Conradin
Encyclopedia
Conrad called the Younger or the Boy, but usually known by the diminutive Conradin , was the Duke of Swabia
Duke of Swabia
The following is a list of Dukes of Swabia in southwest Germany.Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable family to hold Swabia were the Hohenstaufen, who held it, with a brief...

 (1254–1268, as Conrad IV), King of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....

 (1254–1268, as Conrad III), and King of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...

 (1254–1258, de jure until 1268, as Conrad II).

Early childhood

Conradin was born in Wolfstein
Landshut
Landshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the...

, Bavaria, to Conrad IV of Germany
Conrad IV of Germany
Conrad IV was king of Jerusalem , of Germany , and of Sicily .-Biography:...

 and Elisabeth of Wittelsbach
Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany
Elisabeth of Bavaria was the queen consort of Conrad IV of Germany.-Family:She was the eldest daughter of Otto II, Duke of Bavaria and Agnes of the Palatinate...

. He is sometimes known as Conrad V of the Holy Roman Empire or Conrad V of Germany, though he never succeeded his father in Germany (although he was recognized as king of the Germans, Sicily, and Jerusalem by German supporters of the Hohenstaufens in 1254).

Having lost his father in 1254, he grew up at the court of his uncle and guardian, Louis II, Duke of Upper Bavaria
Louis II, Duke of Bavaria
Duke Louis II of Bavaria was Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. Born in Heidelberg, he was a son of duke Otto II and Agnes of the Palatinate...

. His guardians were able to hold Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...

 for him. Jerusalem was held by a relative from the royal house of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 as regent. In Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, his father's half-brother Manfred
Manfred of Sicily
Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a natural son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...

 continued as regent, but began to develop plans to usurp the kingship.

Little is known of his appearance and character except that he was "beautiful as Absalom
Absalom
According to the Bible, Absalom or Avshalom was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maachah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. describes him as the most handsome man in the kingdom...

, and spoke good Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

". Although his father had entrusted him to the guardianship of the church, Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...

 pursued Conradin with the same relentless hatred he had against his grandfather Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...

, and attempted to bestow the kingdom of Sicily on a foreign prince. Innocent's successor, Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...

, continuing this policy, offered the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...

 lands in Germany to King Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...

 and forbade Conradin's election as king of the Romans
King of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...

.

Political and military career

Having assumed the title of King of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....

 and Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...

, Conradin took possession of the Duchy of Swabia
Duchy of Swabia
Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany.-History:...

 in 1262, and remained for some time in his duchy. Conradin's first invitation to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 came from the Guelph
Guelphs and Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...

s of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

: they asked him to take arms against Manfred, who had been crowned king of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...

 in 1258 on a false rumor of Conradin's death. Louis refused this invitation on his nephew's behalf. In 1266 the count Charles I of Anjou, called by the new pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...

, defeated and killed Manfred at Benevento
Battle of Benevento
The Battle of Benevento was fought near Benevento, in present-day Southern Italy, on February 26, 1266, between the troops of Charles of Anjou and Manfred of Sicily. Manfred's defeat and death resulted in the capture of the Kingdom of Sicily by Charles....

, taking possession of southern Italy: envoys from the Ghibelline cities went then to Bavaria and urged Conradin to come and free Italy. Count Guido de Montefeltro representing Henry of Castile
Infante Enrique of Castile
Henry of Castile , called El Senador , was a Castilian infante, the younger son of Ferdinand III, King of Castile, by his first wife, Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen....

, Senator of Rome, offered him the support of the eternal city. Pledging his lands, Conradin crossed the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 and issued a manifesto at Verona setting forth his claim on Sicily.

Notwithstanding the defection of his uncle Louis and of other companions who returned to Germany, the threats of Clement IV
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...

, and a lack of funds, his cause seemed to prosper. Proclaiming him King of Sicily, his partisans, among them Prince Henry of Castile
Infante Enrique of Castile
Henry of Castile , called El Senador , was a Castilian infante, the younger son of Ferdinand III, King of Castile, by his first wife, Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen....

, both in the north and south of Italy took up arms; Rome received his envoy with enthusiasm; and the young king himself received welcomes at Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...

, Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

 and Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...

. In September 1267 a Spanish fleet under Prince Frederick of Castile
Infante Fadrique of Castile
Infante Frederick of Castile , born in Guadalajara, was a younger son of St. Ferdinand III, King of Castile by his first wife, Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen....

, and a number of knights from Pisa, and Spanish knights soldiering from Tunis, disembarked in the Sicilian city of Sciacca
Sciacca
Sciacca , also Schiacca, is a town and comune in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily...

, and most of the island rebelled against the Angevin
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...

 rule. Only Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

 and Messina remained loyal to Charles. The revolt spread to Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....

 and Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

. In November of the same year the Church excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

 him; but his fleet won a victory over that of Charles; and in July 1268, Conradin himself entered with immense enthusiasm in Rome.

Having strengthened his forces, he marched towards Lucera
Lucera
Lucera is a town and comune in the Province of Foggia, in the Apulia region of southern Italy.-Ancient era and early Middle Ages :Lucera is an ancient city founded in Daunia, the centre of Dauni territory . Archeological excavations show the presence of a bronze age village inside the city boundaries...

 to join the Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...

 troops settled there since the time of his grandfather. On 23 August 1268 his multi-national army of Italian, Spanish, Roman
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 and German troops encountered that of Charles at Tagliacozzo
Battle of Tagliacozzo
The Battle of Tagliacozzo was fought on 23 August 1268 between the French, Provençal, and Italian forces of Charles of Anjou and the Italian, Spanish, Roman, Arab and German troops of the Hohenstaufen army, led by Conradin , the sixteen year old Duke of Swabia and claimant to the throne of Sicily...

, in a hilly area of central Italy. The eagerness of Conradin's Spanish knights under Prince Henry of Castile in the most successful first charge, and the error to obtaining plunder in the enemy's camp after that momentary victorious assault gave the final victory to the reinforced French. Escaping from the field of battle, Conradin reached Rome, but acting on advice to leave the city he proceeded to Astura
Torre Astura
thumb|260px|The medieval coastal Tower of the [[Frangipani family|Frangipani]].Torre Astura, formerly an island called by the ancients merely Astura , is now a peninsula in the comune of Nettuno, on the coast of Latium, Italy, at the southeast extremity of the Bay of Antium, on the road to Circeii...

 in an attempt to sail for Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

: but here he was arrested and handed over to Charles, who imprisoned him in the Castel dell'Ovo
Castel dell'Ovo
Castel dell'Ovo is a castle located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the gulf of Naples...

 in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, together with the inseparable Frederick of Baden
Frederick I, Margrave of Baden
Frederick I of Baden was Margrave of Baden and claimant Duke of Austria from October 4, 1250 until his death...

. He was tried as a traitor, and on 29 October 1268 he and Frederick were beheaded.

Legacy

With Conradin's death at 16, the legitimate Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...

 line became extinct. His remains, with those of Frederick of Baden, lie in the church of the monastery of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, founded by his mother for the good of his soul; and here in 1847 Maximilian
Maximilian II of Bavaria
Maximilian II of Bavaria was king of Bavaria from 1848 until 1864. He was son of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.-Crown Prince:...

, crown prince of Bavaria, erected a marble statue by Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...

 to his memory. In the 14th century Codex Manesse
Codex Manesse
The Codex Manesse, Manesse Codex, or Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift is a Liederhandschrift , the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German Minnesang poetry, written and illustrated between ca. 1304 when the main part was completed, and ca...

, a collection of medieval German lyrics, preserved at Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

, there appear two songs written by Conradin, and his fate has formed the subject of several dramas.

His hereditary Kingdom of Jerusalem passed to the heirs of his great-great-grandmother Isabella I of Jerusalem, among whom a succession dispute arose. The senior heir in primogeniture was Hugh of Brienne
Hugh of Brienne
Hugh de Candie, Count of Brienne and Lecce was the second surviving son of Count Walter IV of Brienne and Marie de Lusignan of Cyprus....

, a second cousin of Conradin's father, but another second cousin Hugh III of Cyprus
Hugh III of Cyprus
Hugh III of Cyprus , born Hughues de Poitiers, later Hughues de Lusignan , called the Great, was the King of Cyprus from 1267 and King of Jerusalem from 1268 . He was the son of Henry of Antioch and Isabella of Cyprus, the daughter of Hugh I...

 already held the office of regent and managed to keep the kingdom as Hugh I of Jerusalem. Conradin's grandmother's first cousin Mary of Antioch
Mary of Antioch
Maria of Antioch , daughter of Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch and his second wife Melisende de Lusignan, was the pretender to the throne of Jerusalem from 1269 to 1277...

 also staked her claim on basis of proximity of blood
Proximity of blood
Proximity of blood, or closeness in degree of kinship, is one of the ways to determine hereditary succession based on genealogy. It was at loggerheads with primogeniture in numerous medieval succession disputes....

, which she later sold to Conradin's executioner Charles of Anjou.

The general heiress of his Kingdom of Sicily and the Duchy of Swabia was his aunt Margaret
Margaret of Sicily
Margaret of Sicily , was a Princess of Sicily and Germany, and a member of the House of Hohenstaufen...

, half-sister of his father Conrad IV (the youngest but only surviving child of Frederick II and his third wife, Isabella of England) and married with Albert, Landgrave of Thuringia
Albert II, Margrave of Meissen
Albert II, the Degenerate was a Margrave of Meissen, Landgrave of Thuringia and Count Palatine of Saxony...

 since 1255. Their son Frederick claimed Sicily and Swabia on her right.

However, these claims met with little favor. Swabia, pawned by Conradin before his last expedition, was disintegrating as a territorial unit. He went unrecognized in Outremer, and Charles of Anjou was deeply entrenched in power in Southern Italy. Margrave Frederick proposed an invasion of Italy in 1269, and attracted some support from the Lombard Ghibellines, but his plans were never carried out, and he played no further part in Italian affairs.

Finally, Sicily passed to Charles of Anjou, but the Sicilian Vespers
Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers is the name given to the successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out on the Easter of 1282 against the rule of the French/Angevin king Charles I, who had ruled the Kingdom of Sicily since 1266. Within six weeks three thousand French men and women were slain by...

 in 1282 resulted in dual claims on the Kingdom; the Aragonese heirs of Manfred retaining the island of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 and the Angevin
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...

 party retaining the southern part of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, popularly called the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...

.
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