Hello and welcome to the history of the Germans, Episode 85, Corte Nuova.

This week we're back to action stations. We resume our narrative in 1235 when Frederick

II gathered his vessels in Mainz to implement his grand plan to regain imperial rights in northern Italy.

He picks up where his grandfather Barbarossa and his father Henry VI had to leave things,

trying again, but this time were the resources of southern Italy behind him,

and it's deja vu all over again. Before we start, just a reminder,

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And thanks a lot to Jeff, Alan and Noah who have already signed up.

As I said, we resume our narrative in 1235.

Fredick has just apprehended and imprisoned his son Henry, the famous seventh in brackets,

to regain the support of the imperial princes.

He needs them to return imperial power to northern Italy, as this will be the last great struggle of the House of Hohenstaufen, and in some ways the last

attempt at an empire that is truly holy, truly Roman, and truly an empire, let's first

take a look at the big, big picture.

For that we have to go back to 1077 and the Investiture controversy.

Up until then, the emperors relied heavily on the imperial bishops to provide the administration

of the realm and the resources they needed for war.

The bishops had received a large chunk of what used to be the Crown lands, as well as rights

...