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Conrad II (February/March 1172 – 15 August 1196), was Duke of Rothenburg (1188–1191) and
Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...
from 1191 until his death. He was the fifth son of
Frederick I 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 am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...
and
Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy Beatrice I (1143 – 15 November 1184) was countess of Burgundy from 1148 until her death, and was also Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Frederick Barbarossa. She was crowned empress by Antipope Paschal III in Rome on 1 August 1167, an ...
.


Life

After the third-born son of the Emperor, who was originally called Conrad, had been renamed Frederick around 1170, this first name, which had a long tradition in the Staufen dynasty, had been freed up for a younger son. Conrad was invested by his father with the Franconian domains which reverted to the German crown after the death of Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia in 1167; this certainly happened at the latest in 1188 when he was first referred to as ''dux de Rotenburch'' (Duke of Rothenburg). In addition, the young prince also received the lands of Weißenburg and
Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...
. On 23 April 1188 Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and King
Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (El Noble) or the one of Las Navas (el de las Navas), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at Alarc ...
signed the Treaty of Seligenstadt, under which was arranged the betrothal between Conrad —son of the German Emperor— and Berengaria —eldest and only surviving child of the Castilian King, and thus the heiress presumptive of her father. Conrad then marched to Castile, where in Carrión de los Condes the engagement was celebrated and he was knighted in July 1188, making him a servant of his new lord and future father-in-law, King Alfonso VIII. Berengaria's status as heiress of Castile was based in part on documentation in the treaty and marriage contract, which specified that she would inherit the Castilian throne after her father or any childless brothers who may come along. Conrad would only be allowed to co-rule as her spouse, and Castile would not become part of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. Furthermore, he was not allowed to claim the throne for himself in case of Alfonso VIII's death but was obliged to defend and protect the kingdom until Berengaria would arrive in case of her absence. The treaty also documented traditional rights and obligations between the future sovereign and the nobility. The wedding was never solemnized, due to the bride's young age. In addition, Conrad and Berengaria never saw each other: on
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...
of 1190, according to the marriage contract, Berengaria was supposed to arrive in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, but this did not happen. Pope Celestine III did not want the Staufen dynasty to extend its influence over the Iberian Kingdoms, and when in the autumn of 1191 Berengaria (influenced, no doubt, by third parties such as her grandmother
Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...
, who was not interested in having a Staufen as a neighbor to her French fiefdoms), requested an
annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning alm ...
of the engagement, the Pope quickly agreed: the betrothal was broken in early 1192 by the Archbishop Gonzalo of Toledo and the
Papal Legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...
Gregor, Cardinal-Deacon of San Angelo, on the grounds that the bride was against the continuation of the engagement. Conrad joined the army under the leadership of his oldest brother
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (German language, German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was ...
in traveling to Rome for Henry VI's imperial coronation on 15 April 1191. After the coronation, the army set out to the invasion of the Kingdom of Sicily. Due to the
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
epidemic that broke out in August 1191, the campaign was stopped in Naples. Documents issued in Italy indicate that Conrad took part in this campaign. Conrad's older brother Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia died in January 1191 at
Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
during the
Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...
. According to the chronicle of Otto of Sankt Blasien in 1191, Henry VI left the Duchy of Swabia to his brother Conrad after returning from Italy. The chronicler also described Conrad as "''a man thoroughly given to adultery, fornication, defilement, and every foulness; nevertheless, he was vigorous and brave in battle and generous to his friends''." In a royal charter dated 24 May 1192, when he is said to have received his sword ''tail'' at a court in Worms, he appears for the first time as ''dux Suevie'' (Duke of Swabia) and from then on his previous title of Duke of Rothenburg was not used. During the ''Italienzug'' of Henry VI in 1194–95 Conrad seems to have stayed away and acted as the King's deputy in Swabia and Franconia. This emerges from documents from Salem and Steingaden Abbeys, which were issued by Conrad during this period.


Death

Conrad died aged 24, a very young age even by medieval standards. The Marbach Annals date Conrad's death to 15 August 1196. His early death prevented him from succeeding his brother Henry VI, who died in
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
just one year later in September 1197. Instead, his youngest surviving brother
Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
succeeded him as Duke of Swabia and in 1198 became the next king from the Staufen dynasty. According to the chronicle of Burchard of Ursperg, Conrad died in Durlach during a campaign against Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen and was buried at Lorch Abbey. This chronicle is uncertain whether he was killed by a woman whom he had raped or by her husband. But the Annals of Konrad von Scheyern recorded specifically that he was bitten in the left nipple by a girl he was attempting to rape; although an increasingly large wound developed, he did not want to be treated and died three days later. Other reports stating that he died in
Oppenheim Oppenheim ( or ) is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The town lies on the Upper Rhine in Rhenish Hesse between Mainz and Worms. It is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde (special ad ...
and was buried in
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...
are considered inaccurate. Conrad's burial place, Lorch Abbey, was the necropolis of the Staufen dynasty, donated by his great-grandfather,
Frederick I, Duke of Swabia Frederick I (c. 1050 – 1105 before 21 July) was Duke of Swabia from 1079 to his death, the first ruler from the House of Hohenstaufen (''Staufer''). Life Frederick was the son of Frederick of Büren (c. 1020–1053), Count in the Riesgau and S ...
. In 1475 Abbot Nikolaus Schenk von Arberg had the remains of all the Staufen buried in Lorch transferred to a late Gothic ''tumba'', which is now in the central nave of the Lorch Abbey church.''Burial of the Staufen dynasty'' (in German)
in: klosterlorch.de etrieved 19 July 2020


See also

* Dukes of Swabia family tree


Notes


References

* Burchard von Ursberg, ''Burchardi praepositi Urspergensis Chronicon'', ed. 1916 * * * * * * Peter Rassow: ''Der Prinzgemahl. Ein Pactum Matrimonale aus dem Jahr 1188''. Weimar 1950. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swabia, Conrad II, Duke of 1172 births 1196 deaths Dukes of Swabia Conrad Sons of emperors Children of Frederick Barbarossa Sons of kings Sons of counts Sons of countesses regnant