Below: Rise of the Hohenstaufen | Fall of the Hohenstaufen | Duke of Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen Name
"The name of a mountain became the name of a castle, became the name of a noble family, became the name of a dynasty, and finally became the name of an era."
Prof. Dr. Arnold Esch, Historian
The name of the Hohenstaufen is derived from the family castle, Castle Hohenstaufen (Burg Hohenstaufen), which was named after Mount Hohenstaufen (Berg Hohenstaufen).
The term Stauf (meaning "chalice") refers to hills and mountains with a conical shape. "Hohen" means "high," which differentiates it from the other chalice-shaped hills and mountains throughout the mountain ranges and foothills surrounding the Jura and Alps in modern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. These are also called "Staufen," and many people unrelated to the Hohenstaufen Dynasty have topographic surnames from these regions that are similar (Staufen/Stauffen/Staufer/Stauffer). Thus, the name "Hohenstaufen" was first used to distinguish the mountain, castle, and dynasty from others in the region. Similarly, the House von Hohenzollern, originally vassals of the Hohenstaufen, were the counts of Zollern with the surname "von Zollern" until it was necessary to distinguish the Hohenzollern Castle and Dynasty from similar regional names.
Many modern historians have begun using the name "Staufer" to describe the Hohenstaufen Dynasty. However, the name "Hohenstaufen" is more historically and traditionally correct and more recognizable and clear when referring to the Dynasty. Clarity should be of supreme importance in any academic field, so the use of "Hohenstaufen" is preferred to any alternatives. Thus, the Head of the House and the House von Hohenstaufen Association recommend the continued use of the name Hohenstaufen to refer to the historical and current House von Hohenstaufen.
Rise of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty
In 1153, Friedrich Barbarossa charged the Abbot of Stavelot, Wibald von Stablo, to develop the lineage of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty. The lineage begins with Friedrich (997-1070), Count Palatine of Swabia and Count of Riesgau. His son was Friedrich von Büren (1020-1053), father of the first Hohenstaufen Duke of Swabia, Friedrich I von Hohenstaufen (1050-1105). Between 1050 and 1079, Friedrich I built Castle Hohenstaufen atop Mount Hohenstaufen.
Duke Friedrich I was granted the Duchy of Swabia in 1079 for his loyal support of Kaiser Heinrich IV (Salian) during the revolt of the anti-king, Rudolf von Rheinfelden. Duke Friedrich I's son, Konrad, became the first King of Germany (King of the Romans) of the House von Hohenstaufen on March 13, 1138. He was succeeded by his nephew, Friedrich Barbarossa (Duke Friedrich III of Swabia) on March 4, 1152, who became Holy Roman Emperor (Kaiser Friedrich I) on January 2, 1155. Kaiser Friedrich I Barbarossa is one of the most significant members of the House von Hohenstaufen and one of the most significant figures in all of world history.
The Fall of the House von Hohenstaufen
The fall of the the main line of the House von Hohenstaufen, along with its royal and imperial authority, came about as a result of conflict with several popes over papal versus imperial authority and the territory disputes surrounding the Papal States, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Kingdom of Sicily. The issues first arose when the Norman-English Pope Adrian IV gave territory belonging to the Holy Roman Empire to his fellow Norman, King William I of Sicily (House of Hauteville) in 1155, which undermined pre-existing treaties between the papacy and Kaiser Friedrich I Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire. Pope Adrian IV was also a devout believer in the authoritarian power of the papacy in Rome and the entire Italian Peninsula, as well as the fraudulent, ahistorical claim that the pope was liege lord of the Holy Roman Emperor. The Donation of Constantine was a dubious forgery from the 8th Century that alleged to be an imperial decree from fourth-century Emperor Constantine the Great. The counterfeit decree granted the popes political authority over Italy and the western half of the Roman Empire. This complete fabrication was widely used by Popes in the 12th and 13th Centuries to assert their fraudulent claims to territory that had never belonged to them.
These policies were continued by subsequent popes for several centuries. As a result, the relationship between Kaiser Friedrich I Barbarossa and the popes soured. After a conflict with Pope Adrian IV's successor, Pope Alexander III, Friedrich I Barbarossa supported Anti-Pope Victor IV over in 1160. Alexander III subsequently excommunicated Kaiser Friedrich I Barbarossa and formed an alliance with William I of Sicily against the Holy Roman Empire.
 Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire |
 King William I of Sicily |
 Pope Alexander III |
The conflict with Sicily was ended by the marriage between Kaiser Friedrich I's son, the future Kaiser Heinrich VI of the Holy Roman Empire, and Queen Constance of Sicily in 1186. Their son, the future Kaiser Friedrich II of the Holy Roman Empire (Duke Friedrich VII of Swabia), became the rightful King of Sicily upon her death. The popes were unhappy with the induction of the Kingdom of Sicily into the Holy Roman Empire under Hohenstaufen rule because it significantly weakened papal political authority in the region compared to the power of the Holy Roman Empire. The popes had long dreamed of uniting all of Italy under papal authority, and the Holy Roman Emperors, who at this time controlled most of Italy, were their primary obstacle. Furthermore, the Italian and Sicilian nobility had no interest in being subject to papal authority. However, the popes were particularly determined to control Sicily directly or as feudal overlords of the king they chose.
 Emperor Heinrich VI of the Holy Roman Empire and Queen Constance of Sicily |
 Emperor Friedrich II of the Holy Roman Empire (Friedrich VII of Swabia) |
 Pope Honorius III |
Thus, Kaiser Friedrich II, also known as the "Wonder of the World" (Staunen der Welt or stupor mundi) and the "Greatest Ruler on Earth" (Größter unter den Fürsten der Erde or principium mundi maximus), could do little to avoid conflict with the popes. In 1225, Kaiser Friedrich II promised Pope Honorius III to carry out a crusade for the Holy Land (the Sixth Crusade). In 1227, Kaiser Friedrich II attempted to fulfill his promise, but fell gravely ill and had to abandon the crusade temporarily on the advice of his counsellors and Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. In response, Pope Gregory IX excommunicated him that same year.
Despite the excommunication, Kaiser Friedrich II was determined to fulfill his promise, and he began the crusade again the following year (1228). However, Pope Gregory IX then excommunicated him a second time for carrying out a crusade as an excommunicant. While he was fighting the crusade, some barons rose up against both the Pope and the Kaiser in Italy. In 1229, the Kaiser returned and defeated the uprising, meeting with Pope Gregory IX and agreeing to some concessions to papal authority in Sicily. In 1237, he was forced to quell another rebellion in Italy due to the uprising of the Lombard League. Pope Gregory IX had instigated the uprising in order to claim Lombardy for the Papal States. In response to Kaiser Friedrich II's attempts to quell the uprising, Pope Gregory IX excommunicated him once again in 1239.
Pope Innocent IV was elected in 1243, and continued the anti-Hohenstaufen policies of his predecessors. He financed enemies and uprisings against he Hohenstaufen throughout the empire, excommunicated Kaiser Friedrich II for the fourth time, imposed a papal ban on the Kaiser, and declared his son, King Konrad IV of Germany (King Konrad I of Sicily, King Konrad II of Jerusalem, and Duke Konrad III of Swabia), deposed as King of the Romans (King of Germany). In 1246, he declared Heinrich Raspe of Thuringia, one of his primary anti-Hohenstaufen allies in Germany, to be the anti-king in opposition to Konrad IV. Upon Heinrich Raspe's death in 1247, Pope Innocent IV declared another of his allies, Wilhelm II of Holland, to be anti-king.
 Pope Gregory IX |
 Pope Innocent IV |
 Wilhelm II of Holland |
King Konrad IV both defeated Wilhelm II and succeeded his father in 1250 as King of Sicily. The Holy Roman Empire's grasp on Italy was slipping due to constant papal subversion, so King Konrad IV spent several more years quelling uprisings in the region. Konrad spent many years attempting to reconcile with Pope Innocent IV, but such attempts proved futile. After once again refusing to allow Pope Innocent IV to incorporate the Kingdom of Sicily into the Papal States, the Pope excommunicated him in 1254. King Konrad IV died of malaria shortly thereafter, causing the Great Interregnum, which lasted until 1273, when the first Habsburg was elected.
Despite their conflicts and in one last attempt to reconcile with the papacy, King Konrad IV named Pope Innocent IV the guardian of his son, who became King Konrad II of Sicily (Konrad III of Jerusalem and Konrad IV of Swabia), also known as Konradin. King Konrad IV's legitmized half-brother, Prince Manfred of Taranto, was named King Konrad II's regent in Sicily. However, Innocent IV continued to carry out his anti-Hohenstaufen campaign at the expense of his young ward. The Pope excommunicated Prince Manfred in 1254 when he refused to give the Kingdom of Sicily to the Pope.
 King Konrad IV of Germany |
 King Manfred of Sicily |
 King Konrad II of Sicily |
After Pope Innocent IV's death at the end of 1254, his successor, Pope Alexander IV, immediately excommunicated Prince Manfred again for the same reason. Prince Manfred and the Sicilian nobility feared that Pope Alexander IV would force his young ward, King Konrad II, to surrender the Kingdom of Sicily to the Papacy. In 1258, Prince Manfred declared himself King Manfred of Sicily in order to safeguard the title. In response, Pope Alexander IV excommunicated Manfred for the third time.
Despite having no power to do so, Pope Alexander IV's successor, Pope Urban IV, sold the Kingdom of Sicily to Charles d'Anjou, Count of Anjou and Maine, Count of Provence through his wife, and a brother of the King of France, and promised to prevent King Konrad II's election as King of Germany. After Pope Urban IV's death shortly thereafter, his successor, Pope Clement IV, kept his predecessor's promises and continued the papal war on the Hohenstaufen, King Manfred, and the young King Konrad II.
In 1266, with the Pope's support, Charles d'Anjou defeated and killed King Manfred at the Battle of Benevento, usurping King Konrad II's titles. Charles' rule was particularly harsh. In response, Italians and Sicilians throughout the peninsula began to rise up against Charles and in favor of King Konrad II. Despite many early successes and the support of Spain, the support of France and the Pope eventually enabled Charles to defeat and capture King Konrad II.
On 29 October 1268, with the support of Clement IV, Charles executed King Konrad II (16 years of age) and his 18-year-old friend, Margrave Friedrich I of Baden (House of Zähringen). In what was described at the time as divine punishment, Clement IV died exactly one month later on 29 November 1268 at the age of 78. King Konrad II's death marked the end of the main line of the House von Hohenstaufen and the loss of their rightful lands and political power. The papal struggles to garner more power in Italy and Sicily continued for many more centuries, including against Charles d'Anjou. Charles died in Napoli on 7 January 1285 at 58 years old, having been forced into exile from Sicily by his subjects who, tired of his tyranny, declared King Manfred's son-in-law, Peter III of Aragon, their king.
 Pope Urban IV |
 Charles d'Anjou |
 Pope Clement IV |
Duke of Hohenstaufen
The title "Duke of Hohenstaufen" (Herzog von Hohenstaufen) was first held by Friedrich I von Hohenstaufen in the year 1079. This ducal title and rank were and are maintained without regard to territory or sovereignty. Thus, the rank and style were and continue to be carried and inherited by all members of the House von Hohenstaufen and its cadet branches and were not exclusive to those who ruled the ancestral territorial possessions of the House von Hohenstaufen nor lost upon the extinction of those lines or titles.