Storiascopio · Era 8 of 12 · lower secondary year 1
Frederick Barbarossa
1155 · Germany and northern Italy (Legnano)
In short
Frederick I of Swabia was called Barbarossa, ‘Red Beard’, because of the colour of his beard. King of Germany from 1152, in 1155 he was crowned emperor in Rome by the Pope. He wanted the rich communes of northern Italy to obey the empire and pay taxes, and he came down into Italy with his army several times. Many towns joined together in the Lombard League and defeated him at Legnano in 1176.
Why it matters The clash with the communes showed that the Italian towns had become strong enough to stand up to an emperor.
Source: Treccani, entry “Federico I imperatore, detto il Barbarossa”
Where we are in the era “Late Middle Ages”
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about 1050Event 12 of 251429
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/frederick-barbarossa/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class