Conrad of Urslingen (died 1202) was the
Duke of Spoleto on two occasions: first from 1183 to 1190 and then from 1195 to 1198.
Conrad began his career as count of
Assisi, which was given him after its 1174 conquest by
Christian of Mainz.
Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...
, the emperor, invested Conrad as count and granted him the
Rocca as his seat of power. During his countship,
Saint Francis was born at Assisi.
In 1183, Frederick appointed him duke of Spoleto. In 1190, he was chased from Spoleto by the ascendant
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
powers, but he regained his duchy in 1195. He briefly sheltered the young
Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jer ...
at the Rocca and acted as the
vicar of the
Kingdom of Sicily, but in 1198 he was ordered to render Spoleto to the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
and during his absence, Assisi rebelled and declared a
commune.
His son was
Rainald of Urslingen,
Duke of Spoleto from 1223 to 1230.
The military imperial career of Conrad I is significantly coterminous with the incipient and aggressive assertion of power by the "communes" of Italy (and European lands generally) and his chaotic biography as an imperial representative, symbolic of the decline of trans-national imperium within Italy and Europe overall, communes self-appointing "militias" across Christendom to overthrow the loyal local upholders of the idea of the ''Sacrum Imperium'' - thus paving the way for modern nationalism indirectly.
Sources
*Jordan, E. ''Les origines de la domination Angevine en Italie''. Paris, 1909.
Dukes of Spoleto
12th-century births
1202 deaths
Year of birth unknown
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