Frederick of Antioch

Friedrich von Antiochia (Italian: Federico di Antiochia ; * between 1220 and 1225, † 1256 in Foggia ) was an illegitimate son of the Roman-German Emperor and King of Sicily, Friedrich II. The origin of his nickname is unknown. According to the older view, his mother was related to the princely house of Antioch , but there was also a Norman noble family based in Apulia called "Antioch".

Life

The sarcophagus of Frederick of Antioch in the Cathedral of Palermo.

In 1239 Friedrich married Margherita di Poli, whose father had served as senator from Rome . They had three children:

• Konrad (Corrado) of Antioch († after 1301), Count of Alba, Celano and Loreto
• Margaret (Margherita) of Antioch
• Philippa (Filippa) of Antioch († 1273 as a prisoner), ∞ with Manfredo II. Marchese Maletta

During his father's struggle against the Lombard League and the Pope, Frederick was appointed imperial vicar general of the Mark Ancona in 1244 and finally in the same office in Tuscany in 1245 , as the successor of the apostate Pandolfo di Fasanella. In 1247 he was entrusted with the county of Alba (Albe), which had already belonged to his father-in-law and which can no longer be precisely located today.

In January 1248 Frederick drove the papal party ( Guelphs ) from Florence , where he was appointed Podestà of the city by the imperial party (Ghibellines) . With the personal support of his father, he took Capraia on April 25, 1249 and shortly afterwards San Miniato , which meant that Tuscany was largely under imperial control. But in September 1250 the Guelphs won a victory at Figline Valdarno , whereupon there was a change of political direction in Florence, which overthrew the Ghibellines from the city government and forced Frederick to withdraw. After the death of Emperor Frederick II in December 1250, Hohenstaufen rule finally collapsed throughout Tuscany.

Friedrich then supported his half-brother Manfred in the government of Sicily and Imperial Italy until the arrival of their half-brother, King Conrad IV , from whom he received the county of Celano in 1252 . Because he refused to hand over Sicily to Pope Innocent IV after Konrad's death in 1254 , he was declared forfeit of his possessions. Friedrich remained loyal to his brother Manfred, who ruled Sicily, until his own death in 1256.

In Frederick's service was the judge Orfinus von Lodi, who contributed to the glorification of the Hohenstaufen with his hexameters, written around 1245 .

Frederick of Antioch was buried in the Cathedral of Palermo after his death . His sarcophagus is adorned with a reclining figure that shows him as a resting knight.

literature

• Ernst Voltmer:  Federico d'Antiochia. In: Fiorella Bartoccini (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 45:  Farinacci – Fedrigo. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1995, pp. 663-668.
• Hans Martin Schaller:  Friedrich of Antioch. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , p. 489 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Christian Sperle: King Enzo of Sardinia and Frederick of Antioch. Two illegitimate sons of Emperor Frederick II and their role in the administration of the Regnum Italiae . Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2001, ISBN 3-631-37457-7 ( European university publications . Series 3: History and its auxiliary sciences 894), (At the same time: Passau, Univ., Diss., 1999).
• Wolfgang Stürner : Friedrich II. 3. Completely bibliographically updated edition in one volume with a foreword and a documentation with additional information. Special edition. Primusverlag, Darmstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-89678-664-7 .

Web link

• Image from the sacopharynx of Frederick of Antioch