Frederick Barbarossa

As the municipalities gradually grew larger, popes and emperors argued among themselves about who was more important. The emperors felt they were the heirs of the Roman Empire that had dominated the world and thought that the Church also owed them obedience. The popes believed that taking care of souls was more important than taking care of bodies. Furthermore, the Holy Roman Empire had been granted to Charlemagne by a pope. The church therefore maintained that the Pope was the real master of the Empire and had the right to entrust it only to those gentlemen who enjoyed their trust. And here comes the question of law. In those days it was normal to think that someone had the right to rule over other people, just for being the son of already powerful and famous people.

The struggle between the papacy and the empire became more bitter about twelve hundred years after the birth of Christ. The Emperor realized he was losing ground and sought a land on which to strengthen his power. The choice fell on Italy. Here the fiefdoms were small and loyal to the emperor, there were many municipalities but the emperor underestimated the strength of artisans and traders, in a word of the bourgeoisie. As for the Pope, he did not have an army.

Emperor Frederick, known as Barbarossa, (1122–1190) gathered an army of loyal noble feudal lords and crossed the Alps, in search of our sunny and rich land. He thought of an easy conquest. How could the merchant communes rebel against the best knights in Europe? Municipalities were only interested in remaining free and…