Famous Men of the Middle Ages · Ch. XX · Unit 7: The Crusades
27. Frederick Barbarossa
Goal: Your child can tell how Frederick Red-beard ruled Germany, how he died on the Third Crusade, and the legend of the sleeping emperor.
You'll need
- The book, open to this chapter
- A map of Europe and the Mediterranean (a free online map or a globe)
- Paper and colored pencils
- Your timeline strip (see the tips at the top)
What's in the book
Chapter XX (1152-1190): Frederick, called Barbarossa or Red-beard, besieges rebellious Milan twice, but the Lombard cities unite against him. His cousin Henry the Lion refuses to help even when Frederick kneels to him, and Frederick is defeated; Henry loses his lands. Frederick punishes quarreling nobles by making them carry dogs. When Saladin takes Jerusalem in 1187, Frederick leads 150,000 Crusaders, wins two battles, and drowns crossing a river in Asia Minor. Germans long believed he was only asleep in a mountain cave.
The lesson, step by step
Set the scene
Find Germany, then cross the Alps to Milan and Lombardy in northern Italy. Then find Asia Minor (Turkey today), where Frederick died.
Read the chapter
Read Chapter XX aloud. It begins:
Frederick I was one of the most famous of German emperors.
Tell it back
Prompts:
- Why did Frederick fight the cities of Lombardy?
- Who refused to help him, and what happened to that man?
- What strange punishment did he give the quarreling nobles?
- How did Barbarossa die?
The legend
SayMany Germans could not believe he was dead. The story grew that he sat asleep in a cave in the mountains, his white beard grown down to the ground, waiting until the ravens stop flying round the mountain. Then he would wake and make Germany great again. Similar stories are told about King Arthur.
Talk it over
Ask:
- Frederick knelt to ask Henry the Lion for help. Was that a weak thing for an emperor to do, or a strong one?
- Why do people make up stories that a loved leader is only sleeping?
Remember it
Read this:
He had a long red beard and so the people called him Barbarossa, or Red-beard.
Add "1187 Saladin takes Jerusalem" and "1190 Barbarossa drowns" to the timeline. Say: Saladin will come back in the next chapter.
Afterwards
Ask your child to tell the legend of the sleeping emperor.
Tip
Barba is Latin and Italian for beard (barber comes from it) and rossa means red. Children enjoy taking the name apart.
Answers to the book's problems
Milan revolted against him, and when he punished it the Lombard cities joined in a league and defied him. His cousin Henry the Lion; the nobles took everything from him except the lands he had inherited from his father. Each noble, with ten of his counts and barons, had to carry dogs on his shoulders from one county to another. He plunged into a river on horseback to cross faster, and his heavy armor dragged him down.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.