one, however, and was fought for on the
1:42.4	battlefield as well as in the court of public perception.
1:47.0	You see, Frederick was the son of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry the 6th, and it had always been intended that he would have a Sicilian son.
1:55.8	Ten years earlier, Henry's father had begun negotiations to engage the young man to Constance
2:01.0	of Sicily, the aunt of King William of Sicily, who was nevertheless his only
2:06.2	heir as William's marriage had remained childless.
2:10.6	Constance's life up to this point had been awed even for a noble woman.
2:14.4	At almost 30 years old, she had been confined to a nunnery since childhood because it had been
2:18.9	predicted that her marriage would destroy Sicily. As a result, she'd been whisked away to ensure
2:25.0	her celibacy and the safety of the kingdom until a sensible marriage offer could
2:29.2	be brokered. An imperial marriage proposal was as good as one could get at the time, and Constance was duly
	...

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