Italienzug

Last updated
Henry VII crossing the Alps on his Italienzug (1312). From the Codex Balduini Trevirensis (c.1340). Codex Balduini Trevirensis - Alpenuberquerung Heinrich VII.JPG
Henry VII crossing the Alps on his Italienzug (1312). From the Codex Balduini Trevirensis (c.1340).

An Italienzug (also known as Romfahrt or Romzug, Latin expeditio italica) was the expedition undertaken by an elected king of the Romans to be crowned Holy Roman emperor in City of Rome. [1] Prior to the reforms of Frederick Barbarossa, the kings of the Romans struggled to muster an army for the expedition, for they needed the formal approval of the Reichstag . If such permission was granted, the king had permission to recruit knights for their military service in Italy for 410 days.

Contents

However, the nobility was generally disinterested and inclined to rather substitute a monetary payment for the service. Therefore, the small force tended to be composed out of mercenaries and high ranking clergymen, reinforced by loyal Italian cities. [2] Occasionally the substitution was not enough and kings like Henry V ended up using their dowry to fund their Italienzug. [3] Following Barbarossa's struggles against the Lombard League towards the end of the 12th century, the system was reformed by banning monetary substitution and requiring each prince to contribute a fixed amount of troops for the cause. [2] These troops could be substituted by an amount of money, which was eventually known as the Roman Month.

Expeditions

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hohenstaufen</span> Medieval German royal dynasty

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's most prominent rulers – Frederick I (1155), Henry VI (1191) and Frederick II (1220) – ascended the imperial throne and also reigned over Italy and Burgundy. The non-contemporary name of 'Hohenstaufen' is derived from the family's Hohenstaufen Castle on Hohenstaufen mountain at the northern fringes of the Swabian Jura, near the town of Göppingen. Under Hohenstaufen rule, the Holy Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent from 1155 to 1268.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Urban III</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1185 to 1187

Pope Urban III, born Uberto Crivelli, reigned from 25 November 1185 to his death in 1187.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12th century</span> Century

The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the "'Golden Age' of the Cistercians". The Golden Age of Islam experienced significant development, particularly in Islamic Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Barbarossa</span> Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 to 1190

Frederick Barbarossa, also known as Frederick I, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1190</span> Calendar year

Year 1190 (MCXC) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrad III of Germany</span> Hohenstaufen dynasty king (r. 1138–1152)

Conrad III 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 King of the Romans in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the son of Duke Frederick I of Swabia and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor</span> Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 to 1250

Frederick II 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 Hohenstaufen dynasty and Queen Constance of Sicily of the Hauteville dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac II Angelos</span> Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195 and 1203 to 1204

Isaac II Angelos or Angelus was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Crusade</span> 1189–1192 attempted re-conquest of the Holy Land

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrad IV of Germany</span> 13th century King of Germany

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick II, Duke of Swabia</span> 12th-century Hohenstaufen Duke of Swabia

Frederick II, called the One-Eyed, was Duke of Swabia from 1105 until his death, the second from the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His younger brother Conrad was elected King of the Romans in 1138.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Spoleto</span> Medieval duchy in central Italy, circa 570-5–1201

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Bavaria</span> Former duchy in Germany

The Duchy of Bavaria was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (duces) under Frankish overlordship. A new duchy was created from this area during the decline of the Carolingian Empire in the late ninth century. It became one of the stem duchies of the East Frankish realm which evolved as the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainald of Dassel</span> Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy from 1159 to 1167

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Géza II of Hungary</span> King of Hungary and Croatia from 1141 to 1162

Géza II was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1141 to 1162. He was the oldest son of Béla the Blind and his wife, Helena of Serbia. When his father died, Géza was still a child and he started ruling under the guardianship of his mother and her brother, Beloš. A pretender to the throne, Boris Kalamanos, who had already claimed Hungary during Béla the Blind's reign, temporarily captured Pressburg with the assistance of German mercenaries in early 1146. In retaliation, Géza, who came of age in the same year, invaded Austria and routed Henry Jasomirgott, Margrave of Austria, in the Battle of the Fischa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)</span> Constituent kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire

The Kingdom of Italy, also called Imperial Italy, was one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, along with the kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia, and Burgundy. It originally comprised large parts of northern and central Italy. Its original capital was Pavia until the 11th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berthold, Duke of Merania</span>

Berthold IV, a member of the House of Andechs, was Margrave of Istria and Carniola. By about 1180/82 he assumed the title of Duke of Merania, referring to the Adriatic seacoast of Kvarner which his ancestors had conquered in the 1060s and annexed to Istria and Carniola.

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Problem of two emperors</span> Problem arising when multiple people claim the title of emperor

The problem of two emperors or two-emperors problem is the historiographical term for the historical contradiction between the idea of the universal empire, that there was only ever one true emperor at any one given time, and the truth that there were often multiple individuals who claimed the position simultaneously. The term is primarily used in regards to medieval European history and often refers to in particular the long-lasting dispute between the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople and the Holy Roman emperors in modern-day Germany and Austria as to which monarch represented the legitimate Roman emperor.

References

  1. Heath, Ian (2016). Armies of Feudal Europe 1066-1300. p. 69. ISBN   9781326256524 . Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 Esposito, Gabriele (2019). Armies of the Medieval Italian Wars 1125–1325. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 8–9. ISBN   9781472833419 . Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  3. Chibnall, Marjorie (1993). The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English. Wiley. p. 16. ISBN   9780631190288 . Retrieved 17 October 2019.