Princely Brothers and Sisters: The Sibling Bond in German Politics, 1100-1250

4. Frederick Barbarossa and Henry the Lion: Cousins in an Age of Brothers

89  Chapter 4 Frederick Barbarossa and Henry the Lion Cousins in an Age of Brothers For a quarter century from the mid-1150s to the late 1170s, Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony and Bavaria was the most powerful magnate in the German kingdom. Then,in the years around 1180, he fell precipitously from his perch atop the princely hierarchy. Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, acting in conjunction with many of the principes imperii, stripped him of his duchies and other imperial fiefs. Soon thereafter, Henry left the German kingdom for exile in the Angevin lands ruled by his father-in-law, King Henry II of England. He would eventually return, but his position as the preeminent magnate within the German upper aristocracy was forever lost. During the final years before his death in 1195, he let his sons play an increasingly active role in imperial politics as he withdrew to his family lands in and around Brunswick in Saxony. While numerous aspects of Duke Henry the Lion’s long career have been thoroughly researched and analyzed by modern scholars, the events surrounding the loss of his duchies have consistently been the focus of the most intense scrutiny. At the center of many debates has been the question of whether the emperor or a faction of magnates was the driving force behind the actions taken against the duke in the late 1170s and early 1180s. To phrase this more dramatically: Was Frederick Barbarossa the aggressor—the “Lion hunter”—or was he forced to accede to the demands of influential 90 CHAPTER 4 princes?1 In this chapter,I aim to provide a fresh perspective on the magnates’ involvement in Henry the Lion’s fall by analyzing sibling relationships—and family relationships more generally—within the German upper aristocracy of the early Staufen period. The cooperative bonds,I argue,operating within several leading fraternal groups played a pivotal role in Barbarossa’s decision to strip Henry of his fiefs. This family-oriented approach to the events of the late 1170s and early 1180s takes as its starting point the kin connection between Emperor Frederick I and Duke Henry the Lion. The two were first cousins, and for both Frederick and Henry, this relationship proved to be essential in developing their political and territorial interests throughout the 1150s and 1160s.2 Their close ties of cooperation and support did not begin to unravel until the 1170s, when their extended kinship group underwent significant changes. As we saw in the previous chapter, it was during this same period that influential sibling groups were emerging in other princely lineages. Thus, to understand why Frederick and Henry’s bond as cousins ultimately proved to be an unreliable foundation for both of their positions in the German kingdom , it is necessary to place their relationship within the broader context of the twelfth-century histories of all nine of the lineages under investigation here. This means examining first the role of princely brothers in imperial politics during the reign of King Conrad III (1138–1152) and the early years of Barbarossa’s rule. In this way, the nature of the family groups operating inside the German upper aristocracy during the years around 1180 will come into clearer focus. Viewing the interactions between Frederick Barbarossa and Henry the Lion through the lens of these shifting family dynamics across multiple decades can reveal much about their own complicated relationship—and about the significance of the sibling bond for the practice of politics during the early Staufen period. Sibling Relationships in the Aftermath of the 1138 Royal Election The generation of Frederick and Henry’s fathers dominated the political landscape of the German kingdom during the second quarter of the twelfth century. When Emperor Lothar III died without sons on December 4,1137, Duke Henry the Proud of Saxony and Bavaria was the most prominent 1. For this phrasing, see Schneidmüller, Die Welfen, 226, and Görich, “Jäger des Löwen?” 2. See the genealogical charts for the Staufen and Welf lineages in the appendix. Duke Henry the Black of Bavaria and his wife, Wulfhild, were the grandparents of both Henry and Frederick. FREDERICK BARBAROSSA AND HENRY THE LION 91 member of the German upper aristocracy. This duke had married Lothar’s only daughter, Gertrude, a decade earlier, and the aging emperor had lived long enough to see the couple provide him with a grandson, Henry the...