Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of emperor Henry VI of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and Queen Constance of Sicily of the Hauteville dynasty.
A gold augustalis bearing Frederick's effigy. Legend: c(a)esar aug(ustus) imp(erator) rom(anorum)
The birth of Frederick on the market square of Jesi from the Nuova Cronica, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, ms. Chigi L. VIII.296 (cat. XI.8)
Constance handing her son over to the care of the duchess of Spoleto, the wife of Conrad of Urslingen, from the Liber ad honorem Augusti by Peter of Eboli
Seals used by Frederick as Emperor (ed. Otto Posse 1909): 1: first imperial seal (1221–1225), 2: second imperial seal (1226), 3: third imperial seal, addition of the title of King of Jerusalem (1226–1250) 4: seal used in 1221 and 1225, 5: first seal as King of Jerusalem (1233).
King of Italy was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian warlord, in the late 5th century, followed by the Ostrogothic kings up to the mid-6th century. With the Frankish conquest of Italy in the 8th century, the Carolingians assumed the title, which was maintained by subsequent Holy Roman Emperors throughout the Middle Ages. The last Emperor to claim the title was Charles V in the 16th century. During this period, the holders of the title were crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.
For centuries, the Iron Crown of Lombardy was used in the Coronation of the King of Italy.
Image: Otto the Great
Image: Otton 2
Image: Clm 4453 fol 24r Detail Herrscherbild
