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Emperor Frederick I, known as Barbarossa, was one of the greats of German history. Like no other German ruler before or after him, he embodied the splendor of the High Middle Ages. We present to you three pillars on which he built his power. Firstly, he defended the imperial dignity like no other ruler before him. Although the Pope crowned the German king with the imperial crown, Barbarossa saw himself as an emperor by the grace of God. He therefore called his empire "holy", which later became the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. For years he fought against the Pope and tried to consolidate his power in northern Italy. Although he was unable to strengthen his position in Italy, he ultimately managed to pacify the political disputes with the papacy. Barbarossa's skill in securing power in the empire led to him later being glorified as a "unifier". In fact, he managed to balance the interests of the German imperial princes and put power-hungry rulers like his cousin Henry the Lion in their place. A third pillar of his power was the strengthening of the courtly knightly culture. The court festival in Mainz in 1184 was a brilliant demonstration of the power of the Hohenstaufen emperor. A few years later, he set off for Jerusalem at the head of a crusader army to defend the Christian West. In 1190, he drowned under unclear circumstances before reaching his destination. 00:00 Intro 00:22 Defending the imperial dignity 06:09 Securing power in the empire 11:41 Courtly knightly culture Author: Tillman Graach Editing: Kilian Vogl/Daniel Bluhm/Florian Geyer Graphics: Maximilian Rügamer This video is a ZDF production in collaboration with Bilderfest. Literature: Knut Görich (2006): The Hohenstaufen. Rulers and empire. Munich Bernd Schneidmüller (2006): The emperors of the Middle Ages. From Charlemagne to Maximilian I. Munich Guido Knopp/Stefan Brauburger/Peter Arens (2008): “Barbarossa and the empire”. In: The Germans. From the Middle Ages to the 20th century. P. 89-126 Knut Görich (2011): Friedrich Barbarossa. A biography #TerraX #Staufer #FriedrichBarbarossa Subscribe? Just click here – / @terraxhistory All films and information about Terra X can be found here – https://terra-x.zdf.de/#xtor=CS3-82 Terra X on Facebook – / zdfterrax Terra X on Instagram – / terrax