He was one of the most powerful figures of the Middle Ages and ruled a vast area, beginning with Sicily and stretching through Italy all the way north to Germany. As the Crusades progressed, he acquired control of Jerusalem and styled himself its king. Viewing himself as a direct successor to the Roman emperors of antiquity, [ 1 ] he was Emperor of the Romans from his papal coronation in until his death; he was also a claimant to the title of King of the Romans from and unopposed holder of that monarchy from As such, he was King of Germany , of Italy , and of Burgundy.
His other royal title was King of Jerusalem by virtue of marriage and his connection with the Sixth Crusade. Frequently at war with the papacy, which was hemmed in between Frederick's lands in northern Italy and his Kingdom of Sicily the Regno to the south, he was " excommunicated four times between and his own death in ", [ 2 ] and was often vilified in pro-papal chronicles of the time and after.
For his many-sided activities and dynamic personality Frederick II has been called the greatest of all the German emperors, perhaps even of all medieval rulers. He was known by the appellation Stupor mundi 'Wonder of the World' , enjoying a reputation as a brilliant Renaissance man avant la lettre and polymath even today: a visionary statesman, an inspired naturalist, scholar, mathematician, architect, poet and composer.
His magnificent Sicilian imperial-royal court in Palermo and Foggia , beginning around , saw the first use of a literary form of an Italo-Romance language, Sicilian. The poetry that emanated from the school had a significant influence on literature and on what was to become the modern Italian language. Though still in a strong position at his death, his line did not long survive, and the House of Hohenstaufen came to an end.
He was known as the puer Apuliae son of Apulia. At birth, Frederick was named Constantine by his mother. Frederick's birth was accompanied by gossip and rumour on account of his mother's advanced age. His real father was variously described as a butcher of Jesi, a physician, a miller or a falconer. Frederick's birth was also associated with a prophecy of Merlin. According to Andrea Dandolo , writing at some distance but probably recording contemporary gossip, Henry doubted reports of his wife's pregnancy and was only convinced by consulting Joachim of Fiore , who confirmed that Frederick was his son by interpretation of Merlin's prophecy and the Erythraean Sibyl.
