Conrad, King of Jerusalem?

Frederick II (1194 - 1250) was King of Germany, King of Italy, King of Sicily, and Holy Roman Emperor. He agreed to go on Crusade, but wanted to be King Jerusalem when he got to the Holy Land. It was arranged for him to marry Queen Isabella II, the most recent in line of succession. Isabella died after giving birth to a son, Conrad (1228 - 1254).

Upon his mother's death, Conrad became Conrad II, King of Jerusalem, and Frederick took on the regency for his son. Frederick made him Duke of Swabia when Conrad was seven years old (because Frederick's eldest son from a previous marriage, Henry VII, had rebelled against Frederick). At nine years old Conrad was made King of Germany, and at 11 he was King Conrad IV of Italy. In 1250 on Frederick's death the young man also became King Conrad I of Sicily.

With so many other lands to rule, Conrad neglected Jerusalem. He grew up in Southern Italy until he became Duke of Swabia, when he traveled to Germany. In the year he was also betrothed to a daughter of the Duke of Bavaria who died young, but a second betrothal to another daughter, Elizabeth of Bavaria, would lead to marriage.

He became involved in German politics, and was part of the attempt to repel the Mongol invasions of 1241.

Problems with Frederick led to Pope Innocent IV excommunicating Frederick and declaring Conrad deposed. Conrad fought against the newly elected king of Germany, Henry Raspe (whom Frederick had once selected as regent for Conrad in Germany), and lost in 1246. When Raspe died months later he was succeeded by William of Holland.

Conrad married Elizabeth in 1246. They had a son, called Conradin, who would succeed to several of his father's titles.

Not only did the neglect of Jerusalem lead to civil unrest there, rebellions in Germany and Sicily continued throughout Conrad's life. When Conrad died in 1254 an Interregnum took place in Germany when no one managed to take complete control of the country of several years.

Jerusalem passed to Conradin, who died at 16, never having visited the Holy Land. The succession passed back into the Lusignan dynasty through a cousin named Hugh. There were challenges, however, from other family members, including some with whom he was close. Even once he was established, however, there were issues caused by the years that no king was present, when barons managed things on their own. No one really wanted a king to come back and expect to be obeyed or even consulted. We'll see what Hugh was dealing with tomorrow.

The Assize on Liege-homage

We think of the Magna Carta as an important moment in legislative history, when laws forced a king to relinquish some power to others of lesser rank. Something similar took place several years before, in the Latin East of the Holy Land.

The Assise sur la ligece ("Assize on liege-homage") was established by the High Court of Jerusalem under King Amalric I. His initial purpose was to gain control of the vassals of his vassals, so that they could appeal directly to the king.

It also claimed that a lord could not legally seize a vassal's fief, and if any lord did so then all the king's vassals should turn against him. Vassals could also withdraw their support from any liege lord who acted illegally.

In 1198, Ralph of Saint-Omer, seneschal to the King of Jerusalem Aimery of Lusignan, defended himself against Aimery when Aimery accused him of orchestrating the king's assassination attempt. He used the Assize. The High Court considered that Aimery had acted against Ralph improperly, and they as Aimery's vassals withdrew their support of the king in accordance with the Assize. It set a daring precedent, that a king could be affected by the law.

Thirty years later, this precedent was applied again against a king and emperor.

Frederick II (1194 - 1250) was Holy Roman Emperor in 1220. He agreed to the Sixth Crusade, but he wanted to become King of Jerusalem if he did so. To become king, he would have to marry the current successor to the throne, Isabella II (1212 - 1228). She was a child at the time, but the betrothal was made and the marriage took place by proxy in 1225. Frederick sent a flotilla to bring her to Italy, where they were wed in person.

Frederick arrived in Jerusalem in 1228. Isabella died that year giving birth to a son, Conrad, for which Frederick held the regency. (At this point, Conrad was king, not Frederick.)

One year later, Frederick and his forces successfully regained control of the city of Jerusalem, that had been lost in 1187 to Saladin's forces. (The illustration shows Frederick meeting with the sultan who controlled Jerusalem, al-Kamil.) Feeling full of himself, he claimed the lands held by several nobles, including Jaffa, Haifa, and Beirut.

Those nobles knew the law of the land, and they challenged his land grab. They were successful, and Frederick, Holy Roman Emperor and acting as King of Jerusalem, had to relinquish those lands.

Did young Conrad ever get to be king in his own right? Let's find out next.

Pope Leo IX

So many medieval popes were Italian (and maybe French) that it is unusual to find one with a German name, but France and Germany were essentially once West Francia and East Francia, and Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg (1002 - 1054) was actually born in what is modern Alsace, France. A child of privilege, his father was Count Hugh IV of Nordgau (a cousin of the future Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II). Bruno was the fourth of eight children, and the third son, so was not expected to succeed his father.

He was therefore handed off at the age of five to Berthold, bishop of Toul, who established a school for the sons of nobility. At the age of 15, Bruno became a canon at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Toul. In 1024, his father's cousin Conrad became Emperor, and Bruno was chosen to serve in the imperial chapel. Two years later, the then-bishop of Toul died and Bruno took over the diocese, managing it for the next two decades.

During that time he exerted his influence to reform and raise the moral standards of monasteries and the regular clergy in his diocese. He favored spreading Cluniac rules. When Pope Damasus II died in 1048, the emperor and Roman delegates at an assembly in Worms agreed that he should become pope. Bruno anted instead to travel to Rome and have a proper election. He arrived in Rome wearing pilgrim garb in early 1049, where he was duly elected and took the name Leo IX.

He immediately called a synod for that Easter. At the synod, he demanded celibacy for all clergy down to the rank of subdeacon, and said simony, the practice of selling church positions, had to stop. He traveled to Mainz to meet with Italian, French, and German clergy to declare his positions. At another Easter synod in 1051 he discussed the potential re-ordination of those priests who had been defrocked because their positions had originally been purchased through simony. These decisions all seemed to be sensible.

Leo's real challenge was with the Eastern Church. The Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael I Cerularius, criticized some of the positions of the Roman/Latin Church, particularly fasting the day before Sunday Mass and the use of unleavened bread. Michael's letter was addressed to Leo as "brother" instead of "father."

Leo's response was to remind that Michael that the pope "owned" the entire Byzantine Church. Leo did not make this idea up on his own; he had documentation to "prove" it! Why he thought that will be explained tomorrow.