Ep. 23 (66) - The Myths of Barbarossa
We have just spent 15 episodes talking about the life and times of the actual Frederick Barbarossa. Exciting as his life was, his afterlife is almost as interesting. Don’t panic I will not go on for 1...
30 Sep 202434min
Ep. 22 (65) - The Third Crusade
This week, after 15 episodes we will finally leave the emperor Barbarossa behind, though it is almost impossible to ever get away from him. No other medieval ruler is still so present in the national ...
23 Sep 202435min
Ep. 21 (64) - The Heirs of Troy - What is an Emperor for?
his week we will discuss how Barbarossa attempts to rebuild a new ideological underpinning of his role and how that leads to renewed conflict with the popes. But then one of the most devastating event...
16 Sep 202429min
Ep. 20 (63) - Recovery - Barbarossa rebuilds his reign after defeats in Italy and at home
Following the Peace of Venice and the Fall of Henry the Lion, our great emperor Barbarossa has reached the end of the road. Being a man of infinite resource and sagacity he climbs out of the hole, res...
9 Sep 202430min
Ep. 19 (62) The Fall of Henry the Lion
This episode deals with, guess what, the fall of Henry the Lion from his position as duke of Saxony and Bavaria. The interesting bit is not so much whether it happened, that is pretty obvious, but why...
2 Sep 202440min
Ep. 18 (61) - The Peace of Venice - Reconciliation between Barbarossa and Pope Alexander III
This week we will talk about the great peace conference in Venice where Barbarossa is finally reconciled with the papacy, the Lombards and the Sicilians. It is also the time he has to bend the knee be...
26 Aug 202431min
Ep. 17 (60) - Legnano - Barbarossa's final Battle in Italy
1176 This week we talk about the next leg in this the fifth Italian campaign Barbarossa undertakes. It involves an aborted battle, attempts at peace, a mediation award, a refusal of support and the mo...
19 Aug 202433min
Ep. 16 (59) - The City of Straw - Barbarossa's failed siege of Alessandria
(1168-1174) This week we talk about Barbarossa’s next moves after his disastrous fourth Italian campaign. It takes him a few years to come to grips with the failure of his great imperial programme bef...
12 Aug 202430min
