Conrad of Urslingen (died 1202) was the

Duke of Spoleto The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...

on two occasions: first from 1183 to 1190 and then from 1195 to 1198. Conrad began his career as count of

Assisi Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...

, 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 (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

, 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, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

powers, but he regained his duchy in 1195. He briefly sheltered the young

Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (, , , ; 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 Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI of the Ho ...

at the Rocca and acted as the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

, but in 1198 he was ordered to render Spoleto to the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

and during his absence, Assisi rebelled and declared a commune. His son was Rainald of Urslingen,

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.

References

General references

*Jordan, E. ''Les origines de la domination Angevine en Italie''. Paris, 1909. Dukes of Spoleto 12th-century births Year of birth uncertain 1202 deaths 12th-century Italian nobility {{Germany-duke-stub