Germany
Frederick II, 1216-1250
Frederick II was one of the most important of the medieval Emperors. He was enormously influential during his own lifetime, and the events of his life had a tremendous impact on succeeding generations. He created a larger, grander empire than any other medieval ruler, yet in the end it was all lost and his family was destroyed. How that all happened is beyond the scope of this course; we'll take notice only of a few key points.
Frederick was ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily, which included much of southern Italy, as well as the elected Emperor of the Romans. The latter title made him also King of Italy, which was northern Italy. This meant that the lands north of the Papal States and the lands south of the Papal States were held by the same hands, and this the popes of the day were convinced was a dreadful danger to the Church. It did not help that Frederick appeared determined to be king in Italy just as surely as he was king in Sicily and that he seemed to have the power to assert that authority. Even worse, the Emperor seemed to be indifferent (at best) to papal strictures. He actually went on crusade while excommunicated by the Church. And there seemed no end to his ambitions: while on crusade, he managed to make himself King of Jerusalem as well.