Tags
Conrad III of Franconia, Duke Frederick II of Swabia, Emperor Henry IV, Emperor Henry V, Emperor Lothair III, House of Hohenstaufen, King of Germany, King of Italy, King of the Romans
From The Emperor’s Desk: I meant to post this yesterday but I took the day off. 😊👑
Conrad III (1093 or 1094 – February 15, 1152) of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of the Romans of his predecessor Emperor Lothair III, and from March 7, 1138 until his death in 1152 he held the King of the Romans in the Holy Roman Empire.
He was the son of Duke Friedrich I of Swabia and Agnes of Waiblingen, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Heinrich IV and Bertha of Savoy, a daughter of Otto, Count of Savoy and his wife Adelaide of Susa.
Conrad’s father took advantage of the conflict between Emperor Heinrich IV and the Swabian Duke Rudolph of Rheinfelden during the Investiture Controversy. When Rudolph had himself elected German anti-king at Forchheim in 1077, Friedrich of Hohenstaufen remained loyal to the royal crown and in 1079 was vested with the Duchy of Swabia by Emperor Heinrich IV, including an engagement with the king’s minor daughter Agnes.
Friedrich of Hohenstaufen, Duke of Swabia died in 1105, leaving two sons, Conrad and his elder brother Duke Friedrich II of Swabia who inherited the Swabian ducal title. Their mother entered into a second marriage with Margrave Leopold III of Austria, of the House of Babenberg.
In 1105, Heinrich IV, Holy Roman Emperor since 1084, was overthrown and abdicated in favor of his by his son who became Emperor Heinrich V, and he was Conrad’s uncle.
Emperor Heinrich V prepared for his second campaign to Italy upon the death of Margravine Matilda of Tuscany, and in 1116 he appointed Conrad as Duke of Franconia. Conrad was marked out to act as Regent for Germany, together with his elder brother, Duke Friedrich II of Swabia.
At the death of Heinrich V in 1125, Conrad unsuccessfully supported his younger brother Duke Friedrich II for the Kingship of the Romans-Germany. Duke Friedrich II was placed under a ban and Conrad was deprived of Franconia and the Kingdom of Burgundy, of which he was rector. With the support of the imperial cities, Swabia, and the Duchy of Austria, Conrad was elected anti-king of the Romans at Nuremberg in December 1127.
Conrad quickly crossed the Alps to be crowned King of Italy by Anselmo della Pusterla, Archbishop of Milan, in the village of Monza. Over the next two years, he failed to achieve anything in Italy, however, and returned to Germany in 1130, after Nuremberg and Speyer, two strong cities that supported him, fell to Emperor Lothair III in 1129.
Conrad continued in Emperor Lothair III’s opposition, but he and his brother, Duke Friedrich II were forced to acknowledge Lothair as Emperor in 1135, during which time Conrad relinquished his title as King of Italy. After this they were pardoned and could take again possession of their lands.