Frederick the Second

by Ernst Kantorowicz

  The Emperor spent nearly the whole of October in Cremona, waiting. Negotiations with Pope and Lombards were in progress, and the Diet was to be held in Cremona which had first been summoned for Piacenza. Piacenza was no longer eligible, for a papal “action of peace and mediation” had succeeded in detaching the town from Frederick and inducing it to join the League. The town was lost to the Empire for the next ten years. On the other hand, the town of Bergamo threw over the League and joined Frederick. Lombard politics were always kaleidoscopic.

  The Diet was destined not to be held at all. At the end of October the Emperor suddenly quitted Cremona. Eccelino on the Adige in the Legnano region was holding a hostile army in check, composed of combined troops from Vicenza, Treviso, Padua and Mantua. He saw the Verona passes threatened again, and called Frederick to the eastern scene of war. The Emperor hastened to his assistance in a forced march that has become famous, probably intending to take the confederate troops in the rear by approaching from the north via San Bonifacio and Arcole. Accompanied only by his heavy cavalry Frederick quitted Cremona on the evening of the 30th October, and in a march of one day and two nights covered the whole distance from Cremona to San Bonifacio, east of Verona, close on seventy miles, at full speed, “like a swallow cutting the air.” On the morning of November 1st he reached San Bonifacio, halted “as long as it takes a man to eat a piece of bread in haste” and hastened on at once, not southwards to Eccelino but still east to attack Vicenza. The position had suddenly altered. When the confederate army heard of the Emperor’s unexpected approach it dissolved at once, for the towns themselves seemed threatened. The Vicenzans led the van, abandoning tents and baggage in hasty flight for home, since Vicenza lay more exposed to attack than any of the other towns. They came too late. A few hours took Frederick the additional eighteen and a half miles to Vicenza. He arrived on the afternoon of that same first of November, stormed the town which had refused to surrender, and gave it over to plunder. Eccelino meantime came up, the town was handed over to his care and put in immediate charge of an imperial captain.

  The story runs that Frederick II gave his friend Eccelino a brief demonstration of how he would like the government of the town to be conducted. The two were walking up and down in the bishop’s garden in Vicenza when the Emperor drew his poniard and said: “I will show thee how thou mayest without fail maintain thy rule,” and thereupon he beheaded with his dagger all the longer blades of grass. Eccelino understood. “I shall not fail to note the Emperor’s instructions,” was his reply. Before long he began by a reign of terror to build up Italy’s first seigniory.

  The immediate result of the taking of Vicenza was the surrender of Salinguerra, with his capital of Ferrara and the surrender of the district of Camino. The other towns of the East were so shaken that Eccelino and Gebhard of Arnstein were able, in the course of the winter, to capture Padua, after which Treviso under the Margrave of Este also surrendered. The whole of Northern Italy, east of a line running from Verona to Ferrara, had thus been won for the Emperor. Eccelino under the Emperor’s protection now organised the whole territory into one kingdom or “Tyranny”: which Venice felt to be a grave menace to her. The brief campaign of 1236 had not brought a final decision, but had at least achieved notable successes: above all the exit from the Alps and the approach to Cremona were secured.

  We have already anticipated the chief events in Austria. The overthrow of the Babenberg had only been temporary, for Duke Frederick had been able to maintain himself at certain fortified places. Nevertheless, peace had been for the moment restored. The Emperor lingered for weeks in Vienna; declared the Babenberg deposed, and laid the foundation of those private Hohenstaufen possessions already mentioned. He granted a great privilege to Vienna which was henceforth to be a direct appanage of the Empire. He held a Diet there at which once more a large number of German princes were assembled. Nothing bears more eloquent testimony to Frederick’s increased prestige and power than the fact that without any special concessions the German princes at once consented to choose the nine-year old Conrad, King of Jerusalem, as Frederick’s successor; and, more, as “King of the Romans and future Emperor,” thus satisfying the ancient ambition of the House of Hohenstaufen. The electoral decision of the princes is couched in haughty language. They fell in with the Hohenstaufen tradition, and felt themselves in fact the successors and heirs of Roman Senators. “In the beginning of Rome’s history, after the memorable defeat of the Trojans and the destruction of their noble city, the highest power and the electoral franchise for the Empire rested with the senators of the new race of the new town. Yet with the gradual ever-increasing growth of the Empire and its evergrowing strength, the height of such great fortune could not remain for ever with one single city—though she were the royallest among them all. After the Empire’s power had pilgrimaged through the most distant regions in a certain circular wandering it came to rest at last for ever among Germania’s princes—in a manner not less beneficial than inevitable—that from amongst them, who secure the safety and prosperity of the Empire, the ruler of the Empire should be chosen.”

  The royal succession was thus assured in Germany and in the Roman Empire. The Emperor, however, abstained from crowning King Conrad IV. His experience with King Henry, in whose stead Conrad was now chosen, “as David for Saul,” had demonstrated that too great independence on the part of the German King was dangerous. King Conrad, or the Regents appointed for him, were, therefore, to rule simply as delegates of the Emperor. The first regent was Archbishop Sigfrid of Mainz, and, later, Henry Raspe of Thuringia. In spring Frederick moved from Vienna to Speyer to assemble other princes there for Whitsuntide and permit them to confirm the King’s election. The Emperor’s time was mainly occupied in extensive preparations for continuing the Lombard war, and in August he was again encamped on the Lechfeld with fresh troops. A brief letter informed the Romans of his proceedings. No matter which concerned the Romans should be concealed from them (he wrote), since every undertaking of the Emperor’s was specially planned on their behalf. He was now striking his tents on the fields of Augsburg before again seeking Latium’s borders with the assembled fighting forces of Germany under the fame-crowned banner of the imperial eagles.

  When marching at the head of his armies Frederick felt himself more than ever one of the Caesars. He had opened the Lombard campaign by seizing one of the Roman eagles in his hand. This year, even more than last, he hoped the genius of Rome would accompany him on his campaign.

  At the request of the German Grand Master negotiations with the Pope were again opened this year. Hermann of Salza had a difficult task. At a big Chapter in Marburg, where over a hundred of the Teutonic knights were assembled, the brothers of the Order showed themselves quite as impatient as the German princes at the thought that their Master was treating, and for ever treating, instead of striking. The Emperor was not optimistic about these fresh efforts, though, in fact, Hermann of Salza accomplished on this occasion more than ever before. Frederick’s successes in the March of Treviso had intimidated both Lombards and Pope. Gregory even withdrew from Lombardy his legate, Cardinal Jacob of Palestrina, whom the Emperor cordially disliked, and replaced him by two more congenial cardinals. The Lombards also were becoming more amenable, and perhaps a treaty might have been arranged if the Venetians had not torpedoed the peace negotiations. A Lombardy united under the Emperor, an Eccelino at their back in the March of Treviso: they must have felt that this would be a perpetual menace. After Piacenza deserted the Emperor’s cause a Venetian had been put in as podesta. On instructions from the Doge he made the Piacenzans swear that they would never accept an imperial podesta. This was one of the Emperor’s most important conditions, and the negotiations fell through.

  In the middle of September 1237 the Emperor arrived in Verona with two thousand German knights. Gebhard of Arnstein joined him soon after. He had hastened on ahead and called up the Tuscan levies in the greatest haste, and joined forces with the Sicilian army consisting o
f seven thousand Saracen archers and the Apulian knights. A few days later the levies from the loyal towns came in, led by Cremona, and the auxiliaries of Eccelino. The chivalry of individual towns like Bergamo and Tortona mustered also, and other volunteers poured in, so that the Emperor ultimately had at his disposal an army of some twelve to fifteen thousand men. Success speedily followed. The fortress of Redondesco, west of Mantua, was conquered in September, followed by two other castles in the Mantuan region, so that Mantua itself surrendered on the first of October. Preliminary negotiations with the podesta, Count Richard of San Bonifacio, had paved the way for the surrender of this important town.

  *

  The Emperor now turned north into Brescian territory. Montechiaro, strongly fortified and strongly garrisoned, was taken by stratagem after a siege of fourteen days. The fortifications were destroyed and the fifteen hundred foot-soldiers and twenty knights of the Lombard League captured here were taken to Cremona. The road to Brescia was now open. But a Lombard army about ten thousand strong lay close before the walls, and the problem was to attack the enemy forces as far as possible in the open. The Lombards skilfully evaded a battle, which was a simple matter as long as they could use Brescia as their base. The Emperor tried to lure them off. He marched through the Brescia territory southwards, laying waste, captured four castles and compelled the Lombards to follow, for they feared an attack on one of the other defenceless towns if they lost touch with the imperial army. The story of Vicenza might well have been repeated. By the middle of November the two armies finally lay face to face near Pontevico, separated by a marshy little river which there flows into the Oglio. Operations came to a standstill. The Emperor could not allow his heavy cavalry to attack across the marshy land, the Lombards accepted no challenge. November was almost over. Negotiations had been unsuccessful—in spite of considerable concessions by the towns. There seemed no hope of dealing a decisive blow at the Lombards before the year was out.

  The Battle of Cortenuova

  Then Frederick II had recourse to stratagem. The Oglio, a small river that traverses Lombardy from north to south and flows into the left bank of the Po, lay behind his position, which probably filled the angle made by the marshy little tributary and the Oglio. On the further side of the Oglio lay Cremona, three or four hours’ march away. The Emperor made a feint of setting off to take up his winter quarters in the town, a move which the advanced season made entirely plausible. While the watching Lombards remained, covered by their marshes, the Emperor crossed the Oglio by several bridges, broke these behind him, as the enemy could observe, and sent in fact a large part of his army, including the town infantries and the baggage, southwards to Cremona, He himself, however, now separated from the Lombards by the Oglio, marched off northwards with his striking force: the entire cavalry and his light Saracen archers. He followed the Oglio upstream. The Lombards, certainly the Milanese, were bound to cross the river somewhere, and the Emperor intended to intercept them. For two days he lay in vain in ambush at Soncino; at last news came. The Lombards, feeling perfectly secure, had moved off further north, crossed the river and were encamped at Pontoglio. Frederick immediately struck camp, left Soncino on the morning of November 27th, and his vanguard of German knights fell on the amazed Lombards that same afternoon. The Lombards had only just time to rally round the carroccio, the standard-bearing chariot of Milan, which had been set up at Cortenuova. Meanwhile Frederick’s main force, marching up in several columns, one of which the Emperor himself commanded, soon compelled a decision. Darkness set in early owing to the season, and there was not time to take Cortenuova by daylight. The Lombards abandoned the place in the night and fled, leaving the Milanese carroccio behind. The pursuit began at dawn; the Lombards lost an immense number of prisoners: 3,000 foot soldiers and over 1,000 knights, amongst whom was the podesta of Milan, Pietro Tiepolo, son of the Doge of Venice. The standard itself, which the Milanese had sought to save, got lost in the flight and was found by the victors and made a great trophy in the conquered camp.

  Cortenuova, one of the few great battles of the Middle Ages, was a complete victory for the imperial arms and a glorious climax to Frederick’s empire in Germany. It belongs entirely to his German period. For the last time an Emperor’s Italian campaign, voted and supported by the German princes took the form of an imperial war. Coming from the North, Frederick, like his forefathers, had once again crossed the Alps and conquered in the Lombard plain. The victory was won mainly by the German knights, but was immediately translated by Frederick into Roman phraseology to give the success its spiritual value: “Germanic victory” would have created a false impression, “German victory” would have as yet had no meaning. The victory was therefore turned to the glory of Roman arms, it was won in the name of imperial Rome and of her Caesars as Frederick truthfully wrote to the people of Rome. Even during the battle the manes of the Roman Imperators had accompanied the Hohenstaufen, yea, even victorious Roma herself, when he gave his warriors their new battle-cry, their new slogan of victory:

  MILES ROMA! MILES IMPERATOR!

  And in order to lose nothing of the glamour and glory of ancient deeds of arms the Emperor followed up the victory, which he had won with the battle-cry of Rome, by a triumph which deliberately and intentionally revived prehistoric and forgotten ceremonies. People said that he was planning to elevate Cremona to the position of a second Rome. When Frederick a few days later entered Cremona with his immense booty, his numerous prisoners and his victorious army, he did so after the fashion of the Roman Emperors celebrating their triumphs: the captured enemy commanders followed in fetters; Pietro Tiepolo, son of the Doge of Venice, sometime podesta of Milan, was bound upon his back to the lowered mast of the Milanese carroccio. This noblest of trophies was drawn by an elephant through the streets of Cremona to the joyous cheering of the people. The Emperor’s yellow banner with the Roman eagles floated aloft, while from a wooden tower on the elephant’s back trumpeters made known the triumph of the new Divus Caesar Augustus. The Emperor himself told the Romans that his triumph was a reversion to the original Roman form.

  The intoxication of this exotic, pagan-Roman, assuredly most unchristian, celebration of victory, marked a turning point in Frederick’s life. All the magnificent Roman titles which he, like his predecessors bore, were justified. The empty formula, meaninglessly used, “Imperator Invictus,” suddenly meant once more what it had meant of old. Without the need of transcendental interpretation he was now in the naked literal sense:

  FELIX VICTOR AC TRIUMPHATOR.

  The shades of Rome, of the Romans and their Caesars, had tasted blood: they began to stir again and to be visible in the flesh once more; a genuine breath of antiquity revivified by life itself.

  VII. Caesar and Rome

  The magic of Rome—Renovatio imperii—Identification

  with Caesar—Spolia opima from Cortenuova—

  Lust for personal glorification—Frederick’s wooing of

  the Romans—Cardinals and Pope—Progress in Lombardy—

  Diets of Pavia and Turin, 1238—Siege of

  Brescia; Calamandrinus—Coalition against Frederick

  —Enzio—Imperial Court at Padua—Frederick’s

  appeal to the Cardinals—Frederick excommunicated—

  Death of Hermann of Salza—Reorganisation and defence

  of Sicily—Destruction of Benevento (1241)—Reorganisation of

  Italy—War of manifestos and propaganda—Brother Elias—

  Brother Jordan and the Pope—Christmas in Pisa—

  Frederick invades the PapalStates—Letter to Jesi—

  At the gates of Rome—Gregory turns the multitude

  VII. Caesar and Rome

  Rome, golden, eternal, mighty, glorious, world-conquering. … Rome, the Mistress, the City of Cities, the fortunate, the royal, the holy city. … THE CITY, seat of empire and of fame…! No adjective was too august to be used in antiquity and in the Middle Ages to do honour to the still-radiant glory
of the one capital of the world. Through the centuries the magic worked on, at first the magic of glory, later the magic of glorious ruin. The name of Rome and the possession of Rome, much striven after, was one with the rule over the Roman world. If it was desired to honour the mighty, Rome was shown offering them homage on bended knee. Each of the Emperors in turn showed honour to Rome by making a pilgrimage to the town in which the crown of the world was given away.

  Since the decline of Rome the wish to renew her ancient glory had never died out. The Roman Empire of the Germans was itself the idea of the Renovatio, and the inscription of a Carolingian seal read: Renovatio Imperii.

  The Emperors were the first and the most powerful of those who sought to achieve the renewal of Rome, but two rivals soon arose—first the Popes, then the Romans. The Caesar-Popes of the Middle Ages felt themselves to be the successors of the Roman Divi, just as much as did the Emperors, for the Donation of Constantine had entitled them to the imperial insignia: pallium and purple, sceptre and standard and tiara; had endowed them further with the imperial palace of the Lateran, and the rule over Rome, Italy, even the whole Empire. The world-rule of the imperial Papacy was to renew Rome’s ancient greatness and power. It is a straight line from Gregory VII, the founder of the imperial Papacy, through Innocent III, the verus imperator and protector of the Byzantine-Latin Empire; through Boniface VIII, who called himself Caesar and Imperator, down to that Prince and General, the last of the imperial Popes who chose Julius II as his name. The Romans were slower to re-discover themselves, but a new era began even for them in the middle of the twelfth century. It was closely connected with the doctrines of Roman law and the Lombard conception of freedom. For a long time to come they dated their documents from the year 1144, in which the Senate and Equestrian Order were renewed and the Roman respublica ruled once again through a sacer senatus from the Capitol, reminding the first Hohenstaufen, Conrad III, that the Caesars of old ruled the world only in virtue of the Senate and Roman people. Senatus Populusque Romanus was now about to rule the world again.