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Lombardy. Four popes after Innocent resisted Frederick’s efforts and
excommunicated him on several occasions, including most seriously at the Council
of Lyon in 1245. They also preached a crusade against him, which lasted until his
death in 1250.
3. The Consequences of Frederick’s Failure — the concessions Frederick made to
the German princes allowed them to turn their regions into virtually independent
states and left German regions divided until the nineteenth century. Frederick’s
failure strengthened the position of the German princes and in 1273 brought the
Swabian Hapsburg family to imperial power as the “Holy Roman Emperors,” a
prestigious but meaningless honorific. Frederick’s failure in Italy meant that the
Italian cities would continue to be divided. Sicily was ruled by a succession of other
families; it was eventually claimed by both the kings of Aragon and the house of
Anjou. While the popes resisted losing control of Italy, they came under attack for
using religion as a political tool.
Innocent III
Innocent III (Latin: Innocentius PP. III, Italian:
Innocenzo III, 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216) was Pope
from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name
was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes Anglicized
to Lothar of Segni.
Innocent III (1198-1216) was one of the greatest popes
of Christianity, the man who brought the Church at
the height of medieval power. Costanza d'Altavilla
(Constance of Hauteville), mother of Fredrick II, before dying, gave him the
protection of the little son which he accepted in order to make the future emperor
an instrument of ecclesiastical power.
But the events prevented him from Sicilian impart education aimed. Frederick had
a difficult adolescence in a Palermo, poor, oppressed by baronies, in the middle of
the humble people, a situation which, however, allowed him to know and
understand a truly multi-ethnic and multi-racial society, learning to be tolerant,
understanding, integrator of cultures and of religions.
In 1212 funded the first trip of Frederick in Germany, but did not see him again on
his return.
The Hohenstaufen Dynasty - Page 72 of 200