Hello and welcome to the History of the Germans, Episode 91, the Hoenstaufen epilogue.

When Frederick II died there were four legitimate male descendants of the emperor.

His son, Conrad IV, elected King of the Romans.

His son Henry, a mere six years old but from most noble blood.

His son Manfred from his relationship with Bianca Lancia, who had married on her deathbed.

And then there was a grandson the child of his unlucky older son Henry the 7th.

18 years later, when this episode ends, the house of Hohenstaufen will be wiped

from the face of the earth. Let's find out how that could happen. Before we start, just a

reminder, the history of the Germans podcast is advertising free thanks to the generous support

from patrons. And you can become a

patron too and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and other privileges from the price of a latte per

month. All you have to do is sign up at patreon.com slash history of the Germans or on my website

history of the Germans.com. You find all the links in the show notes. And thanks a lot

to Christian O, James G, and Robert H, who have already signed up. Last week we heard about the

death of Emperor Frederick II, a death that left the whole world stunned. He was 56 years old, certainly an age with death was possible, but after nominally 54 years

on the throne there were few people alive who could imagine a world without this stupor

Mundi, the wonder of the world.

So many times had the popes announced the death of their hated opponent, many simply did

not believe he was dead.

Even Salimbena di Parma Franciscan monk and her totally committed partisan of the popes is

unsure if he can believe the news.

What makes them especially hard to fathom is that the Franciscan had bought wholesale into

...