The Diet of Besançon was a ''

Hoftag A ''Hoftag'' (pl. ''Hoftage'') was the name given to an informal and irregular assembly convened by the King of the Romans, the Holy Roman Emperor or one of the Princes of the Empire, with selected chief princes within the empire. Early scholarsh ...

'' (diet) of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

held in the city of

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

by the Emperor

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 on ...

in October 1157. The contemporary historian

Rahewin Rahewin was an important German chronicler at the abbey of Freising in Bavaria. He was secretary and chaplain to Otto von Freising Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''A ...

provides important coverage of the diet. Two charters issued by Frederick during the diet are known, dated 24 and 27 October. The diet must have begun at least a few days before this. The purpose of the diet was to order "the affairs of the empire" in the

Kingdom of Arles The Kingdom of Burgundy, known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles, also referred to in various context as Arelat, the Kingdom of Arles and Vienne, or Kingdom of Burgundy-Provence, was a realm established in 933 by the merger of the king ...

. According to Rahewin, Frederick was so successful in bringing peace to that kingdom, that he could have traveled its entire length almost unescorted. Although limited in its official purpose, the diet attracted persons from throughout the Empire and also foreign dignitaries. Rahewin lists

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, Apulians,

Tuscans it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, Venetians,

Frenchmen The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the nati ...

Englishmen The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in O ...

and

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...

. Extoling Frederic, Rahewin states that "the whole world recognized him as the most powerful and most merciful ruler". The most significant event at Besançon, however, was not on Frederick's agenda.

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian IV ( la, Adrianus IV; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159, also Hadrian IV), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159. He is the only Englishman t ...

was represented by two cardinals, Roland of San Marco and

Bernard of San Clemente Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

, who publicly read out a papal letter declaring Frederick to be a vassal of the Holy See. The letter so offended Duke Otto I of Bavaria that he threatened Roland with his sword until Frederick reminded him that the cardinals had a safeconduct. Frederick responded to the letter with a strong protest to the pope. Frederick remained in Besançon until 25 November.

Notes

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diet of Besancon

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...