Battle of Frankfurt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Frankfurt
Part of: Interregnum
Battle of the Nidda.png
date August 5, 1246
place On the Nidda west of Frankfurt
output Victory of the anti-Staufer army by Swabian deserters
consequences Flight of Conrad IV, beginning of the end of the Hohenstaufen monarchy
Parties to the conflict

Hessian-Thuringian and episcopal troops, Swabian defectors

Swabian and other predominantly southern German troops

Commander

Heinrich Raspe IV.

Conrad IV.


The Battle of Frankfurt , also known as the Battle of the Nidda , was fought on August 5, 1246 between the German King and Swabian Duke Konrad IV and the Thuringian landgrave Heinrich Raspe IV , who was appointed as the opposing king by supporters of the Pope . The battle was decided prematurely by the previously planned betrayal of the two Swabian Counts Ulrich I of Württemberg and Hartmann II of Grüningen . Ample papal money, the prospect of Staufer property and the promise to inherit the Staufers as Dukes of Swabia had induced the two of them to switch sides with around 2000 followers immediately at the start of the battle. Konrad IV was still able to escape.

prehistory

Frederick II and the Popes

The tensions in the relationship between the Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and the Popes in Rome, which shaped large parts of the European Middle Ages , reached under the Hohenstaufen Frederick II and Popes Gregory IX. or Innocent IV. Another highlight, since Frederick was also King of Sicily and thus included the Papal State in central Italy.

Pope Gregory IX also insisted to weaken the all too powerful Staufer. that Frederick honored his vows and after several postponements, which resulted in his excommunication, set out on the crusade to Palestine in 1228 . During Frederick's absence from Sicily , papal troops occupied large parts of his Italian dominion. But the Pope had miscalculated. Because the emperor reached a negotiated peace in Palestine in 1229, which included the surrender of Jerusalem and Nazareth , as well as a ten-year armistice. Frederick, who had returned as King of Jerusalem, now appeared stronger than ever. The renewed conflict with the Pope could only be defused in September 1230 through the mediation of Hermann von Salza , the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order . Friedrich was taken back into the bosom of the church.

But the peace between Emperor and Pope was short-lived. After further battles of the Hohenstaufen against the Lombard League in northern Italy and the occupation of the island of Sardinia , which was formally under papal feudal rule , Frederick II was again banned from church in 1239. Despite several attempts at mediation by German princes, no new agreement was reached between the emperor and the pope. In 1241, imperial, Venetian and Pisan ships attacked a Genoese naval force at Montecristo and achieved a complete victory in the sea ​​battle of Giglio . This enabled Frederick II to prevent the prelates from France and Spain on the Genoese ships from taking part in the council convened by the Pope , at which his removal was supposed to be carried out. Frederick then occupied large parts of the papal state . Before he reached Rome , Gregory IX died. surprising on August 22, 1241.

After Gregor's death, the emperor withdrew immediately from the Papal States, probably to avoid getting in the way of a reconciliation with Gregor's successor. However, Celestine IV, who was soon raised under pressure from the Italian city nobility, died two weeks after his election, and the cardinals could not agree on a new candidate until 1243 in Anagni .

Innocent IV at the Council of Lyon (13th century)
First the Imperial Procurator, then the Pope's kingmaker: Archbishop Siegfried III of Mainz . puts the crown on Heinrich Raspe and Wilhelm von Holland

Deposition of the emperor at the Council of Lyon

With Innocent IV , a man became Pope whose attitude differed little from that of Gregory IX. made a difference and ruled out a reconciliation with Friedrich. Fearing his own isolation in Rome, Pope Innocent withdrew from the imperial grip at the end of June 1244 and fled via Genoa to Lyon , where he summoned the European prelates to a great council under the protection of the French crown. At this First Council of Lyons , which he opened on June 28, 1245, the Pope, by virtue of his "full apostolic authority", declared the deposition of Frederick II as emperor and king without obtaining the consent of the council.

Frederick II now went over to the propagandistic counter-attack and denied the Pope sovereignty over the secular empire. In pronouncements he attacked the church in Rome as ostentatious and deviated from the true path and propagated the early church as poor and powerless, as Francis of Assisi had already demanded. Innocent, for his part, had the bull of deposition spread throughout the empire and legates put pressure on clerics loyal to the emperor . He tried to win German princes and counts to his side through promises.

Heinrich Raspes changed sides

After the death of his brother in the crusader army of Frederick II, Heinrich Raspe IV initially assumed the reign of the Landgraviate of Thuringia for his nephew Hermann II . After his early death in 1241 he became the sole landgrave of Thuringia and large parts of Hesse . After the Archbishop of Mainz Siegfried III. von Eppstein had turned away from Friedrich II in 1241, the emperor transferred his office as Reichsgubernator for his son Conrad IV , who had been elected king in 1237, but was still underage, to Heinrich Raspe. In the following year, however, Raspe withdrew from some of the associated duties.

After the Council of Lyon, he finally moved to the papal camp in 1245. Urged by the Archbishop of Mainz Siegfried III. von Eppstein, who also promised him 10,000 marks from his own box, had Heinrich Raspe, after initial hesitation, in May 1246 in Veitshochheim near Würzburg, mainly elected by clergy princes as the rival king. Innocent IV now called on all German princes to elect Heinrich Raspe as German king, which was initially only supported by the archbishops of Mainz and Cologne and the bishops of Würzburg , Metz , Strasbourg and Speyer and some Thuringian nobles .

Meanwhile, papal preachers traveled through the empire, collected donations for the fight against the "Antichrist" Friedrich and even called in Denmark and Poland to fight against the emperor and his equally banned son. Those who provided money or personal commitment in the fight against Frederick were guaranteed the same indulgences as those for participating in crusades to the Holy Land. With the help of this money and the help of the papal "puller" Siegfried von Eppstein, Heinrich soon saw himself in a position to take active action against the Hohenstaufen.

The battle turns out to be a trap

Staufer stele with inscription on the battle of Frankfurt in Markgröningen

After the secular princes had stayed away from Heinrich Raspe's election as king in the spring of 1246, he had asked them, supported by the Pope and most of the bishops, to attend a court conference in Frankfurt, where they were to confirm his choice. Since Conrad IV had accepted his deposition as German king by the Pope as little as his father had accepted his, he probably approached the "Pfaffenkönig" via Frankfurt and captured him and his armed forces, which were largely supported by the Archbishops of Mainz and Cologne , with an army from predominantly Swabian troops from the Nidda .

The sources and historians disagree about the exact location of the battlefield and the respective locations of the adversaries who presumably took position on both sides of the Nidda. The armies of the opposing parties are said to have faced each other for several days without either side daring to take the first step. On August 5th, the eighteen-year-old Konrad IV finally forced the battle, although little is reported about the exact course of the battle and it probably did not last too long. Because Konrad immediately fell behind due to previously planned treason. The influential Swabian Counts Hartmann II. Von Grüningen and Ulrich I von Württemberg , who struck Konrad in the back at the decisive moment, by joining Heinrich with around 2000 followers, i.e. with the bulk of his army, played a decisive role in the defeat of Konrad Raspe overflowed. Pope Innocent IV had provided them with plenty of money, "7000 marks silver", and on top of that offered them the prospect of taking over Staufian property in Lower Swabia and the Swabian ducal dignity as a reward.

Heinrich Raspe is said to have looted Konrad's camp and made over 600 prisoners. The actual goal of this coup, to clear Konrad out of the way or to take him prisoner, was not achieved, however, because Konrad escaped to Frankfurt and finally settled in Bavaria.

Heinrich Raspe continued his way to Frankfurt, where he is said to have celebrated his first farm day. It remains unclear whether Frankfurt-friendly Frankfurt opened the gates for him or whether he had to celebrate the court day in front of the city. The latter, however, seems more likely, since Raspe wrote nothing about the capture of Frankfurt in his report on the Battle of Milan and the imperial city continued to be on the Staufer side.

Consequences of the battle

Four weeks after the battle, Conrad IV married, as planned, on September 1, 1246 in Vohburg on the Danube, Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria , daughter of Duke Otto II the Illustrious . Through this marriage, the Wittelsbachers became "the most powerful German allies of the Staufer during the final phase of their dynasty". So Konrad lost massive influence through the battle of Frankfurt, but was soon able to stabilize in the south, supported by the Bavarian Duke and most imperial cities, and also retained the upper hand in the Duchy of Swabia, at least in Upper Swabia and Alsace . In Lower Swabia, the defectors Ulrich I. von Württemberg and Hartmann II. Von Grüningen seized Staufer houses or imperial estates dominated by Staufers.

After another court day in Nuremberg , Heinrich Raspe had started a campaign against the Hohenstaufen heartland in Swabia and tried in January 1247 to take the imperial cities of Ulm and Reutlingen or to bring them to their knees by siege. After he was injured in a skirmish and his health deteriorated, he surprisingly gave up the campaign and retired to the Wartburg , where the last male descendant of the Ludowingians died on February 16, 1247.

Then Konrad IV sat more firmly in the saddle again and was able, in the ongoing conflict on many fronts with the initially only slowly growing following of Raspe's successor, who was also replaced by Archbishop Siegfried III of Mainz in October 1247. chosen against King Wilhelm of Holland , some military successes, especially on the Rhine. Here the episcopal city of Speyer remained loyal to the Staufer, which is why its bishop Heinrich von Leiningen was denied access to office and city. In Swabia, Hartmann II von Grüningen , Hartmann von Kyburg and other counts struggled in vain to defeat Konrad. After a defeat in April 1248, however, he was only just able to escape them. In May 1248, Pope Innocent IV praised the Reichenau abbot Konrad von Zimmer for having supported the counts and accepted the cleric , who had previously been loyal to the Hohenstaufen and therefore banned , "into papal grace".

After the death of his father on December 13th and an assassination attempt on Konrad on December 28th, 1250 in Regensburg, which only barely survived, the following of Wilhelm of Holland grew . So in March 1251 Konrad let the opportunity for a decisive battle against the personally present Wilhelm by Oppenheim pass, because he apparently did not see himself strong enough for it. In October 1251 he then moved to southern Italy in order to secure the rule over the Kingdom of Sicily, which was also threatened, as the sole heir of Frederick II .

swell

literature

  • Hartmut Boockmann : Staufer Period and the Late Middle Ages. Germany 1125-1517. Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-442-75521-2 .
  • Gottlob Egelhaaf : The battle near Frankfurt on August 5, 1246. In: Württemberg quarterly books for regional history Ser. NF, Vol. 31 (1922/24), pp. 45-53.
  • Martin Kaufhold: The kings of the interregnum: Konrad IV., Heinrich Raspe, Wilhelm, Alfons, Richard (1245–1273). In: Bernd Schneidmüller , Stefan Weinfurter (Hrsg.): The German rulers of the Middle Ages. Historical portraits from Heinrich I to Maximilian I. CH Beck, Munich 2003, pp. 315–339.
  • Karl-Heinz Rueß (Ed.): Konrad IV. (1228–1254). Germany's last Staufer King (= writings on Staufer history and art. Volume 32). Society for Staufer History, Göppingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-929776-24-9 .
  • Wolfgang Stürner : 13th century. 1198–1273 (= Gebhardt, Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte 6). 10., completely reworked. Edition. Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 3-608-60006-X .
  • Wolfgang Stürner: Friedrich II. 1194-1250 . 3rd edition, bibliographically completely updated and expanded to include a foreword and documentation with additional information, in one volume. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-534-23040-2 .
  • Matthias Werner (Ed.): Heinrich Raspe. Landgrave of Thuringia and Roman King (1227–1247). Princes, kings and empires in the late Staufer period (= Jena contributions to history. Volume 3). Lang Frankfurt am Main u. a. 2003, ISBN 3-631-37684-7 .

Web links

Commons : Conrad IV of Germany  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Heinrich Raspe  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Cf. Regesta Imperii (RI) V, 1,2 n. 4510b RI online and Ludwig Friedrich Heyd : Die Grafen von Gröningen , Stuttgart 1829, p. 44ff.
  2. ↑ Hans Martin Schaller: Friedrich II. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie 5 (1961), pp. 478-484
  3. ↑ Hartmut Boockmann: Staufer times and late Middle Ages. Berlin 1987, p. 161.
  4. ↑ Hans Martin Schaller: Friedrich II. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie 5 (1961), pp. 478-484.
  5. ↑ Wolfgang Stürner: 13th century. 1198–1273 (Gebhardt, Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte 6) 10th, completely revised edition, Stuttgart 2007, p. 153.
  6. ↑ Wolfgang Stürner: Friedrich II. Vol. 2, Darmstadt 2009, p. 501.
  7. ↑ Wolfgang Stürner: 13th century. 1198–1273 (Gebhardt, Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte 6) 10th, completely revised edition, Stuttgart 2007, p. 263.
  8. ↑ Wolfgang Stürner: 13th century. 1198–1273 (Gebhardt, Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte 6) 10th, completely revised edition, Stuttgart 2007, p. 264.
  9. ↑ Epitaph of Archbishop Siegfried III. from Eppstein in Mainz Cathedral.
  10. ↑ a b Hartmut Boockmann: Staufer times and late Middle Ages. Berlin 1987, p. 169ff.
  11. ↑ Wolfgang Stürner: 13th century. 1198–1273 (Gebhardt, Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte 6) 10th, completely revised edition, Stuttgart 2007, pp. 272f.
  12. ↑ Hans Martin Schaller: Heinrich Raspe. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie 8 (1969), pp. 334–336.
  13. ↑ After Heinrich's early death, the Pope personally requested Heinrich's widow Beatrix to return the relevant bonds to the archbishop. See Regesta Imperii V, 1,2 n.5577, in: RI online
  14. ^ Matthias Werner (Ed.): Heinrich Raspe. Landgrave of Thuringia and Roman King (1227–1247). Princes, kings and empires in the late Staufer period. Frankfurt am Main 2003.
  15. ↑ Wolfgang Stürner: 13th century. 1198–1273 (Gebhardt, Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte 6) 10th, completely revised edition, Stuttgart 2007, p. 278.
  16. ↑ Hans Martin Schaller: Heinrich Raspe. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie 8 (1969), pp. 334–336.
  17. ↑ Cf. RI V, 1,2 n. 4510b RI online and Ludwig Friedrich Heyd : Die Grafen von Gröningen . Stuttgart 1829.
  18. ↑ Wolfgang Stürner: 13th century. Stuttgart 2007, pp. 278f.
  19. ^ Karl E. Demandt: The final battle of the Staufer imperial family in the Rhine-Main area. In: Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte 7 (1957), p. 135.
  20. ^ Karl-Heinz Rueß (ed.): Konrad IV. (1228–1254). Germany's last Hohenstaufen king. Göppingen 2012.
  21. ↑ The related Count Hartmann II von Grüningen and Ulrich I von Württemberg (cousins ​​or brothers) were in close contact with Innocent IV and traveled several times to the Pope in Lyon in the following years. See various certificates in WUB online
  22. ↑ Hans Martin Schaller: Heinrich Raspe. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie 8 (1969), pp. 334–336.
  23. ^ Karl-Albert Zölch: The Bishops of Speyer at the time of Emperor Friedrich II. (Dissertation at the University of Heidelberg). Heidelberg 2014 PDF
  24. ↑ WUB Volume VI., No. N28, pp. 468-469 WUB online .
  25. ↑ Christoph Friedrich von Stälin : Wirtembergische Geschichte, second part: Hohenstaufenzeit 1080-1268, Cotta, Stuttgart and Tübingen 1847, pp. 203f.
  26. ↑ Christoph Friedrich von Stälin: Wirtembergische Geschichte, second part: Hohenstaufenzeit 1080-1268, Cotta, Stuttgart and Tübingen 1847, p. 204f.
  27. ↑ Martin Kaufhold: Konrad IV. - royal action in a time of change. In: Karl-Heinz Rueß (Ed.): Konrad IV. (1228–1254). Germany's last Hohenstaufen king. Göppingen 2012, pp. 10–25, here p. 19f.