Kaiser Friedrich II (1194-1250)

Emperor Frederick II (1194–1250) is numbered among the most consequential rulers of the medieval millennium. Described as a marvel of the world (stupor mundi) in his own day, for a brief moment Frederick managed to forge an empire that rivalled that of Charlemagne, encompassing the kingdoms of Germany, Burgundy, Lombardy, and Sicily, as well as Jerusalem. Frederick's court at Palermo welcomed Christian, Muslim, and Jewish scholars alike. The emperor himself composed a scholarly work on hunting with falcons. Frederick's reign also was marred by a struggle to the death with the papacy, which led to the unravelling of his empire and the extinction of his family, following the execution of his grandson, Conradin, in 1268 by Charles of Anjou. Hubert Houben provides an accessible biography of this great ruler. Following a brief historiographical introduction, the body of the text is organised in three parts. The first provides an overview of Frederick's political career, from his childhood as a political pawn in Sicily to his final contest against the papacy. Houben breaks no new ground here. This is a missed opportunity because an enormous amount of work remains to be done on the administration, military organisation, tax systems, and other elements of government in the regions of the empire north of the Alps

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