Friedrich was the son of Emperor Heinrich VI and Konstanze von Sizilien. He was born 26 Dec 1194 in Jesi, Apulia.[1] The day is given in the Annales Stadenses under the year 1195 (nocte quae praecedit dormitionem Iohannis ewangelistae),[2] and in a letter of his father to the archbishop of Rouen announcing the conquest of Sicily and the birth of his son.[3] In 1196 his father had him elected rex Romanorum.[4] Heinrich VI died in 1197 and in 1198 Friedrich was crowned King of Sicily.[5][6] In 1211 he was elected again rex Romanorum,[7] and on 9 Dec 1212 crowned in Mainz.[8] He was crowned Emperor 22 Nov 1220 in Rome.[9] After his marriage to Isabelle de Brienne, queen of Jerusalem, he assumed the title King of Jerusalem for himself.[10] Friedrich died in 1250 in Castel Fiorentino.[11]
Wives and Concubines
Friedrich was married at least three times, a fourth marriage may have happened on the deathbed of his long-time mistress Bianca Lancia. In addition he may have had at least 11 (12 if counting Bianca Lancia) concubines.
His first marriage was to Constance of Aragon (b. 1179 - d. 23 June 1222) in August of 1209,[12][13][14] either in Messina or Palermo, Sicily. One child: Heinrich (b. 1211- d. 1242).
His second wife was Isabella II de Brienne, Queen of Jerusalem (b. about 1211 - d. 25 Apr 1228). The marriage took place 9 November 1225 in Brindisi, Apulia.[15][16][17][18][19] Of note is that all sources listing her name call her Isabelle as well as documents issued by Friedrich shortly after the marriage: Isabela, Jan 1226;[20] and by herself: Ysabella, Jan 1226.[21] Two children: An unnamed daughter in 1226 for whom only one source exists: ... videns eum ex sua filia quandam filia genuisse ...;[22] and Konrad IV von Schwaben (b. 25 Apr 1228 - d. 21 May 1254).
His third wife was Isabella of England (b. 1214 - d. 1 December 1241). The marriage took place on 15 Jul 1235 in Worms.[23][24][25][26] Three children: Margarethe (b. 1237 - d. 1270 Frankfurt), Heinrich aka Karlotto (b. 1236 or 1238 - d. 1253), unknown child, possibly a stillbirth in 1241.
Bianca Lancia (b. abt 1200/10, d. abt 1246) was a longtime concubine, a relationship lasting 20 years according to Matthew Paris.[27] The same source and the Cronica Fratris Salimbene de Adam report a marriage on her deathbed.[28] She bore him 2 children: Konstanze (b. 1230 - d. 1307), Manfredi (b. 1232 - d. 1266). A third, widely called Violanta ( b. abt 1233 - d. bef 1264) in the literature and based on a single reference without a name (... per comitissam de Caserta, cuius filius duxerat filiam imperatoris naturalem ...)[29] is not supported by any other source.
The names of other concubines are unknown or poorly documented: 1) The mother of Federico di Pettorano is only identified as nobili comitissa quo in regno Sicilie erat heres;[30] 2) Enzo di Svevia (b. abt 1220 - d. 1272) is identified either as born of une haute dame d'Alemaigne[31] or ex matre infami et ignobili[32] and ex Theotonica.[33] No document has been found naming her Adelhaid von Urslingen and no such name appears in the Stammliste of house Urslingen.[34] Enzo appears to have had a full sister Caterina da Marano.[35] 3) The mother of Federico di Antiochia (b. btw 1222 and 1224 - d. 1256) is commonly called Maria or Matilda in secondary literature without any primary source. Thomas Tusci only mentions she was called de Antiochia,[36] and Bartolomeo de Neocastro calls her Beatrix filia principis Antiochiae.[37] It is unlikely that she was a daughter of Bohémond IV de Antiochia, but could have been a member of the Sicilian family d'Antiochia, descendants of the 12th century Giorgio d'Antiochia.[38][39] 4) Manna, the mother of Riccardo conte de Chieti, appears to exist only in an unsourced footnote.[40] 5) No primary sources exist for the mother of Margherita di Suevia, she appears only in the 17th century. 6) Nothing is known about the mothers of Salvaggia, Blanchefleur, and Gerardo.
↑ William Stubbs (ed.), Radulfi de Diceto Decani Lundoniensis Opera Historica: The Historical Works of Master Ralph de Diceto, Dean of London, Issue 2, Ymagines Historiarum, Kraus Reprint, Wiesbaden 1965, p. 125
↑ Jean Louis Alphonse Huillard-Bréholles, Frederici secundi historia diplomatica, Tomus 2 pars 1, Ann. 1225 Foggiae, decembris, Paris 1855, p. 526. The first document in which he uses the title.
↑ Rosario Gregorio, Bibliotheca scriptorum qui res in Sicilia gestas sub Aragonum imperio retulere: Eam uti accessionem ad Historicam bibliothecam Carusii instruxit, Tomus I, Bartholomei de Neocastro Historia Sicula, Panormi 1791, p. 15
↑ Ximénez de Embún y Val, Tomás, Historia de la Corona de Aragón : (la más antigua de que se tiene noticia) conocida generalmente con el nombre de Crónica de San Juan de la Peña : Part aragonesa, Capítulo XXXIV Del rey Pedro II, y de sus hechos, p. 136, Alacant : Biblioteca Virtual Joan Lluís Vives, 2004
↑ Jean Louis Alphonse Huillard-Bréholles, Frederici secundi historia diplomatica, Tomus I pars II, Breve chronicon de rebus siculis ..., Paris 1852, p. 897
↑ Bartholomaei de Neocastro Historia Sicula, a cura di Giuseppe Paladino, Prooemium, Bologna 1922, p. 2
↑ Fulvio Delle Donne - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 55 (2001), GIORGIO d'Antiochia, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani S.p.A.
↑ Benoist-Méchin, J. (1980) Frédéric de Hohenstaufen ou le rêve excommunié, Librairie Académique Perrin, 1980, p. 667, footnote 375, quoted in: Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, KONSTANTIN ROGER FRIEDRICH von Staufen
Eduard August Winkelmann, Geschichte Kaiser Friedrichs des Zweiten und seiner Reiche, 1212-1235, Berlin 1863, and 1235–1250, Reval 1865.
Can we please remove the double-headed eagle "Coat of Arms of Frederick II"? The double-headed eagle became a symbol of the Holy Roman Empire only with Sigismund von Luxemburg in 1433 (Franz Gall: Zur Entwicklung des Doppeladlers auf den kaiserlichen Siegeln. In: Adler, Band 8, Heft 16/17, 1970, p. 281), the three Staufer lions were used first by Heinrich (VII), before him a single or two lions were used.
https://www.quora.com/Why-was-Holy-Roman-Emperor-Frederick-II-excommunicated-twice/answer/Helena-Schrader-1?ch=99&share=70a7528a&srid=hv6c3
Note: Yolande (Isabelle II) of Jerusalem formerly Brienne aka Hohenstaufen, Sicilia Born about 1212 in Brienne, Francemap
Thank you!
edited by Bettye (Holland) Carroll