Frederick I (c. 1050 – 1105 before 21 July) was

Duke of Swabia The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchy, stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most no ...

from 1079 to his death, the first ruler from the

House of Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

(''Staufer'').

Life

Frederick was the son of

Frederick of Büren Frederick of Büren ( 1053) was a count in northern Duchy of Swabia, Swabia and an ancestor of the imperial Hohenstaufen, Staufer dynasty., nn. 8 & 9. The name Frederick of Büren is known only from the ''Tabula Consanguinitatis'', a Staufer gene ...

(c. 1020–1053), Count in the Riesgau and Swabian

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

, with Hildegard of Egisheim- Dagsburg, a niece of

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (, , 21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historica ...

, daughter of

Otto II, Duke of Swabia Otto II ( 995 – 7 September 1047), a member of the Ezzonid dynasty, was Count Palatine of Lotharingia from 1034 until 1045 and Duke of Swabia from 1045 until his death. Life Otto was the son of the Lotharingian count palatine Ezzo (955–1 ...

and founder of the Abbey of Saint Faith in Schlettstadt,

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. When Frederick succeeded his father, he had Hohenstaufen Castle erected on the eponymous mountain in the

Swabian Jura The Swabian Jura ( , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of Swabia. It is part of th ...

range, which became the ancestral seat of the dynasty. He also founded a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey at the site of former Lorch castle about 1100. By his mother he ruled over large Alsatian estates around Schlettstadt and

Hagenau Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...

. When during the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

the Swabian duke Rudolf of Rheinfelden was elected

anti-king An anti-king, anti king or antiking (; ) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, 2" The OED does not give "anti-king" its own entry ...

to King Henry IV of Germany, Frederick remained a loyal supporter of the ruling

Salian dynasty The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the last Ottonia ...

. In turn Henry vested him with the Swabian ducal dignity in 1079 and also gave him the hand of his seven-year-old daughter Agnes of Waiblingen. Contested by Rudolf's son Berthold of Rheinfelden and Berthold of Zähringen, Frederick only ruled over the northern parts of the Swabian duchy down to Ulm and the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

River. Finally in 1098, he and Berthold of Zähringen reached a compromise, whereby his rival confined himself to the title of a " Duke of Zähringen". In the last years of his reign, Frederick was able to expand the Hohenstaufen territories northwards, when he assumed the office of a ''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

'' (reeve) of Weissenburg Abbey and the Bishopric of Speyer in

Rhenish Franconia Rhenish Franconia () or Western Franconia () denotes the western half of the central Kingdom of Germany, German stem duchy of Franconia in the 10th and 11th century, with its residence at the city of Worms, Germany, Worms. The territory located on ...

Marriage and issue

About 1086/87, Frederick married Agnes, daughter of Emperor Henry IV. They had several sons and daughters, amongst whom were: * Frederick II (1090–1147), succeeded as

in 1105, father of Emperor

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 ...

* Conrad III, King of Germany (1093–1152), elected

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

in 1138 * (possibly) Berta of Boll (d. before 1142), married Adalbert of Ravenstein, Count of Elchingen, their daughter Liutgard married Conrad, Margrave of Meissen * Heilika, who married Frederick III of Pettendorf-Lengenfeld-Hopfenche, their daughter Heilika of Pettendorf-Lengenfeld married Otto IV, Count of Wittelsbach * Gertrud, married Hermann III of Stahleck, Count Palatine of the Rhine * Richildis, married Hugh I, Count of Roucy After Frederick's death, Agnes secondly married the Babenberg margrave Leopold III of Austria in 1106. Both are buried in Klosterneuburg Monastery.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 01, Duke of Swabia Hohenstaufen family Dukes of Swabia 1050s births 1105 deaths Year of birth uncertain

Life

Marriage and issue

See also

References

Sources