Frederick IV 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 ...

(1145–1167) 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 duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable family ...

, succeeding his cousin,

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 ...

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, in 1152. He was the son of

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

and his second wife

Gertrude von Sulzbach Gertrude of Sulzbach (german: Gertrud; – 14 April 1146) was German queen from 1138 until her death as the second wife of the Hohenstaufen king Conrad III. Life She was the daughter of the Bavarian count Berengar II of Sulzbach (c.1080–112 ...

and thus the direct heir of the crown, had there been true heredity. However, on his death bed, Conrad III allegedly advised the only two persons present, his nephew Frederick Barbarossa and the

bishop of Bamberg This is a list of bishops and archbishops of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg in Germany. __TOC__ Bishops, 1007–1245 * Eberhard I 1007-1040 * Suidger von Morsleben 1040-1046 (Later Pope Clement II) * Hartw ...

, to nominate Frederick Barbarossa; and handed the Imperial insignia to him. Barbarossa wasted no time in getting the Bavarian clerics to endorse him, and had the

archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

convene a hurried election. There the electors of the Empire (minus their "''primus inter pares''",

Henry I, Archbishop of Mainz Henry, in German Heinrich (c. 1080 – 1/3 September 1153), was the archbishop of Mainz from September 1142 until his deposition in June 1153. Early life The future archbishop may be the same person as the Henry who is recorded as archdeacon of ...

, an ally of the Pope) elected Frederick Barbarossa to be King, instead of his six-year-old cousin Frederick. The younger man became Duke of Swabia instead. Frederick participated in Barbarossa's campaigns in Italy, becoming one of the many casualties of the Imperial army. He succumbed to disease after occupying

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1167. Barbarossa then gave Swabia to his own three-year-old son,

Frederick V Frederick V or Friedrich V may refer to: * Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (1164–1170) *Frederick V, Count of Zollern (d.1289) *Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (c. 1333–1398), German noble *Frederick V of Austria (1415–1493), or Frederick III ...

Marriage

Frederick IV married

Gertrude of Bavaria Gertrude of Bavaria (Danish and ; 1152/55–1197) was Duchess of Swabia as the spouse of Duke Frederick IV, and Queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Canute VI. Gertrude was born to Henry the Lion of Bavaria and Saxony and Clementia of Zähri ...

. She was a daughter of

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

and his first wife Clementia of Zähringen. They had no known children. Gertrude survived him and married

Canute VI of Denmark Canute VI (; c. 1163 – 12 November 1202) was King of Denmark (1182–1202). Contemporary sources describe Canute as an earnest, strongly religious man. Background Canute VI was the eldest son of King Valdemar I and Sophia of Polotsk. H ...

. She died childless.

Marriage

See also