Frederick II, of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was given this nickname: Stupor Mundi– Wonder of the World.
He began his rule in 1198 and lasted until 1220. But in 1198, he was only 3, so he didn’t exactly “rule”…. just yet. German regents ruled in his place. But even at 13, he was considered something of a wunderkind, both intellectually and physically. But despite all his gifts, the Sicilians didn’t really get him. They loved the more stately, paternalistic style, which Frederick was not. Frederick was more the sporty, bombastic style.
In 1212, Frederick was called to Germany to take part in the latest election of an Emperor. His administrators and his wife told him not to go, since he had never set foot on German soil, and Sicily was far from secure. But he understood it would be taken as a snub if he didn’t, so off he went.
He was crowned king of Germany in 1212, King of the Holy Roman Empire in 1215, and then he was acknowledged by the Pope. He then took the Cross, meaning he committed himself to the crusades. This was a weird decision, given that he had grown up with Muslims, respected them, and actually liked their religion. He may have regretted the decision too since he showed little eagerness to fulfill it.
In 1220 he finally got back home to Sicily. While away in Germany, he came to the realization that he was at heart, a man of the south, and felt more at home there. But he was under no illusions about the state of Sicily. Dissatisfaction had increased during his father’s reign, and his own long absence made things even worse.
On his arrival he restored order by recentralizing power. Which essentially meant he had to get tough on the local nobility.
But the greater issue was the Muslims of western Sicily. They had once been an integral part of the kingdom, but after the collapse of the Norman dynasty, they were no longer appreciated or respected. They had been forced out of the larger society, and had entrenched themselves in the western mountains, where they terrorized Christian communities. Frederick made the move to resettle them off the island in Apulia, where they could enjoy freedom of religion and law. This wasn’t just a show move either. Frederick himself built a palace there and often spent time among them. The Muslims weren’t just relocated there and then kept under lock and key.
After 1221, Frederick came under pressure by the Pope to initiate another crusade, something which he was loath to do. He was committed to leave in 1227, and the Pope threatened that any delay would result in excommunication. An outbreak of either typhoid or cholera hit however and Frederick was forced to return. Pope Gregory accused him of reneging on his vows and excommunicated him. But the Pope had overplayed his hand. Excommunicates couldn’t lead crusades. Frederick wrote and explained the situation, and the Pope relented.
The crusade back on, the armies arrived in the Holy Land where Frederick sent word to Saladin’s heirs in Jerusalem, promising to leave quickly if they would simply grant him a title. By this time, Jerusalem was itself relatively unimportant, so the Muslims concluded it would be a face-saving effort all around and accepted a light partition of the city and handed out some empty titles, all without losing a drop of blood on either side. This should have been seen as a win-win, but….the Pope was none too pleased about the whole show. It almost looked like this Frederick guy wasn’t trying hard enough…
Frederick returned to his kingdom and found it in a state of helpless confusion. While away, his old buddy the Pope had sought to undercut him both at home and in Germany. But even as Frederick set foot back in the kingdom, things began to turn around. He was able to drive out the Pope’s army, but beyond that, the entire thing of the Pope going to war didn’t sit well. Even solid Pope-backing Catholics found it alarming that the current pope would declare a “crusade” against a Christian king. While the Papacy still harbored a grudge and sought to undermine Frederick, Frederick had proven that he could not be removed so easily.
Frederick died, years later of dysentery in 1250. With Frederick, the rule of Sicily passed from Norman to German rule, but while Frederick was German by blood, he truly was more of a Sicilian. Unfortunately for Sicily, from this point on, their affairs would be determined by men who were not Sicilian. Their history would be a history of decisions made in foreign lands by foreign rulers.