Frederick the Great

NAME Frederick II, also known as Frederick the Great (German: Friedrich der Große). He was also famously known as "Old Fritz" (German: Der Alte Fritz) by his subjects in later life.

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Frederick the Great is renowned as one of history's most brilliant military commanders and an emblematic figure of the "Enlightened Absolutism." He transformed Prussia from a minor power into a formidable European force through military innovation and strategic territorial expansion. He was also a prolific writer, philosopher, composer, and patron of the arts.  His reign solidified Prussia's position as a major European power and laid the groundwork for the future unification of Germany.

BIRTH Frederick II was born on January 24, 1712, in Berlin, Prussia. His birth was particularly welcomed by his grandfather, Frederick I, as his two previous grandsons had both died in infancy. With the death of Frederick I in 1713, Frederick William became King of Prussia, making young Frederick the crown prince.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Frederick belonged to the House of Hohenzollern dynasty. His father was Frederick William I, known as the "Soldier King," who possessed a violent temper and ruled Brandenburg-Prussia with absolute authority. 

His mother was Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, daughter of Britain's King George I and sister of King George II. For a long time, his mother hoped to achieve a double marriage with British royals for Frederick and his sister Wilhelmine. 

Frederick had numerous siblings, including his beloved sister Wilhelmine, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, with whom he maintained a close relationship throughout his life.

CHILDHOOD Frederick's childhood was marked by severe conflict with his authoritarian father. Frederick William I deeply despised his son's artistic and intellectual tastes and was infuriated by Frederick's lack of sympathy with his own rigidly puritanical and militaristic outlook. His disappointment took the form of bitter public criticism and even outright physical violence. Frederick, beaten and humiliated by his father over trifling details of behavior, took refuge in evasion and deceit. He found allies in his mother and sister Wilhelmine, who encouraged and supported him against his father's harsh treatment. This violent and capricious bullying influenced Frederick deeply throughout his life.

Portrait of 24-year-old Frederick as the crown prince of Prussia by Antoine Pesne 

EDUCATION Frederick was brought up by Huguenot governesses and tutors and learned French and German simultaneously. Despite his father's desire that his education be entirely religious and pragmatic, the young Frederick, with the help of his tutor Jacques Duhan, secretly procured a 3,000-volume library of poetry, Greek and Roman classics, and French philosophy to supplement his official lessons. His preference for music, literature, and French culture clashed dramatically with his father's militaristic expectations. The conflict culminated spectacularly in 1730 when Frederick was imprisoned in the fortress of Küstrin after unsuccessfully planning to flee to France or Holland.

CAREER RECORD 1730: Attempted to flee Prussia with his friend Hans Hermann von Katte, leading to their arrest. Katte was executed before Frederick's eyes by his father's order, a traumatic event. Frederick was temporarily imprisoned.

1732: Appointed to a regimental command in Neuruppin and later Rheinsberg, where he cultivated his intellectual circle.

1740: Ascended to the throne as King in Prussia upon his father's death.

1740-1748: Initiated and fought the War of the Austrian Succession (including the First and Second Silesian Wars), conquering Silesia from Austria.

1756-1763: Fought the Seven Years' War against a coalition of European powers (Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, Saxony), narrowly preserving Prussia's newfound great power status.

1772: Participated in the First Partition of Poland, gaining West Prussia and connecting his territories.

1785: Formed the League of Princes (Fürstenbund) to resist Austrian ambitions in Germany.

APPEARANCE Frederick was relatively short (around 5'5" or 165 cm) and medium build. He had piercing blue eyes, a sharp nose, and a somewhat stoic expression.

As he aged, particularly after the Seven Years' War, he became increasingly thin and worn, though he maintained his distinctive bearing. His appearance became iconic through numerous paintings and portraits, particularly Anton Graff's 1781 portrait that shows him as a "cerebral, energetic, and good-natured father of the nation". (1)

Portrait of Frederick by Anton Graff (1781, Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin).

FASHION His father complained about the 16 year old Frederick wearing his hair curled like a fool instead of cutting it." (2)

As Emperor, Frederick eschewed the elaborate, powdered wigs and opulent court attire of his contemporaries. He preferred to wear a simple, somewhat worn military uniform, often a blue coat with red facings, boots, and a tricorn hat. This choice reflected his dedication to the army and his disdain for frivolous luxury.

During his later years, Frederick the Great generally wore an old blue military uniform, which was often threadbare. Accounts describe him as appearing before his officers as a tired, aging man in a snuff-stained uniform, reflecting his indifference to dress and rank.

Frederick's clothes remained unchanged for years. When he died, the shirt he was wearing was so rotten with sweat that his valet had to dress him in one of his own shirts for the funeral.

CHARACTER Frederick's character was a fascinating paradox. He was a ruthless pragmatist, a brilliant strategist, and an absolute monarch who believed in the supreme authority of the state. Yet, he also saw himself as the "first servant of the state," dedicated to its welfare. He was a cynical deist, valuing reason above all else, often solitary and introverted, and fiercely independent. He could be charming and witty in intellectual company but was also known for his sharp tongue, quick temper, and capacity for vengefulness. He valued loyalty but could be emotionally distant.

SPEAKING VOICE Frederick was fluent in multiple languages and was an accomplished conversationalist. He conducted most of his intellectual discourse in French, which was the language of cultured European society at the time. His correspondence reveals him to be articulate and witty in his verbal expressions.

SENSE OF HUMOUR Frederick possessed a sharp, sophisticated sense of humor. He engaged in elaborate wordplay and intellectual jokes, as demonstrated in his famous cryptic correspondence with Voltaire using puzzles and puns. His humor was often satirical and could be cutting, reflecting his intellectual superiority and sometimes sardonic view of human nature. Frederick was known to shock dinner parties with offensive rants, demonstrating a sometimes crude sense of humor.

RELATIONSHIPS As a young man, Frederick the Great fell in love with Princess Amelia, daughter of King George II of England. The two were even betrothed, and Frederick wrote to her regularly. But when his stern and deeply conservative father, King Frederick William I of Prussia, discovered the correspondence, he swiftly canceled the engagement.

Worried that his son might be more interested in men than women—and desperate to set him on what he saw as the “right” path—Frederick William arranged a marriage for his heir. The bride was Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern, a relatively minor German princess, known neither for her charm nor her hygiene. Upon learning of the match, the horrified Frederick reportedly declared he would "rather marry the biggest whore in Berlin than this dumb princess." His father responded with a single, chilling word: “execution.” Faced with that choice, Frederick reluctantly agreed to the marriage.

The wedding took place on June 12, 1733 at the bride's father's summer palace, Schloss Salzdahlum in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, and while it satisfied his father's desire for a dynastic alliance, it brought little joy to the groom. It did serve one purpose: it allowed Frederick to regain his father’s favor and, crucially, secure his position as crown prince.

Frederick treated his new wife coldly and often cruelly. They lived largely separate lives, had no children, and by all accounts, Frederick avoided her as much as possible once he became king.

Portrait of Elizabeth Christine by Antoine Pesne, c. 1739

Though he briefly took a mistress—Barbara Campanini, a famous Italian ballerina—Frederick was widely believed to have had numerous relationships with men, both before and after his marriage. His favored courtiers were exclusively male and his art collection celebrated homoeroticism,

Frederick's closest family relationship was with his sister Wilhelmine, with whom he maintained warm correspondence throughout his life.

MONEY AND FAME Frederick inherited substantial financial resources from his father and used them strategically to build Prussia's military power. He maintained focus on cash reserves to finance long-term military projects, though his commitment to military strength often came at the expense of economic stability.  He faced numerous financial challenges during his reign, particularly during the costly Seven Years' War, and secured British subsidies that played a key role in funding his military campaigns.

His coin reforms in 1750 and 1764 modernized Prussia's monetary system and created a lasting legacy on German currency.

Frederick's fame grew immensely through his military victories, particularly after the Seven Years' War, making him a legend in his own time across Europe. He consciously cultivated his image as an enlightened, hard-working monarch.

FOOD AND DRINK Frederick was known for his extraordinary coffee consumption, drinking "only six or seven cups in the morning now...and after lunch just one pot," and once consuming forty cups in a single day during his youth. 

His breakfast was very early, consisting of cold meat and seasonal fruit, particularly sweeter fruits like strawberries, along with dessert-like items such as meringue. Dinner was his main meal, beginning at one o'clock and potentially lasting up to five hours with convivial company. 

His meals typically consisted of seven to ten dishes blending French and Italian cuisine, including "broth inflamed with ginger and nutmeg, boiled beef with vodka, polenta with an inch-thick crust of parmesan cheese and more spices, noodle pasties, savoury puddings and macaroni with parmesan cheese, butter, and garlic". 

Frederick loved highly spiced food and had cheeses brought from all over Europe. 

Towards the end of his life, he ate nothing but a bit of fruit in the evenings. (3)

His favourite lunch was spiced soup, Russian beef in brandy, Italian maize with garlic and savoury eel pie. (2)

MUSIC AND ARTS Frederick was a passionate patron of music and the arts, transforming Berlin into a cultural capital. He was an accomplished flute player and composer, writing flute music and establishing a renowned court orchestra. 

His court attracted some of the greatest musicians of the 18th century, including Johann Sebastian Bach 's son, Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach as court harpsichordist, and Johann Joachim Quantz, his flute teacher. 

Despite having C.P.E. Bach on his staff, Frederick famously never recognized Johann Sebastian Bach's genius, preferring more conventional composers. (4)

Frederick played the flute to a more than acceptable standard. He composed 100 sonatas for the flute as well as four symphonies. (2)

Below id The Flute Concert of Sanssouci by Adolph Menzel (1852). Frederick is depicted playing the flute in his music room at Sanssouci as C. P. E. Bach accompanies him on a fortepiano by Gottfried Silbermann.

At a meeting in Potsdam in 1747, Frederick played a theme for Johann Sebastian Bach and challenged him to improvise a three-part fugue based on his theme. Bach improvised a three-part fugue on Frederick's pianoforte on the spot and later presented the king with "The Musical Offering," which includes several fugues and canons based on the "royal theme."

Frederick designed and oversaw the construction of Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, a Rococo masterpiece that served as his personal retreat and a celebration of art and philosophy. He also maintained an impressive art collection.

LITERATURE Frederick was a prolific writer and intellectual who produced numerous works on political theory, military strategy, and philosophy. He wrote extensively on the forms of government and the duties of sovereigns, arguing that royal authority originated in a social contract with the people. His most famous work, the Anti-Machiavel (1740), outlined his theories of enlightened kingship and the social contract. 

Frederick maintained extensive correspondence with leading intellectuals of his time, particularly Voltaire, and these letters reveal his literary sophistication. His writings demonstrate his commitment to Enlightenment ideals and his belief in the ruler as the first servant of the state.

He was also a poet, though his verse is not considered of the highest quality

NATURE Frederick had a deep appreciation for nature, which was reflected in his choice of Sanssouci as his retreat. The palace was built on vineyard terraces and surrounded by extensive gardens and parkland that he personally enjoyed. He enjoyed long walks in his parks, often accompanied by his greyhounds, finding solace in the natural environment. 

Frederick is depicted inspecting a potato harvest by Robert Warthmüller 1886,

PETS Frederick was devoted to his dogs, particularly Italian greyhounds and whippets, who roamed freely in the castle of Sanssouci. His grief over the death of his beloved greyhound Biche was profound, as he wrote: "I have had a domestic loss which has completely upset my philosophy...I was ashamed that a dog could so deeply affect my soul; but the sedentary life I lead and the faithfulness of this poor creature had so strongly attached me to her". He believed that "anyone capable of indifference towards a faithful animal is unable to be grateful towards an equal". 

Frederick left instructions to be buried with his greyhounds on the terrace at Sanssouci, a wish that was eventually honored when his body was reinterred there in 1991.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Frederick's primary recreational activities centered around intellectual pursuits rather than physical sports. During his happiest years at Rheinsberg, he assembled musicians, actors, and artists, spending his time reading, watching dramatic plays, and composing music. 

He formed the Bayard Order to discuss warfare with his friends, with Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué as grand master. 

Unlike many monarchs, he had no interest in hunting or other traditional aristocratic sports.

SCIENCE AND MATHS  Frederick demonstrated keen intellectual curiosity about various fields of knowledge and his secretly procured library included works on mathematics and natural philosophy. He patronized scholars and attracted learned men to his court, creating an environment where scientific and mathematical ideas could flourish. His interest in practical applications of knowledge was evident in his military innovations and administrative reforms, which required mathematical precision in logistics and strategy.

REIGN Frederick the Great, who ruled Prussia from 1740 to 1786, had a reign so packed with conquest, reform, and Enlightenment philosophizing that it’s a wonder he ever had time to sleep. When he took the throne, Prussia was a respectable but awkward teenager of a state—clunky, underdeveloped, and generally overlooked. By the time he was done with it, it had muscle, ambition, and a rather intimidating glint in its eye.

Frederick’s reign got off to a flying start—quite literally, if you were Austria—when he launched a surprise attack on Silesia in 1740, boldly asserting that the best way to inherit a throne was to start a war. He bagged the region after a brisk set of battles, including the awkwardly handled but ultimately victorious Battle of Mollwitz, where he fled the field prematurely and only later learned he’d won. “Mollwitz,” he later remarked, “was my school,” though most schools don’t involve quite so many cannonballs.

Austria, naturally, wasn’t thrilled, and kept trying to get Silesia back, prompting a string of wars in which Frederick fought nearly everyone in Europe, including Austria, France, and Russia. The Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) saw him outnumbered, outgunned, and, at one particularly low point, out of options—until Russia suddenly switched sides (due to the death of the tsarina, a stroke of luck historians refer to as “the Miracle of the House of Brandenburg”). Somehow, Frederick emerged battered but victorious, with Silesia still in hand and his reputation burnished to a gleam.

Not one to miss a land grab, he also joined in the First Partition of Poland in 1772, acquiring a generous slice of territory without firing a shot. His final conflict, the War of the Bavarian Succession, was less a war than an elaborate sulk conducted through diplomatic channels—but it nonetheless secured Prussia’s place as a top-tier European power.

Back home, Frederick embraced the philosophy of enlightened absolutism, which is essentially the political equivalent of being a benevolent dictator with a well-stocked library. He modernized the bureaucracy, reformed the legal system, and promoted religious tolerance with the breezy assertion that “everyone must get to Heaven in their own way.” Torture was abolished, the press was given a modest degree of freedom (provided it didn’t criticize him), and potatoes—yes, potatoes—were introduced to the masses with near-messianic zeal.

Frederick also opened government posts to talented commoners, though he left the aristocracy’s privileged status largely untouched. It was reform, but only the kind that wouldn’t rock the boat too much.

Culturally, Frederick was something of a show-off. He played the flute, composed music, built himself a Rococo dream palace at Sanssouci, and surrounded himself with some of the sharpest minds of the day. Chief among them was Voltaire, who stayed at court until they quarreled over Frederick’s less-than-generous hospitality and Voltaire’s less-than-generous ego.

Berlin under Frederick became a magnet for Enlightenment thinkers and artists, and the king himself penned philosophical essays and military treatises with equal enthusiasm. He was, in many ways, Europe’s most learned autocrat—by day drilling troops and by night debating metaphysics.

By the time Frederick shuffled off this mortal coil in 1786, Prussia was twice the size it had been when he inherited it, and its army, bureaucracy, and national pride were the envy—and occasional terror—of Europe. His reforms and conquests made Prussia a serious player on the continental stage, and his blend of intellect and iron will ensured his place as one of the 18th century’s most consequential rulers.

All in all, Frederick managed to be both a warrior and a philosopher, a despot and an idealist. And that’s no small feat when your job description includes invading Austria before breakfast and arguing with Voltaire by dinner.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Frederick the Great was the very model of an enlightened despot—one who ruled absolutely, but with a flair for philosophy and progressive thought. “All religions must be tolerated,” he declared, “for every man must get to Heaven by his own way.” True to his word, he offered refuge to French Huguenots, Jews, Jesuits, and even built mosques for Turkish immigrants. Under his rule, Prussia welcomed over 250,000 immigrants seeking religious and political freedom.

Yet his tolerance had limits. In 1788, two years after his death, all legal guarantees of religious freedom were repealed. He once quipped, “If I wish to punish a province, I would have it governed by philosophers,” hinting at his skepticism of pure idealism despite his philosophical leanings.

Frederick was enthralled by Enlightenment thinkers and surrounded himself with intellectuals like Voltaire and the radical materialist La Mettrie. Still, he pushed back against Machiavellian cynicism. In 1739, he penned Anti-Machiavel, a critique of The Prince, which was published anonymously the following year.

As both king and commander, Frederick believed in bold, decisive action. When asked the secret to his military success, he answered, “Move off at a fast trot and charge at the gallop.” And of his unique relationship with his people, he offered this wry summation: “My people and I have come to an agreement which satisfies us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please.” (2)

POLITICS Frederick's political philosophy was revolutionary for its time, being the first hereditary king to publicly announce principles of social contract theory. He believed the king should be the first servant of the state and that royal authority originated in a social contract with the people. 

His domestic policies included religious tolerance, abolition of torture, and modernization of the bureaucracy. He established basic freedom of the press and standardized the judicial system. 

Frederick's foreign policy was characterized by strategic alliances and military aggression to expand Prussian territory and influence.

SCANDAL (1) In 1730, at age 18, Frederick attempted to flee to England with his close friend and likely lover,  Lieutenant Hans Hermann von Katte. They were caught near the border, and the consequences were swift and severe.

Frederick was stripped of his position as Crown Prince and imprisoned in the fortress of Küstrin. Accused of desertion and treason—serious charges for officers of the Prussian army—both Frederick and von Katte faced possible execution. The king was so enraged that he did not rule out having his own son beheaded.

Von Katte was less fortunate. On November 6, 1730, Frederick was forced to watch as his friend was decapitated before his eyes—a calculated act of cruelty meant to break his spirit. Frederick himself was spared, reportedly due to the intervention of Emperor Charles VI of Austria, but he remained under strict surveillance for years afterward. 

The trauma of this episode left lasting scars, but it also shaped the calculating, resolute monarch Frederick would become.

Lieutenant Hans Hermann von Katte by Georg Lisiewski -

(2) One of the most enduring and controversial aspects of Frederick the Great’s legacy is the question of his sexuality. During his lifetime, rumors circulated widely about his relationships with men, and foreign diplomats often reported on what they referred to as his "unnatural vice." Some European courts even attempted to sway Prussian politics by sending attractive young men into his circle.

His palace at Sanssouci became known as a "women-free zone" during his reign, and he once startled dinner guests with a scathing tirade against women, reinforcing his reputation for avoiding female company. For centuries, mainstream historians dismissed or ignored these accounts, but modern scholarship has increasingly acknowledged the likelihood that Frederick was homosexual, a fact that was both whispered in his time and sanitized long after his death.

MILITARY RECORD Frederick the Great’s reign was defined as much by military obsession as by intellectual refinement. Nowhere was this more visible than in his legendary private regiment, the Potsdam Grenadiers—a unit composed almost entirely of exceptionally tall soldiers. Frederick was so fixated on height that he bribed, bought, and even kidnapped men over seven feet tall to fill the ranks. He even arranged marriages between "giants" in the hope of breeding future generations of towering guardsmen.

His military innovations were equally striking. Frederick introduced mechanized precision to warfare, pioneering the famously rigid goose step, which would become a symbol of Prussian militarism. He personally oversaw the training of his officer corps, determined that they share the same hardships as common soldiers in his 180,000-strong army.

Regarded as one of history’s greatest tactical minds, Frederick penned detailed treatises on the science of war to instruct his generals. But his brilliance came with a ruthless streak. He had a habit of having his veins opened in battle—a crude method of calming his nerves—and showed a near-complete indifference to human suffering. Wounded soldiers were left to drag themselves from the battlefield without aid or rations, and Prussian military hospitals had a dismal survival rate—only one in five survived. Desertion and suicide were rampant.

Frederick was nothing if not practical, even cruelly so. To discourage soldiers from wiping their noses on their sleeves, he had buttons sewn onto the upper arms of their coats. When funds were tight, he skimped on uniforms so severely that they couldn’t be fastened properly, and men literally froze to death in the field.

Frederick frequently led his forces personally and had six horses shot from under him during battle. 

Frederick the Great Surveying the Field of Battle by Hugo Ungewitter (1906)

His combat record was impressive: 12 victories, 2 defeats, and 1 draw. He first saw action in 1734 under the famed Austrian commander Eugene of Savoy during campaigns in the Rhineland. But his major military career began on December 16, 1740, when he defied the legitimacy of Maria Theresa’s succession and invaded Silesia, launching the War of Austrian Succession.

At his first major battle—Mollwitz, April 10, 1741—Frederick panicked, assuming defeat, and fled the field. Ironically, the Prussian forces won the moment he left. He later reflected: “Mollwitz was my school.” The war culminated in the Treaty of Dresden (1745), securing Prussia’s hold over Silesia.

A decade later, after uncovering the secret Treaty of Versailles—in which Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, Poland, and Saxony planned to carve up Prussia—Frederick launched a preemptive invasion of Saxony on August 29, 1756, igniting the Seven Years’ War.

Despite repeated invasions and brutal setbacks, Frederick's military cunning, combined with generous British funding, kept Prussia in the fight. When Britain withdrew support, Frederick negotiated the Treaty of Hubertusburg in 1763, keeping Silesia but losing Saxony. The cost was staggering: 180,000 Prussian soldiers dead, and whole provinces in ruins.

Still, Frederick emerged with his kingdom intact—and far stronger. By the end of his reign, the army had grown to nearly 200,000 men, consuming 80% of the state’s budget. Under his leadership, Prussia's territory expanded from 45,000 to 75,000 square miles, transforming it into a major European power and setting the stage for the rise of modern Germany.

His military theories, emerging from extensive battlefield experience, influenced military thought well into the 20th century.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS  Frederick the Great maintained a highly disciplined and rigorous daily schedule well into old age, typically rising between 3 and 4 a.m. and working long hours on state business. Despite his demanding routine, he suffered from a range of chronic health issues that worsened over time.

Frederick was plagued by severe gout, which caused him increasing pain and made him more stooped as he aged. He also suffered from chronic hemorrhoids, frequent gastric colics, severe constipation, and a tendency to sweat profusely—ailments likely exacerbated by his sedentary lifestyle and dietary habits, which included culinary excesses and heavy coffee consumption. In addition, he experienced asthma-like symptoms, fevers, fainting spells, and, as he grew older, began to lose his teeth, which eventually prevented him from playing the flute.

Despite these physical ailments, Frederick remained mentally sharp and actively engaged in governance and cultural pursuits until his death at age 74

HOMES Frederick's primary residence was the palace of Sanssouci near Potsdam, which he built as a summer retreat between 1745-1747. The name "Sanssouci" literally means "without a care," reflecting his desire for a place of refuge from the burdens of kingship. Sanssouci became his personal sanctuary where he retreated during difficult times to relax in the company of his dogs. He was reluctant to have even minor repairs made to Sanssouci, saying it "should only last my lifetime". (6)

In Frederick's later years Sanssouci resembled a vagrant's squat, ankle-deep in places in excrement provided by his pack of beloved Italian greyhounds.

The south façade of Sanssouci By ernstol - Wikipedia

Frederick also maintained the traditional royal residence in Berlin and spent formative years at Schloss Rheinsberg, which he regarded as one of the happiest periods of his life. 

TRAVEL Unlike many monarchs of his era, Frederick's travels were largely functional rather than ceremonial, focused on strategic military objectives rather than diplomatic visits. He led armies across Central Europe during the Silesian Wars and Seven Years' War, gaining extensive experience in different terrains and conditions. His military travels took him through Silesia, Bohemia, Moravia, and Saxony. 

DEATH Frederick died on August 17, 1786, at age 74, in his study at Sanssouci palace in Potsdam. He settled in an armchair and passed quietly away, leaving no children to succeed him. He was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II. Frederick had left specific instructions that he wished to be buried next to his beloved greyhounds on the vineyard terrace at Sanssouci. However, his wishes were initially ignored, and he was buried in the Potsdam Garrison Church. His remains underwent a remarkable journey: moved during World War II, then to Marburg, then to Hohenzollern Castle, and finally returned to Sanssouci on August 17, 1991, exactly 205 years after his death.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Frederick the Great has been portrayed in numerous films, documentaries, and television productions over the centuries. Here are some notable examples of how he's been portrayed:

1. Film & Television Leni Riefenstahl’s 1942 Nazi propaganda film The Great King (Der große König) depicted Frederick as a stoic, heroic leader whose iron will and military genius mirrored Nazi ideals. The film was part of Hitler's broader effort to link himself with Prussia’s militaristic past.

BBC's The Ascent of Man (1973) featured Frederick as a representative of Enlightened Absolutism, emphasizing his patronage of the arts and his correspondence with Voltaire. The focus here was more intellectual than militaristic.

German miniseries and dramas, such as Friedrich – Ein deutscher König (2006), have tried to present a more nuanced version of Frederick, touching on both his Enlightenment ideals and authoritarian tendencies.

In various documentaries (History Channel, ZDF, Arte), he's often framed as the archetype of the soldier-king—brilliant, flawed, ambitious—used to explore themes of governance, militarism, and legacy in modern Europe.

2. Stage & Opera He appears as a character in some historical plays and operas, though more as a symbol of Prussian discipline or Enlightenment contradictions than as a fully fleshed-out person.

3. Literature & Graphic Novels Frederick appears in historical fiction, particularly novels about the Enlightenment or 18th-century military Europe. Authors sometimes explore his repressive upbringing, his relationship with Voltaire, or his ambiguous sexuality.

His image and exploits have shown up in alternate history novels, such as in speculative fiction where Prussia takes a different path or where Enlightenment ideals survive longer.

4. Video Games Frederick the Great is a recurring character in the Civilization series, where he leads Prussia (or Germany) with traits focused on military strategy and cultural advancement.

He has appeared in strategy games like Europa Universalis IV and Age of Empires III, often as a playable leader or historical adversary. These portrayals emphasize his role as a military tactician and nation-builder.

5. Art  His image has been reproduced extensively through prints and paintings, making him "almost omnipresent" in German culture. Anton Graff's 1781 portrait became the most recognizable image of Frederick and was even shown on anniversary stamps. 

ACHIEVEMENTS Military Transformation: Built the Prussian army into one of Europe's most feared and efficient fighting forces.

Territorial Expansion: Acquired Silesia, greatly increasing Prussia's territory, population, and economic resources.

Enlightened Governance: Implemented significant legal, administrative, and economic reforms (abolished torture, religious toleration, codified laws, promoted agriculture).

Cultural Patronage: A major patron of arts and sciences, fostering a vibrant intellectual court, especially at Sanssouci.

Literary Contribution: Authored influential philosophical and historical works, contributing to Enlightenment thought.

International Prestige: Elevated Prussia to the status of a major European power, fundamentally altering the balance of power on the continent.

Sources (1) Arts & Culture Google (2) Encyclopaedia of Trivia (3) Versailles Century (4) Graham's Music (5) The Pet Museum (6) Visit Berlin

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

NAME Frederick II von Hohenstaufen. He held numerous titles, including King of Sicily (as Frederick I), King of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Jerusalem.

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Frederick II is one of the most compelling and controversial figures of the Middle Ages. He was known to his contemporaries as Stupor Mundi ("The Wonder of the World") for his immense cultural and intellectual curiosity, his political ambition, and his extraordinary talents. He was famous for his decades-long power struggle with the Papacy, his patronage of arts and sciences, his success in the Sixth Crusade where he took control of Jerusalem through diplomacy rather than bloodshed, and for authoring the Constitutions of Melfi, a groundbreaking legal code for his Kingdom of Sicily.

BIRTH Frederick II was born in Jesi, near Ancona, Italy, on December 26, 1194.His mother Constance was around 40 years old at the time of his birth—a notably advanced age for childbirth in the 12th century. Opponents of Frederick spread stories that he was not truly her son, but rather the child of a local commoner, such as a butcher or miller.

In response to these rumours, later chroniclers and legends claimed that Constance gave birth in a pavilion tent set up in the market square of Jesi, inviting local matrons to witness the birth to dispel any doubts about her maternity. Some versions add that she later returned to the square to breastfeed the infant publicly. However, historians agree that these stories emerged after the fact, in rebuttal to the persistent allegations about Frederick's parentage, and are not supported by contemporary records.

The birth of Frederick II

Constance did take unusual measures to affirm Frederick's legitimacy, such as swearing on the gospels before a papal legate.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Frederick was born into the House of Hohenstaufen and was the grandson of emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. His father was Emperor Henry VI, and his mother was Constance Hauteville, who was the daughter of Roger II of Sicily . 

At birth, his mother, Constance, named him Constantine, a masculine form of her name to identify him closely with both his Norman heritage and his imperial heritage through Constantine the Great . He was only given his grandfathers' names, becoming Frederick Roger (or Roger Frederick), at his baptism when he was two years old.

CHILDHOOD Frederick's childhood was turbulent as he passed through the hands of a collection of self-serving, scheming regents while the Sicilian nobility grabbed much of the royal demesne and wealth. Some chroniclers report that the young king was so destitute that he had to seek shelter among the citizens of Palermo. 

Upon Constance's death in 1198, Pope Innocent III succeeded as Frederick's guardian. Frederick's tutor during this period was Cencio, who would become Pope Honorius III. Markward of Annweiler, with the support of Henry's brother, Philip of Swabia, reclaimed the regency and soon after invaded the Kingdom of Sicily. Frederick was subsequently under tutor Walter of Palearia, until, in 1208, he was declared of age. Growing in Sicily was certainly a very important thing for Frederick, because he grew more Sicilian than German.

EDUCATION Frederick received a multifaceted and complete education, which did not only focus on legal and administrative issues, but which also touched on the arts and writing. By the time he was declared of age in 1208, he spoke five languages: Greek, Arabic, Latin, Provençal and Sicilian. 

Frederick was an avid reader and passionately interested in nature and the study of the universe from his younger years. Some reports have him freely wandering the streets of cosmopolitan Palermo, talking and arguing with all manner of people, and always devouring knowledge. He was raised in a cultivated and multi-ethnical environment, which made him polyglot, used to multi-ethnicity, refined, educated and above all absolutist, as the Norman Kings.

CAREER RECORD

 1198: Crowned King of Sicily.

1212: Travels to Germany and is elected King of the Germans by a faction of princes opposing Otto IV.

1215: Crowned King of the Germans at Aachen.

1220: Crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Honorius III.

1225: Becomes King of Jerusalem through his marriage to Isabella II.

1228-1229: Leads the Sixth Crusade, successfully negotiating the handover of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth.

1231: Issues the Constitutions of Melfi (also known as Liber Augustalis), a comprehensive legal code that centralised power in his Kingdom of Sicily.

1227-1250: Engaged in a near-continuous political and military struggle with the Papacy (under Popes Gregory IX and Innocent IV) and the pro-papal Guelph communes of Northern Italy. He was excommunicated multiple times.

APPEARANCE Frederick was said to be "ruddy, with a bald head and shortsighted eyes," a description attributed to the Arab chronicler Sibt ibn al-Jawzi. He had the red-blonde hair of his Hohenstaufen ancestors. 

Some sources, including contemporary rivals, described him as short. Otto IV, his political adversary, claimed that Frederick was extremely small, perhaps even a dwarf, and thus unfit to rule. While this may have been political slander, physical evidence suggests Frederick was indeed shorter than average, possibly around 1.66 meters (5 foot 4 inches), similar to his son Henry. (1)

Frederick II and his falcon. From his book De arte venandi cum avibus (

FASHION  Frederick often defied conventional European courtly dress. Influenced by his Sicilian upbringing, he frequently adopted the luxurious, flowing silk robes typical of Saracen or Byzantine rulers, a habit that further fueled rumours of his un-Christian tendencies among his enemies.

In 1221, Frederick decreed that Jews must be distinguished from Christians by their clothes and their appearance, thus conforming to the decisions of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). The Jews of Sicily were ordered to wear blue coats over their clothes and grow beards, and the women to wear a blue stripe on their cloaks and head covering to distinguish them from the Christians . However, there is no evidence that these strictures were actually enforced. (2)

CHARACTER Frederick possessed a complex and formidable personality. He was intellectually brilliant, insatiably curious, pragmatic, and a gifted diplomat. He was also seen as autocratic, proud, and capable of extreme cruelty and vindictiveness towards his enemies. He was a rationalist and a skeptic who valued empirical evidence and observation, which set him apart from the more dogmatic worldview of his era.

SPEAKING VOICE Frederick was known for his remarkable linguistic abilities, speaking six languages: Latin, Sicilian, Middle High German, Old French, Greek, and Arabic . He was described as freely wandering the streets of cosmopolitan Palermo, talking and arguing with all manner of people .

SENSE OF HUMOUR Frederick was known for his sharp, intellectual, and often cynical wit. He enjoyed riddles and scholarly debates. One famous anecdote comes from his dealings with the papacy. When Pope Gregory IX excommunicated him and called him the "Antichrist," Frederick reportedly quipped that if the pope had truly believed this, he would have fled rather than simply excommunicate him. This sharp retort demonstrates Frederick's ability to use irony and logic to undermine his opponents' accusations, reflecting both his intellectual agility and his penchant for clever, biting humor.

RELATIONSHIPS Frederick II was married three times. His first wife was Constance of Aragon, a 25-year-old widow and daughter of the King of Aragon, whom he married at the age of 14 under the arrangement of his guardian, Pope Innocent III. Though young, the match proved politically useful—Constance arrived with a contingent of knights that helped Frederick secure control of Sicily. The couple appeared to have a reasonably content marriage, and Constance gave birth to a son, Henry.

Three years after Constance’s death, in 1225, Frederick married 16-year-old Yolande of Jerusalem (also known as Isabella II), daughter of King John of Brienne. The marriage was timed with Frederick’s plans for a crusade, and he quickly maneuvered to sideline his new father-in-law and assert control over the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Although Yolande died in 1228, shortly after giving birth to their son Conrad, Frederick claimed the title of King of Jerusalem and was crowned in 1229—despite the technicality that his wife, the kingdom’s actual heiress, had already passed away. Their son, Conrad IV, would later be elected King of the Germans in 1237.

In 1235, Frederick married for the third time—this time to 22-year-old Isabella of England, daughter of King John of England. The wedding was a grand affair at Worms Cathedral on July 15 or 20, 1235. The marriage brought prestige but little long-term impact; Isabella died six years later.

Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress

Despite his imperial title, Frederick was far from ascetic. He maintained a travelling harem and an unconventional court, earning him a reputation that was, at times, more flamboyant than holy.

There is some evidence and legend, there was one woman he truly loved: Bianca Lancia. Bianca and Emperor Frederick are believed to have met around 1225 while he was travelling around Italy. Bianca is usually regarded as Frederick's favourite mistress  According to chroniclers, Frederick and Bianca only married when she was dying. 

Bianca was the mother of his favourite son, Manfred. He had numerous illegitimate children who often played key roles in his administration

MONEY AND FAME Frederick built upon the work of his Norman predecessors and forged an early absolutist state bound together by an efficient secular bureaucracy . He instituted measures designed to bring trade under state control and make the manufacture of certain products the monopoly of the state . He had enlarged the harbours of his kingdom and established a navy and a fleet of merchant vessels .

In 1231, he introduced the augustalis, a high-purity gold coin that was the first of its kind to be widely circulated in Europe since the fall of Rome. It served as both a powerful piece of imperial propaganda and a stable currency. 

Frederick enjoyed a reputation as a brilliant Renaissance man and polymath . His reputation as a driven and energetic monarch spread, adding to his already semi-legendary status .

FOOD AND DRINK His court was known for its sophisticated dining, blending European traditions with the rich culinary influences of the Arab and Byzantine world present in Sicily. He was reportedly moderate in his habits, valuing quality and refinement over gluttony.

MUSIC AND ARTS Frederick was an avid patron of science and the arts. He played a major role in promoting literature through the Sicilian School of poetry . His magnificent Sicilian imperial-royal court in Palermo, beginning around 1220, was the cultural and intellectual hub of the early 13th century. 

The Court of Emperor Frederick II in Palermo by Arthur von Ramberg. Wikipedia

Frederick hosted numerous artists in his court and was an attentive and generous patron.

He was also a prolific builder, commissioning castles, palaces, and hunting lodges in a unique style that blended Roman, Gothic, and Islamic architectural elements.

LITERATURE Frederick was a writer himself and contributed substantially to Italian literature through the establishment of the Sicilian School of Poetry. His circle included perhaps 30 men, most of them Sicilians, with added groups of Tuscans and southern Italians. The school and its poetry were saluted by Dante and his peers and predate by at least a century the use of the Tuscan idiom as the elite literary language of Italy. About 125 poems are extant from Frederick's poets, all in Sicilian dialect . 

The invention of the sonnet is usually attributed to Giacomo da Lentini, one of Frederick's court poets . (3)

NATURE Frederick was passionately interested in nature and the study of the universe from his younger years . He was especially interested in astronomy, astrology, geography, zoology, medicine, and human anatomy. 

In 1231, Frederick brought a menagerie of animals unknown to most Italians including elephants, dromedaries, camels, panthers, gerfalcons, lions, leopards, white falcons, and bearded owl .

Frederick II wrote De Arte Venandi cum Avibus ("On the Art of Hunting with Birds"), a comprehensive treatise on falconry and ornithology, in the 1240s. The work is celebrated for its scientific approach and detailed personal observations. It was the first treatise on falconry.

An image from an old copy of De arte venandi cum avibus

PETS Frederick loved exotic animals in general: his menagerie, with which he impressed the cities of Northern Italy and Europe, included elephants, dromedaries, camels, panthers, gerfalcons, lions, leopards, white falcons, and bearded owl .

There is no question that Emperor Frederick II valued gyrfalcons for use in falconry more highly than all other kinds of falcons.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Falconry was Frederick's all-consuming passion, which he treated as both a sport and a science. He also enjoyed chess and intellectual debates with the scholars, philosophers, and mathematicians he gathered at his court.

SCIENCE AND MATHS Frederick was a great patron of science. He founded the University of Naples in 1224, the first state-funded public university, to train secular administrators for his kingdom. He corresponded with leading scholars across the Mediterranean, such as Leonardo Fibonacci, who introduced Arabic numerals to Europe. He encouraged public dissections and scientific experimentation.

Frederick enjoyed experimenting, though at times they were on the macabre side. They are most famously recorded by the 13th-century Franciscan chronicler Salimbene de Adam, who really did not like Frederick II and had a vested interest in portraying him as arrogant, heretical, and cruel. According to Salimbene:

Frederick allegedly sealed several prisoners in an airtight room and waited for them to die, hoping to see their souls escape at the moment of death when he opened the door. Unsurprisingly (and morbidly), no soul was seen, but the story underscores Frederick’s fascination with natural philosophy, even if this particular experiment was grotesquely misguided.

He supposedly gave two men identical meals, then sent one to bed and the other on a strenuous hunt. He later had them both killed and dissected to determine whose food was better digested. The experiment was, disturbingly, a crude inquiry into human physiology.

These accounts, especially the dissection tale, are often cited to highlight Frederick's “scientific curiosity,” albeit one unencumbered by modern ethics. However, historians caution that while Frederick was unusually curious for his time—deeply interested in medicine, astronomy, and the natural sciences—Salimbene’s bitter tone and Franciscan bias likely exaggerated or even invented some details to make him appear monstrous.

Frederick was interested in mathematics, astronomy and astrology. Piero della Vigna remarked that Frederick had friars forming maps into globes, tracking the sun's course through the zodiac, squaring circles, and converting triangles into quadrilaterals. 

Frederick sent questions of astronomy and astrology to the sultans of the east, gaining two astronomers for his own court and a planetarium for his collection. 

Frederick made the connection between hygiene and the spread of disease, which was unknown at the time .

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Frederick II presided over one of the most intellectually vibrant courts of the Middle Ages, where Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scholars mingled freely in a spirit of academic curiosity. A true polymath and maverick, Frederick was also a religious sceptic—boldly unorthodox in an age of rigid faith. He viewed organized religion with suspicion and is said to have dismissed Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad alike as deceivers of mankind. His penchant for blasphemy and irreverent jokes scandalized his contemporaries and infuriated the Church.

His rocky relationship with Rome was legendary: he was excommunicated not once but three times. In a particularly bold gesture, on March 18, 1229, while still under excommunication, Frederick crowned himself King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This dramatic act marked both the zenith of his power and a shift in how he viewed his role. Prophecies began to swirl around him; Frederick encouraged comparisons to Christ and referred to himself as a new David—a messianic ruler destined to reshape the world.

Excommunication of Frederick by Pope Innocent IV

His irreverence extended even to his coronation attire. When he was crowned emperor, Frederick wore a gleaming red robe embroidered not with Latin prayers but with Arabic script. The inscription dated the garment to the Islamic year 528 and offered a lavish Arabic blessing: “May the Emperor be received well, may he enjoy vast prosperity, great generosity and high splendour… May his days and nights go in pleasure without end or change.” It was a striking symbol of his cultural openness—and his tendency to thumb his nose at convention.

In 1231, at Melfi, Frederick issued a sweeping legal code for the Kingdom of Sicily, the most ambitious attempt at state-building in Europe since the Byzantine emperor Justinian. His “Constitutions of Melfi” were a landmark in medieval governance, foreshadowing Enlightenment ideals of centralized power and rational lawmaking centuries before they took hold.

REIGN Frederick II of Hohenstaufen was, by any measure, one of the most improbable and fascinating rulers Europe ever managed to produce—which, considering the competition, is saying something. He was a medieval emperor who read Arabic poetry, argued with popes like a grumpy divorcee, and ran his Sicilian kingdom with the brisk efficiency of a man organizing a particularly large filing cabinet. He was excommunicated multiple times (twice, spectacularly, by the same pope), spoke six languages, launched a crusade while technically banned from the Church, and ruled from a court so dazzlingly multicultural that it made Renaissance Florence look like a village book club.

Frederick’s rise began with a classic medieval plot twist. Orphaned and barely out of nappies, he was crowned King of Sicily in 1198, a position he initially ruled with all the power of a child with a plastic crown—his regents mostly squabbled while the kingdom fell into polite chaos. But once grown, Frederick took charge with terrifying competence. As King of Germany in 1212 and Holy Roman Emperor by 1220, he began methodically restoring order, writing legal codes with the enthusiasm of a man assembling a particularly complicated IKEA wardrobe.

His Assizes of Capua (1220) and Constitutions of Melfi (1231) weren’t just laws—they were bureaucratic symphonies. Feudal barons were reined in, royal lands clawed back, and nobles could no longer marry or die without asking permission first. He built fortresses across Sicily like a man playing Risk on a caffeine binge, ensuring that if anyone misbehaved, there was always a handy garrison nearby to drop in for a corrective chat.

Frederick’s imperial dreams didn’t stop at Sicily. He wanted all of Italy, and a good chunk of Germany too, which naturally upset everyone else who had plans for those places—especially the pope, who by this point was developing a full-blown case of Frederick-related hypertension. Frederick clashed repeatedly with the Lombard League (a sort of medieval NATO of northern Italian cities), winning the Battle of Cortenuova in 1237, but failing to finish the job, as the cities inconveniently refused to stay conquered.

Meanwhile, the papacy was becoming increasingly unamused by Frederick’s refusal to launch a Crusade when asked, especially after he promised several times and then ghosted like a bad Tinder date. on September 29, 1227, Pope Gregory IX finally lost patience and excommunicated him. Frederick responded in typical fashion—by going on a Crusade anyway. The Sixth Crusade (1228–1229) saw him march to the Holy Land, not to fight, but to negotiate. He returned Jerusalem to Christian hands without spilling a drop of blood—an achievement that delighted diplomats and infuriated the pope in equal measure.

While Frederick made a hobby of annoying pontiffs, he also found time to turn his court in Palermo into the intellectual equivalent of a Renaissance fair 200 years early. There were scholars from Baghdad, poets from Provence, and scientists who knew how to dissect birds in three languages. He founded the University of Naples in 1224—not just to educate, but to train bureaucrats who could enforce all his delightful new laws. Think Hogwarts, but for lawyers.

The Sicilian School of poetry thrived under his patronage, producing verse that helped shape the modern Italian language. He read Arabic, translated Aristotle, and treated Muslims and Jews not as enemies but as people who might throw a really good dinner party. His tolerance was radical for its time—so much so that it made his Christian contemporaries deeply suspicious.

But not everything in Frederick’s world was wise verses and administrative nirvana. His final years were dominated by rebellions, betrayals, and endless squabbles with various popes, who seemed to regard him as equal parts heretic and houseguest who overstayed his welcome. His own son, Henry VII, revolted against him (a distinctly ungrateful move), and his Italian campaigns went sideways after the catastrophic Battle of Parma in 1248.

By the time Frederick died in 1250—possibly still grumbling about popes—the empire he had spent a lifetime shaping was already beginning to crack. The Hohenstaufen dynasty didn’t so much fall as quietly deflate, and the Holy Roman Empire descended into a century-long period of squabbling, disunity, and papal gloating.

Still, for one glittering moment, Frederick II made the medieval world look surprisingly modern. Or at least, impressively well-organized.

POLITICS Frederick’s political aim was to create a modern, centralised, and absolute monarchy, administered by a professional secular bureaucracy. The Constitutions of Melfi in Sicily were the cornerstone of this vision. His overarching imperial policy was focused on securing his hereditary lands in Sicily and asserting his imperial authority over the rebellious city-states of Northern Italy (the Lombard League) and the Papacy, which he saw as a rival temporal power.

SCANDAL Frederick's reign was rife with scandal, much of it amplified by papal propaganda. He was excommunicated three times. He was accused of blasphemy, heresy, and keeping a harem of Saracen women at his court in Lucera. The most notorious rumour concerned a language deprivation experiment, where he allegedly had infants raised in silence to discover what language they would naturally speak. The chronicler Salimbene di Adam claimed all the infants died, though the historicity of this event is highly debated.

MILITARY RECORD Frederick II’s military career was as unconventional as the man himself. His rise began with the pivotal Battle of Bouvines in 1214, where French king Philip II, allied with Frederick, defeated the reigning Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV. This decisive victory cleared the way for Frederick's eventual succession to the imperial throne.

By 1220, after vanquishing a rival claimant, Frederick was formally crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he preferred diplomacy over brute force—especially in his dealings with the Muslim world.

Nowhere was this more evident than during the Sixth Crusade (1228–1229). Although he had promised to join a crusade as early as 1215, Frederick delayed for over a decade. When he finally set sail, he confounded expectations: instead of waging holy war, he negotiated directly with Sultan al-Kamil of Egypt. The result was a remarkable treaty that peacefully returned Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth to Christian control—without a single battle. It was Frederick’s charisma and diplomatic finesse, not swords, that reclaimed the holy sites.

Frederick II (left) meets Al-Kamil (right). Nuova Cronica, c. 1348

The Pope, expecting a show of Christian military might, was furious. So much so that he called for a crusade against Frederick himself. The call, however, fell flat.

Beyond the Crusades, Frederick was frequently entangled in military struggles closer to home. He fought persistent wars to retain control over the Kingdom of Sicily, and waged a long campaign against the Lombard League, a coalition of defiant northern Italian cities. Complicating matters further, he faced internal rebellions—most notably from his own son, Henry VII, and various German princes who grew restless during his extended absences from Germany.

In all, Frederick’s military legacy was marked less by battlefield glory and more by political maneuvering, sharp strategy, and the sheer force of his formidable personality.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS  Frederick was notably ahead of his time in promoting hygiene—especially for his armies and during medical procedures. His insistence on a Sunday bath was outright scandalous for the time, showing his interest in hygiene and disease prevention . Frederick also paid careful attention to his own hygiene in terms of bloodletting. (4)

Frederick II was ill for some months before his death . Early in December 1250 a fierce attack of dysentery confined him to his hunting lodge of Castel Fiorentino in the south of Italy. 

HOMES Frederick is most famous for the numerous castles and hunting lodges he constructed throughout Apulia and Sicily.  In 1229, on his return from the Crusade, the Emperor initiated his vast program of defensive architecture, creating in eastern Sicily the most homogeneous group of "castri regia." The castles of Augusta, Syracuse and Milazzo were quickly built, together with the Castello Ursino in Catania. The castles of Enna, Terranova (Gela) and Scaletta Zanclea rose in central and western Sicily.  His castles had bounteous gardens full of pools and singing birds

The most iconic is the mysterious, perfectly octagonal Castel del Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which stands as a masterpiece of medieval architecture.(5)

Castel Del Monte by ParisTaras Wikipedia

His magnificent Sicilian imperial-royal court in Palermo, beginning around 1220, was the cultural and intellectual hub of the early 13th century .

TRAVEL Unlike most Holy Roman emperors, Frederick spent little of his life in Germany. After his coronation in 1220, he remained either in the Kingdom of Sicily or on Crusade until 1236, when he made his last journey to Germany. (At this time, the Kingdom of Sicily, with its capital at Palermo, extended onto the Italian mainland to include most of southern Italy.) He returned to Italy in 1237 and stayed there for the remaining 13 years of his life, represented in Germany by his son Conrad.

DEATH Frederick II died on December 13, 1250, at Castel Fiorentino, Apulia, Kingdom of Sicily, aged 55, after suffering from a persistent attack of dysentery. In his final months, Frederick had withdrawn from active campaigning due to illness and spent much of his time in southern Italy. According to reports, he died peacefully, reportedly wearing the habit of a Cistercian monk. His death was sudden and shocked much of Europe, as he remained a towering figure until the end.

Frederick II was interred in the Cathedral of Palermo, Sicily. His tomb is a marble sarcophagus, and he rests alongside his parents, Henry VI and Constance, as well as his grandfather, Roger II of Sicily. The sarcophagus is made of red porphyry, a material reserved for imperial burials, emphasizing his status. When the tomb was opened in the 19th and 20th centuries for scientific study, Frederick’s body was found wrapped in red cloth, with a sword at his side.

Frederick’s death marked the end of the Hohenstaufen dynasty’s power in Europe, and his passing was met with both mourning and relief, depending on political allegiance. Legends later arose that Frederick was not truly dead but sleeping, awaiting a return to restore his empire—a myth that was eventually transferred to his grandfather, Frederick Barbarossa.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Frederick II has been the subject of modern media productions, including the 2019 German television documentary Friedrich II. - Der Staufer: Der ewige Kampf mit dem Papst (Frederick II - The Hohenstaufen: The Eternal Struggle with the Pope). The documentary portrays him as a patron of science, a reformer, and possibly the first modern ruler.

Frederick II has been the subject of numerous biographies. He appears in historical novels, such as Stupor Mundi by G. L. Baker. 

He is a playable leader in the Civilization video game series, reflecting his enduring legacy as a ruler of science and culture.

ACHIEVEMENTS Political: Created one of the first centralised, absolutist states in Europe through the Constitutions of Melfi (1231).

Diplomatic: Regained Jerusalem for Christendom through peaceful negotiation during the Sixth Crusade, a unique achievement.

Economic: Introduced the augustalis, a stable and high-quality gold currency that boosted the economy of his kingdom.

Cultural: His court fostered the Sicilian School of poetry, giving birth to the Italian literary language.

Educational: Founded the University of Naples (1224) as a secular institution of higher learning.

Scientific: Authored De Arte Venandi cum Avibus, a seminal work of observational science and ornithology, and was a major patron of science and mathematics.

Sources (1) History of the Germans Podcast (2) Encyclopedia.com (3) Encyclopedia Britannica (4) The Write-ly World of Andrea Cefalo (5) Travell Italy

Frederick Barbarossa

NAME Frederick I, commonly known as Frederick Barbarossa. His nickname "Barbarossa" is Italian for "red beard." In German, he is known as "Friedrich Rotbart."

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Frederick Barbarossa was a revered Holy Roman Emperor who reigned from 1155 until his death in 1190. He is celebrated for his efforts to restore the prestige and power of the Holy Roman Empire, his involvement in the Crusades, and his legendary status in German folklore (the Kyffhäuser legend). He sought to unify the disparate German states and assert imperial authority over the wealthy city-states of Lombardy in northern Italy.

BIRTH Frederick was born around December 1122, with sources indicating he was born circa 1123. Some sources place his birth specifically in December 1122. He was born at Waiblingen in Swabia, which is now in modern Germany.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Frederick came from noble lineage, being the son of Duke Frederick II of Swabia (Frederick "the One-Eyed"), and Judith, daughter of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria. His family connections were significant as he united the blood of two rival dynasties - the Welfs and the Hohenstaufen. His uncle was Conrad III, who served as his predecessor as German king. Through his mother, he was connected to the Guelph family, while his father represented the Hohenstaufen dynasty.

CHILDHOOD Frederick learned typical skills for German royalty of the Dark Ages, including riding, hunting, and weaponry. Frederick took part in at least four Hoftags (assemblies convened by princes) during his youth, including gatherings at Strasbourg (1141), Konstanz (1142), Ulm (1143), Würzburg (1144), and Worms (1145), which gave him vital political experience.

EDUCATION Several authoritative sources, including John Freed's biography Frederick Barbarossa: The Prince and the Myth, argue that Frederick was likely illiterate or at best only minimally literate. Freed repeatedly stresses Frederick’s illiteracy, noting that there is no evidence he could read or write, and suggesting he would have been unable to understand the Latin panegyrics written in his honor. Other scholars echo this view, pointing out that Frederick was not expected to inherit the throne and thus was not given the thorough education in Latin and letters reserved for those destined for ecclesiastical careers or unexpected heirs. Instead, his upbringing focused on military training, with only rudimentary reading and writing skills, if any. As emperor, he often relied on translators and interpreters for Latin, which was the language of administration and diplomacy in his realm.

However, some historians find it difficult to believe that a ruler in constant contact with clerics, jurists, and poets would remain entirely ignorant of Latin, especially over a reign spanning nearly four decades. While there is consensus that Frederick was not fluent in Latin, it is possible he acquired some proficiency out of necessity during his reign, particularly in understanding spoken Latin or basic written phrases, though there is no direct evidence he achieved full literacy

CAREER RECORD 1147: Accompanied his uncle, King Conrad III, on the Second Crusade.

1152: Elected King of Germany at Frankfurt; crowned King of the Romans at Aachen.

1154-1155: First Italian campaign; helped Pope Adrian IV against the Roman Commune; crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome (1155).

1158-1162: Second Italian campaign; besieged and destroyed Milan; held the Diet of Roncaglia, where he asserted imperial rights (regalia).

1163-1164: Third Italian campaign (less successful).

1166-1168: Fourth Italian campaign, marked by a devastating plague that decimated his army; forced to retreat.

1174-1176: Fifth Italian campaign; suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Legnano against the Lombard League (1176).

1177: Signed the Treaty of Venice with Pope Alexander III and the Lombard cities, recognizing their liberties but affirming imperial suzerainty.

1180: Successfully suppressed the rebellion of his powerful cousin, Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, significantly strengthening imperial power in Germany.

1184: Held the magnificent Diet of Mainz, a grand celebration of imperial power.

1186: His son Henry VI married Constance, heiress to the Kingdom of Sicily, significantly expanding Hohenstaufen influence in Italy.

1189-1190: Led the German contingent of the Third Crusade.

APPEARANCE Frederick's most distinctive feature was his red beard, which earned him his famous nickname. Sources describe him as having a majestic personal appearance. Contemporary accounts emphasize that his physical presence was commanding and contributed to his natural authority as a ruler.

Frederick Barbarossa as a crusader, miniature from a copy of the Historia Hierosolymitana, 1188

FASHION As an emperor, Frederick wore rich garments befitting his status, including luxurious fabrics, furs, and embroidered robes, often adorned with precious jewels. His crown and imperial regalia would have been central to his public image, symbolizing his divine right to rule. He was often depicted in armor when engaged in military campaigns.

CHARACTER Frederick possessed a complex personality that combined attractive kindliness with shrewd calculation. Though he had fits of uncontrolled passion at times, he was sufficiently master of himself to restrain his anger when necessary for political purposes. 

He was described as having a bold spirit with astonishing firmness in pursuing his aims. Frederick surprised contemporaries with the clearness and cleverness of his speech, rapid comprehension and decision-making, and well-reasoned, logical policy. He was naturally conservative and knew how to deal with existing political forces. (1)

SPEAKING VOICE Frederick spoke Middle High German, which was the language used during the medieval period. According to gaming community discussions about historical accuracy, his voice would have sounded to modern German speakers similar to how "ye olde English" sounds to contemporary English speakers.

SENSE OF HUMOUR  Frederick is generally depicted as a shrewd, calculating, and sometimes fiery-tempered ruler, known for his ambition, discipline, and formidable presence. There is little to suggest he was known for lightheartedness or overt humor in his public or private life.

RELATIONSHIPS Frederick's first marriage was to Adelheid of Vohburg, which took place sometime before March 1147 shortly before Frederick departed for the Second Crusade. Thes marriage was likely arranged in preparation for his crusading venture. The union was later annulled in 1153 on the grounds of consanguinity (they were fourth cousins, once removed). and it produced no children.

He then married Beatrice of Burgundy on June 9, 1156 in Würzburg, Germany. The wedding is famously commemorated in art, notably in frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in the Imperial Hall of the Würzburg Residenz. Beatrice was the daughter and heiress of Renaud III, Count of Burgundy. This marriage brought the County of Burgundy into Frederick's realm and produced  eleven children, though only five lived to adulthood: Henry (1165), Conrad (1167), Otto (1170), Conrad (1170), and Philip (1177). 

The Marriage of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to Beatrice of Burgundy by Tiepolo

Frederick's relationship with his powerful cousin Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, was complex and politically significant.

MONEY AND FAME As Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick controlled vast territories and resources across Central Europe. His reign coincided with increasing wealth in northern Italian cities through trade, representing a shift from medieval feudalism. Frederick created the Tafelgüterverzeichnis, a record of royal estates, demonstrating his systematic approach to managing imperial resources.

Frederick understood the importance of both money and fame in asserting imperial power. He sought to tap into the wealth of northern Italy to fund his ambitions. He also meticulously cultivated his public image, using grand diets and ceremonies to display his power and legendary status. His efforts to revive the "Roman" aspect of the Holy Roman Empire were also aimed at enhancing his prestige.

FOOD AND DRINK While there are no surviving records of Frederick Barbarossa's personal favorite dishes, his diet would have reflected the customs and abundance of the imperial court, with a strong emphasis on meat, dairy, bread, and traditional medieval drinks

MUSIC AND ARTS  Frederick's court was a center for medieval arts and culture. Minstrels, troubadours, and chroniclers performed and documented events and architectural projects, particularly churches and castles, were undertaken during his reign, reflecting the imperial aesthetic of the time.

LITERATURE While Frederick was illiterate and could not read, his court was a center for scholarly and literary activity, and his reign contributed significantly to Central European culture and the re-establishment of Roman law.

His life and reign became a subject of numerous contemporary chronicles and later legends, most notably the Kyffhäuser legend, which portrays him as a sleeping emperor awaiting his return to restore Germany's glory.

NATURE  Frederick was intimately familiar with the natural landscapes of Germany and Italy. Hunting, a common pastime for medieval nobility, connected him with nature.

PETS Hunting dogs and falcons were common among medieval nobility such as Frederick for sport and status.

Image by Perplexity

HOBBIES AND SPORTS From a young age, Frederick learned to ride, hunt, and master weaponry—skills essential for German royalty in the 12th century. Hunting was not only a pastime but also a demonstration of leadership and prowess.

SCIENCE AND MATHS  In the 12th century, "science" was largely intertwined with philosophy, theology, and practical arts. While Frederick was not a known scholar of pure science or mathematics, his interest in Roman law shows a rational and systematic approach to governance. Practical knowledge related to siege warfare, engineering, and logistics would have been important in his military campaigns.

REIGN Frederick Barbarossa, whose name rather grandly translates to “Red Beard” and whose presence on a battlefield must have resembled a particularly cross Viking with a diploma in statecraft, was elected King of Germany in 1152 and promptly declared Holy Roman Emperor three years later, because why stop at just one job title when you can have two? He ruled until 1190, a stretch of 38 years that he spent shaping Central Europe in ways that were occasionally brilliant, often exhausting, and generally quite noisy.

Frederick got off to a brisk start. After a bit of ceremonial pomp in Aachen (think coronation, Latin chanting, and possibly a fine lunch), he began the perennial medieval pastime of consolidating power, which mostly meant keeping your friends happy and your enemies either pacified or out of sight. He wisely cozied up to his cousin Henry the Lion, a man who, despite sounding like a children's book character, was actually one of the most powerful nobles in Germany. For twenty years, they got along famously—by medieval standards—until they didn’t (more on that later).

Frederick then busied himself trying to be the referee in the ongoing cage match that was German noble politics. He poked his imperial nose into Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary, smoothing ruffled feathers and asserting authority, which is a polite way of saying he told them what to do and hoped they’d listen.

Now, Frederick had a particular fascination with Italy, as did most German emperors, because nothing says “legitimacy” quite like a shiny crown placed on your head by the pope in Rome. He marched south no fewer than six times—an astonishing feat considering the logistics involved, not to mention the unhelpful Alps in between.

His first trip in 1154 was reasonably successful: Milan bowed, Tortona got flattened (you can almost hear the sighs from the town council), and he came home with the imperial crown courtesy of Pope Adrian IV. That should have been the start of a beautiful friendship. It wasn’t.

Very quickly, Frederick and the papacy fell into one of those splendid medieval spats over who got to boss whom. This was not helped by Frederick supporting a string of “antipopes” (the ecclesiastical equivalent of backing the other guy in an election) and getting excommunicated for his troubles. He eventually made peace with Pope Alexander III—but only after some military misadventures reminded him that maybe diplomacy was worth a go.

The Lombard cities in northern Italy, who had grown rather fond of their independence and their profits, formed the Lombard League, an alliance of sturdy burghers who were less than thrilled by Frederick’s imperial meddling. The emperor initially had some success (the Battle of Monte Porzio in 1167, for instance), but things took a sour turn at the Battle of Legnano in 1176. There, the Lombards gave Frederick a firm and painful reminder that city militias could be surprisingly effective when sufficiently irritated.

The result was the Peace of Venice in 1177, in which Frederick graciously recognized the independence of the Lombard League and the legitimacy of Pope Alexander—essentially admitting that all that marching around Italy hadn’t quite gone to plan.

Back in Germany, Frederick was less interested in centralization than in practical solutions. While monarchs in France and England were busy building centralized kingdoms, Frederick preferred to spread power around like confetti at a particularly rowdy wedding. He handed out privileges to noble families like the Babenbergs in Austria and tried to keep the peace by acting as imperial umpire among the constantly squabbling nobles.

His old pal Henry the Lion, alas, eventually overstepped. When Henry demanded the city of Goslar—rich in silver and imperial symbolism—Frederick finally lost patience. He hauled Henry into court, stripped him of his lands in 1180, and scattered them to more agreeable nobles. Medieval politics were not for the faint of heart.

In 1189, Frederick, now in his late sixties (an age when most medieval men were comfortably dead), decided to lead the Third Crusade to the Holy Land. And not just lead it—organize it into one of the most disciplined and sizable armies of the era. They marched across Europe, through Hungary and the Balkans, across Anatolia, and even notched a few solid victories at Philomelium and Iconium.

And then, just as things were looking promising, he drowned in a river. The Saleph, in modern-day Turkey, was no great torrent—more of a glorified stream, really—but the emperor managed to fall in and die, bringing his long and occasionally glorious career to a sudden and undignified end. His army, now demoralized and leaderless, promptly fell apart.

Frederick Barbarossa became the stuff of German legend—a kind of medieval King Arthur who, rather than dying completely, is said to be asleep in a mountain, waiting for Germany’s time of need (presumably with a very long beard indeed). In practical terms, his death ushered in a period of fragmentation in the empire. But his legacy—of balancing brute strength with cunning diplomacy, of wrestling with popes and mayors, of endlessly marching up and down Europe—left an indelible mark.

He was, in short, a man who tried to make sense of an empire that rarely did. And for nearly 40 years, he almost managed it.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Frederick Barbarossa’s philosophy was deeply rooted in the concept of imperial authority as divinely sanctioned. He asserted that his right to rule came directly from God, not from the pope or any other ecclesiastical intermediary. In disputes with the papacy, especially with Pope Hadrian IV, Frederick maintained that the emperor’s authority was a beneficium (a divine gift) received from God alone, and not a fief granted by the pope. He emphasized that his election by the German princes and his anointing at Aachen gave him a unique, sacred status in Christendom, uniting German tradition with the holy nature of the empire.

Frederick was instrumental in reviving the Justinian code (Corpus Juris Civilis), using it to justify his imperial ambitions and to counterbalance papal power. Roman law provided a rational, secular foundation for imperial authority, serving as a counterweight to the Church’s claims of supremacy based on divine revelation. Frederick saw himself as a new Roman emperor, responsible for restoring peace, justice, and order in the empire—especially in Italy, where he sought to reassert imperial rights over the increasingly independent Lombard cities.

Frederick’s theological stance was marked by persistent conflict with the papacy. He supported antipopes against Alexander III and was excommunicated for his efforts to assert imperial independence in ecclesiastical matters. Frederick’s vision was reminiscent of caesaropapism: he believed the emperor should have a dominant role over the church, similar to the ancient Roman emperors. Despite these conflicts, he ultimately recognized Alexander III as pope in the Peace of Venice (1177), but only after years of military and diplomatic struggle.

Frederick’s reign saw a renewed emphasis on the “holiness” of the empire (sacrum imperium). He and his chancellor, Rainald of Dassel, promoted symbols and ceremonies that underscored the sacred character of imperial rule, such as the canonization of Charlemagne and the commissioning of religious art like the Barbarossa Chandelier. These actions were intended to reinforce the emperor’s legitimacy and the unity of the German realm, drawing upon both Christian and classical traditions.

Frederick often justified his actions—especially his campaigns in Italy—as divinely mandated efforts to restore justice and concord. He presented himself as the agent of providential order, obligated to enforce peace and the common good, even when it meant imposing imperial authority over rebellious cities

Frederick's relationship with theology was primarily political rather than scholarly. His conflicts with multiple popes and his support for antipopes demonstrate his willingness to challenge ecclesiastical authority. He took Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as his ideal of a German emperor. His crusading activities reflected the religious expectations of his time.

POLITICS Frederick's political philosophy centered on restoring imperial authority and German unity. He believed in the supremacy of the empire over the papacy and worked to consolidate power among German princes. Unlike Henry II of England, Frederick attempted to restore rather than end medieval feudalism. He dealt with princes by finding mutual self-interest and made strategic concessions when necessary.

SCANDAL Frederick's support for antipopes against Alexander III led to his excommunication in 1160. His conflicts with the papacy created ongoing controversy throughout his reign. The annulment of his first marriage on grounds of consanguinity also represented a significant personal and political matter.

MILITARY RECORD Frederick's military career was extensive but mixed in success. He distinguished himself during the Second Crusade as a military leader. 

As emperor, Frederick undertook six major expeditions into Italy. His notable victories included the Battle of Monte Porzio against the Romans in 1167. However, he suffered a crucial defeat at the Battle of Legnano on May 29, 1176, where he was wounded and believed dead for a time. This defeat marked a turning point in his imperial ambitions.  Below shows the soldiers of the Lombard League seeking in vain the dead body of Frederick Barbarossa 

Illustration by A.C. Michael Marshall, Henrietta Elizabeth (1913). A History of Germany. 

 His final military campaign was the Third Crusade, where he successfully led a large German army through difficult terrain and hostile territories in Anatolia, securing crucial victories, demonstrating his continued military leadership even in his old age. His death during the Crusade was a major blow to the expedition.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Frederick was known for his robust health and physical vigor, which allowed him to lead numerous military campaigns well into his sixties. 

HOMES As a medieval monarch, Frederick did not have a single fixed "home" but resided in various imperial palaces (Pfalzen) and castles across Germany and Italy. These included:

Kaiserswerth: An imperial castle on the Rhine. It became legendary as the place where folklore claimed he was sleeping and would return.

Gelnhausen: One of his favored imperial palaces.

Speyer: The burial place of many Salian emperors, important for imperial ceremonies.

Numerous castles and temporary residences across his vast domain as he traveled to administer justice, hold diets, and conduct campaigns.

TRAVEL Frederick's reign involved extensive travel throughout his empire and beyond. He made six expeditions to Italy and traveled extensively within German territories. His final journey was the Third Crusade, which took him through Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, and into Byzantine territory before reaching Anatolia.

DEATH Frederick Barbarossa died on June 10, 1190, while on the Third Crusade. He drowned in the Saleph River (modern-day Göksu River) near Seleucia in the Kingdom of Armenia (now near Silifke, Turkey). Contemporary accounts describe him entering the river to bathe during great heat. His death caused several thousand German soldiers to leave the crusading force and return home. 

To preserve his remains, Frederick's body was reportedly boiled to separate the flesh from the bones—a method known as mos Teutonicus. His flesh was interred in the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Antioch. His bones were sewn into a sack, with the intention of burying them in Jerusalem, but the crusaders never made it that far. Instead, his bones were ultimately buried in the Cathedral of Tyre, and his heart and inner organs were buried in Saint Paul's Church, Tarsus.

The precise location of his remains is still debated, as later expeditions to Tyre failed to find his bones, and the cathedral itself was destroyed in later centuries.

Despite the lack of a traditional funeral, Frederick's death quickly became the stuff of legend. In Germany, he was memorialized as a national hero, and monuments such as the Kyffhäuser memorial kept his memory alive. Myths arose that he was merely sleeping in a mountain, waiting to return and restore German greatness. 

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Frederick Barbarossa's legend has appeared in various forms of media over the centuries. His story has been romanticized in 19th and early 20th-century literature and political symbolism. The Nazi movement appropriated his name for Operation Barbarossa during World War II. 

In modern gaming, he appears as a leader in the Civilization video game series, where he speaks Middle High German.

Numerous statues and monuments in Germany commemorate him, notably the Kyffhäuser Monument.

ACHIEVEMENTS Restoration of Imperial Prestige: Successfully revitalized the Holy Roman Empire's power and influence in Germany.

Suppression of Henry the Lion: Decisively broke the power of the most formidable German duke, solidifying imperial authority within Germany.

Administrative Reforms: Implemented administrative and legal reforms, drawing on Roman law, to strengthen central imperial control.

Treaty of Venice (1177): Despite the military defeat at Legnano, he achieved a diplomatic settlement with the Papacy and Lombard cities, affirming imperial suzerainty while granting autonomy. This demonstrated his pragmatism.

Marriage Alliance with Sicily: Secured the marriage of his son Henry VI to Constance of Sicily, which ultimately led to the Hohenstaufen control of the wealthy Kingdom of Sicily, significantly enhancing imperial power in the south.

Leadership of the Third Crusade: Despite his death, his leadership of the German contingent was a major undertaking and demonstrated his commitment to Christendom.

Source (1) Catholic Answers