Legacy of Frederick I

Frederick Barbarossa had attempted to continue the imperial policy of the rulers of the Saxon and Salian lines. His state was still founded upon the noble, the high noble, and above all the newly founded rank of the imperial servants. The imperial cities in Germany were governed by royal officials (advocatis sculteti), and the citizens had their part in the government. The cities played no role in politics. Frederick had to recognize that the church, after the quarrel of investiture, had become a firmly controlled institution, with its powers strictly defined by law. The church had joined itself to the struggle for freedom of the economically powerful states in upper Italy. Pope Alexander III was able to force the kings of Europe (especially Louis VII of France) not to enter into a political agreement with Barbarossa. Only Philip II Augustus of France signed a treaty with Barbarossa in order to free himself from the pressures created by the Anglo-Norman occupation on the mainland. There was no chance that a continuation and increase of the imperial policy in the territories controlled by the empire would have broken the power of the princes. Germany developed into a system of territorial states after Barbarossa’s death, while France developed during the time of Philip II Augustus into a centralized monarchial state. Barbarossa had a strong feeling for law and imperial prestige. His steadfast opposition to the popes and to Henry the Lion made him the symbol of German unity in the romantic glorification of the 19th century. People since the 14th century believed he was sleeping in the imperial castle of Kyffhäuser and hoped for his return. A monument to him was erected there during the years 1890–96.