The Curia Christi ("Court of Christ") or Curia Dei ("Court of God") was a diet or court day ( Hoftag ) of the Holy Roman Empire held in Mainz on 27 March 1188. It was so called because it was notionally under the presidency of Jesus Christ as king of kings. It was the occasion both for the public resolution of the conflict between Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Archbishop Philip of Cologne and for the emperor's "taking of the cross", when he vowed to lead an army on the Third Crusade.
The Curia Christi is a well recorded event. It is mentioned in the Royal Chronicle of Cologne , the Chronicle of Magnus of Reichersberg, the Chronicle of Otto of Sankt Blasien and the Chronicle of the Slavs of Arnold of Lübeck. [1] The History of the Expedition of the Emperor Frederick and the History of the Pilgrims are the source for the names Curia Christi and Curia Dei, respectively. [1] [2] [3] The History of the Expedition includes the text of a letter sent by Cardinal Henry of Marcy to the nobility of Germany enjoining them to attend the "court of Jesus Christ" (curia Jesu Christi). The same history records that Frederick called the diet on the cardinal's advice and that the name "court of Christ" was Frederick's choice. [4]
The Curia Christi was called to deal with two issues: the conflict, internal to the Empire, between the emperor and the archbishop of Cologne; and the fall of Jerusalem to the Ayyubids. The conflict between emperor and archbishop has been traced to Frederick's privileging the cities of Aachen and Duisburg at the expense of the economy of Cologne. It has also been suggested that the emperor bore a grudge against Philip for engineering the downfall of the emperor's cousin, Henry the Lion, in 1180. Another proposed cause of the conflict was Philip's siding with Pope Urban III over the disputed archbishopric of Trier. Open conflict began when Philip refused to allow an imperial army to cross his territory and Frederick responded by imposing an embargo on Cologne on 25 July 1187. [5]
On 15 August 1187, at a diet in Worms, Frederick began legal proceedings against Philip, who had disobeyed a summons to attend. He was summoned to attend the next diet in Strasbourg, which convened around 1 December 1187. He disobeyed that summons also. At Christmas in Trier, Frederick lamented the fact that he would have to devastate imperial territory to bring Philip to heel. Nevertheless, Philip attended the diet of Nuremberg on 2 February 1188. A final legal decision—and thus Philip's public submission—was postponed to the next diet in Mainz. [5]
The resolution of the conflict was brought about in no small part by the fall of Jerusalem (2 October 1187) and the death of Urban III (20 October). Urban's successor, Gregory VIII, threw himself fully behind a new crusade and moved quickly to resolve his differences with the emperor. [5]
The choice of date for the Curia Christi was loaded with significance. It was scheduled for Laetare Sunday, 27 March, the anniversary of Frederick's coronation as King of the Romans in 1152. The introit for that day's Mass, taken from Isaiah 66:10 ("Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her"), aligned perfectly with the purpose of the diet. The designation Curia Christi was Frederick's own. He refused to preside over the assembly himself in acknowledgement of Christ's kingship over kings. [6] There is some doubt, however, whether the throne was really vacant during the diet or whether such references in the sources are literary devices not to be taken literally. [1]
Attendees began arriving in Mainz on 9 March. According to a letter sent by Rabbi Moses ha-Cohen of Mainz to his brother-in-law, Eleazar of Worms, a mob gathered in the marketplace intending to invade the Jewish quarter on 26 March (Sabbath). It was dispersed by the imperial marshal Henry of Kalden. The rabbi then met with the emperor, who issued an edict threatening maiming or death for anyone who maimed or killed a Jew. After the diet, on 29 March, Frederick and Rabbi Moses rode together through the streets of Mainz to demonstrate that the Jews had imperial protection. Frederick's measures were successful. While the First and Second Crusades in Germany had been marred by violence against the Jews and the Third Crusade itself occasioned an outbreak of violence against the Jews in England, there was no such violence in Germany in 1188. [6]
At the diet, peace was made between Frederick and Philip by Cardinal Henry of Marcy. Philip had to swear three oaths: two for his absence at Worms and Strasbourg and one for his defiance of an imperial prohibition on taxing the Jews. He also had to pay a fine of 2,000 marks to Frederick personally and another 200 marks to the court. Symbolically, he was ordered to destroy one of Cologne's gates and to fill in its moat at four places. These symbolic orders were intended only to publicly demonstrated Philip's submission; they were rescinded by imperial prerogative the following day (28 March). Less symbolically, the citizens of Cologne were ordered to destroy their newly built wall in four places. This order was not rescinded. [6]
Following the submission of Philip, a letter concerning the fall of Jerusalem was read to the assembly and Bishop Godfrey of Würzburg preached a crusade sermon. [6] Henry of Marcy, who had been charged with preaching the crusade in Germany, [6] probably also read out Gregory VIII's letter Audita tremendi authorising a new crusade. [7] Frederick then asked the assembly whether he should go to the aid of the beleaguered Kingdom of Jerusalem. At the insistence of the assembly, Frederick "took the cross" from Henry of Marcy. He was followed by his son, Duke Frederick VI of Swabia, and by Duke Frederick of Bohemia, Duke Leopold V of Austria, Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia and a host of bishops, lords and knights. [6]
In accordance with the pope's instructions, Frederick proclaimed a "general expedition against the pagans". He set the period of preparation for 17 April 1188 to 8 April 1189 and scheduled a general muster at Regensburg for 23 April 1189, another day of symbolic significance since it was the feast of Saint George, patron saint of knights. To prevent the crusade from degenerating into an undisciplined mob, participants were required to have at least three marks of funding, enough to support oneself for two years. [6]
In a separate piece of business, the Curia Christi summoned the disgraced Henry the Lion to attend the diet of Goslar (25 July–8 August 1188). He was given the option of complete restoration if he joined the crusade. He refused and went into exile in England. [8]
Year 1189 (MCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In English law, 1189 - specifically the beginning of the reign of Richard I - is considered the end of time immemorial.
Frederick Barbarossa, also known as Frederick I, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 1152. He was crowned King of Italy on 24 April 1155 in Pavia and emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155 in Rome. Two years later, the term sacrum ("holy") first appeared in a document in connection with his empire. He was later formally crowned King of Burgundy, at Arles on 30 June 1178. He was named Barbarossa by the northern Italian cities which he attempted to rule: Barbarossa means "red beard" in Italian; in German, he was known as Kaiser Rotbart, which in English means "Emperor Redbeard." The prevalence of the Italian nickname, even in later German usage, reflects the centrality of the Italian campaigns to his career.
Henry the Lion, also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria, was a member of the Welf dynasty.
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by three European monarchs of Western Christianity to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. For this reason, the Third Crusade is also known as the Kings' Crusade.
Conrad, a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was the only son of Emperor Frederick II from his second marriage with Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem. He inherited the title of King of Jerusalem upon the death of his mother in childbed. Appointed Duke of Swabia in 1235, his father had him elected King of Germany and crowned King of Italy in 1237. After the emperor was deposed and died in 1250, he ruled as King of Sicily until his death.
Henry Bretislav, a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Bishop of Prague from 1182, then Duke of Bohemia as "Bretislav III" from 1193 to his death.
Rainald of Dassel was Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy from 1159 until his death. A close advisor to the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he had an important influence on Imperial politics, mainly in the Italian conflict of Guelphs and Ghibellines.
Louis I, called the Kelheimer or of Kelheim, since he was born and died at Kelheim, was the Duke of Bavaria from 1183 and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1214. He was the only surviving son of Otto I, Duke of Bavaria by his wife Agnes of Loon. He married Ludmilla of Bohemia, a daughter of Duke Frederick of Bohemia.
Conrad of Wittelsbach was the Archbishop of Mainz and Archchancellor of Germany from 20 June 1161 to 1165 and again from 1183 to his death. He was also a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
Philip I was Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy from 1167 to 1191.
The Crusade of 1197, also known as the Crusade of Henry VI or the German Crusade, was a crusade launched by the Hohenstaufen emperor Henry VI in response to the aborted attempt of his father, Emperor Frederick I, during the Third Crusade in 1189–90. Thus the military campaign is also known as the "Emperor's Crusade".
The December 1187 papal election was convoked after the death of Pope Gregory VIII. It resulted in the election of Cardinal Paolo Scolari, who took the name of Clement III.
Henry VI, a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sicily.
The Battle of Iconium took place on May 18, 1190, during the Third Crusade, in the expedition of Frederick Barbarossa to the Holy Land. As a result, Iconium, the capital city of the Sultanate of Rûm under Kilij Arslan II, fell to the Imperial forces.
Peter of Brixey was Bishop of Toul from 1167 to 1192, and a supporter of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the late twelfth-century phase of the Investiture Controversy, one of the few bishops of Lorraine to do so.
The Battle of Philomelion was a victory of the forces of the Holy Roman Empire over the Turkish forces of the Sultanate of Rûm on 7 May 1190 during the Third Crusade.
The Mainzer Hoffest or Diet of Pentecost was a Hoftag of the Holy Roman Empire started in Mainz on 20 May 1184. It was organised by Emperor Frederick I on the island of Maaraue in front of Mainz in the mouth of the Main on the occasion of Pentecost. Due to its large number of visitors and its cultural pleasures, it represented a highlight of the knightly way of life and the development of power of the dynasty of Hohenstaufen.
The History of the Pilgrims is an anonymous Latin account of the expedition of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa during the Third Crusade (1189–90). It was written not long after events, possibly even before the death of the Emperor Henry VI (1197). It is divided into three sections on the conquests of Saladin, the preparations for the crusade and the crusade itself. The first section contains the most original material and the final section is the longest. It ends abruptly with the death of Barbarossa. The sole surviving manuscript, made in the early 13th century at Salem Abbey, is not quite complete and seems to be missing the last sentences.
The History of the Expedition of the Emperor Frederick is an anonymous Latin account of the campaign waged by Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, as part of the Third Crusade. It covers the period 1187–1196, but is centred on the expedition of 1189–1190.
Godfrey of Spitzenberg was a close confidant of Emperor Frederick I and bishop of Regensburg and Würzburg.