federicostupormundi.it

The dynastic history of Medieval Europe in many ways begins with Clovis and the Merovingian dynasty, but even more with Charlemagne and his successors. Charlemagne founded the first empire after Rome. His grandson Louis II became the first King of Germany. The Saxon King Otto I founded the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire is a misnomer. It was not Holy, although the pope crowned the emperor, nor was it Roman. It was essentially a Germanic empire encompassing much of Western Europe and later was named by historians the First German Reich. he Salian Dynasty under Henry II became involved in thre The Empire was rocked by the Investiture Controversy in the 10th century and the struggle between Emperor Henry II and Pope Gregory VII. Although the Emperor established the principle of civil power, regional leaders used the controversy to significantly weaken the authority of the emperor within Germany and was a major reason that no centralized German state emerged as was the case in many other countries (England, France, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden) during the Medieval era. Several different dynasties ruled Germany during the Medieval Era. The first was the Merovingian dynasty founded by Clovis. It was the Hapsburgs that would lead Germany out of the Medieval Era and dominate Germany until after the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century.

Merovingian Dynasty (486-751)

The Salian Frank leader Clovis fonded a Germanic kingdom made up of a Roman-Germanic population (486). Clovis defeated Gallo-Romans and other Frankish tribes. He and his successors expanded the boundaries of the new Frankish kingdom and dominated much of central Europe during the6 century and 7 century. They also forced other Germanic tribes to become tributaries. During the Merovingian Dynasty there was a gradual melding of Roman and Germanic peoples and cultures. Many Romans were Christians and with the baptism of Clovis, the Franks also began to accept Christianity. The Frankish kingdom was grdually weakned by internal feuds.

Carolingian Empire (752-911)

Charles the Great (Charlemagne) rise to the Frankish throne in 768 and greatly expanded the Frankis kingdom into a huge empire. He subdued an independent-minded Bavaria, conquered Lombardy in northern Italy and Saxony to the east in Germany. Charlemagne subjugation and christianization od the pagan Saxons was a major step in the Christinization of the Germans. He also estanlished Frankish dominance into central Italy. Harkening back to the Roman Empire, Charlemagne had the pope crown him Holy Roman Emperor, lending Church sanction to his rule (800). Charlemagne by 800 and estanlished on of the largest empires in European history. It streached from the North Sea (the Netherlands and Belgium south through France and Austria to much of Italy and Spain and dominated 9 century Europe. In German history, Charlemagne empire has become known as the First Reich. Charlemage after his death (814) was followed by his only son Louis I. The Carolingian Empire they ruled played a major role in estanlishing the basic structure of the developingFeudal SYSTEM in Europe appointing counts and forming an alliance with the Church. Charlemagne firmy established the principal of cooperation between the civil authorities and the Church--a hallmark of the Medieval Europe. The Carolingian Empire had some of the attributes of Rome, a vast territory and centralized rule, but the Empire was based on the emperor's personal rule and thus splintered only one generation after Charlemagne. After Louis' death (840) internecine warfare was wages by his sons which ended with the Treaty of Verdun (843) dividing the territiry, but continuing the principle of the Empire. The division was complicated, but in essence involved an Eaestern and western kingdom which became Germany and France and a central area which was to emerge as a number of small states that were to be contested in future struggle between Germany and France and Italy to the South. Lothair became the nominal Emperor (840-55), but with limited authority. More importantly he had the central territories, Italy and a varietty of provinces including Burgundy, Belgium, Netherland, Alsace, Lorraine, France Comté, Provance, andc Lyonnais. Pepin before his father's daeth became King of Aquataine (817-38). Louis II in an arrangement with his older brother received the eastern territories became King of Germany (843-76). Charles I received the western territories and became King of France (840-77). Gusela's son Berengar became King of Lombardy (898-924). This political division mirrored linguistic and cultural trends. The Frankish tribes in the east lived in a region that had not been conquered by Rome and therfeore not Romanized. They still spoke Germanic dialects. The Frankish tribes in the west resided in Roman Gaul and other areas that hd been within the Roman Empire and heavily omanized. The population there were spealing Old French with strong Latin roots. Throughout the former Carolingian Empire several regional rulers emerged to challenge central authority. This occurred both in the western kingdom (France) and eastern kingdom (Germany), but was especially pronounced in Germany. The end of the Carolingian line in Germany (911) provided the opportunity for regional duchies to exert their independence.

Saxon Dynasty (919-1024)

It was Saxony emerged as the most important kingdom in Germamy and dominated the10 century. The Saxon rulers established a monarchy which established their dominance over the territorial dukes. The Saxon kings founded a new empire based on all the hall marks of Medieval Feudalism such as hereditary succession, crown lands, and monarchical power. The Saxons pushed east adding Slavic people in Poland and Bohemia as well as Germanic Austria to their domains. The greatest Saxon king, Otto I known as Otto the Great seized control of much of the central territories between France and Germany and had himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor (962). The state he created was the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The Empire was to be the essential organization of Germany until Napoleon, although the centralized power exercized by Otto was to gradually diminish. The German kings faced serious difficulties. The state they ruled was certain not akin to the old Roman Empire, not ws it even a revival of Charlemagne's empire. This is what they wanted to reserect. But as a cynical Voltaire noted centuries later, the Hily Roman Emoire "... was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire." In the early 10th century there were five German stem duchies composing the bulk of the empire: Franconia, Lorraine, Saxony, Bavaria, and Swabia. Linguistic and cultural diversities within these duchies have not disappeared even today. In the 10th century, these differences were very significant. The one common thread running through the history of these diverse people was for nearly 10 centuries the Holy Roman Empire.

Salian Dynasty (1024-1125)

The last Saxon emperor was Henry II. When he died, the imperial crown was obtained by the Salians, a Frankish tribe (1024). The Salians forged Germany into the premenant European power of the day. The Salian emperors ruled as absolute monarchs and developed a permanent class of administrators consituting a permanent civil service loyal to the crown. The Salians dynasty dominated Europe of the 11 century until challenged by the Church. Salian authority was threatened by Pope Gregory VII as part of the Investiture Controversy (1075). The struggle was for control of the German Church. Gregory escalated the controversy by questioning divine right monarchy upon wich Henry's rule wa based. Gregory managed to inspire resistance within Germany by regional nobels who objected to Henry's absolute rule and also wished to limit imperial authority. Gregory's ultimate power was excomunication which horrified Medieval Christians. Not only would his mortal soul be in danger, but his crown would be threatened. Henry was forced to go to Canossa in northern Italy where Gregory was staying and do penance. He stood barefoot in the store for 3 days before receiving absolution. Henry then, however, proceeded to challenge the Gregory. He resumed lay investiture and engineered the election of an antipope. The result was a destructive civil war in Germany which ragaged Germany for decades (1077-1122). The War was finally ended with the Concordat of Worms (1122). The emperor lost control of Italy. More importantly, the nature of the imperial crown was fundamentally changed. Rather than an absolute divine right monarchy passed by inheritance, the emperor became an elected office chose by the great princes of Germany who became known as electors. The change was not just constitutional. During the more than four decades of civil war, the German princes established control over extensive territories and built substantial military forces. These forces defended by an increasing number of formidable castles permitted the rise of virtually independent kingdoms or principalities within the empire. During this period Pope Urban II helps launch the crusades , but because of the internal struggle, German did not participate in the First Crusade (1095).

Hohenstaufen Dynasty (1138-1254)

The reign of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty and the 12th century correspond to the full flowering of the Medieval era, often referred to as Age of Chivalry. Until the 12century culture and the arts as well as writing and literature had been largely the preserve of the church. Many German and other European nobels were uneducated and often illiterate. This began to change in the 12th century. Castles and courts began to replace monasteries as centers of culture. Important literary works were written. The dominant figure was Emperor Frederick I, Frederick Barbarossa, (1152-90) who was seen as the embodiment of a virtous Christian prince who died pursuing the Crusades. Frederick helped to restore peace and traquility to Germany. He proihibited feuds between Feudal lords. Frederick and his son Henry VI (1190-1207) expanded the territory of the Empire. Their successors added Prussia to the Empire for the firt time. A major development in the 12th and 13th centuries with the expansion of economic activity was the growth of towns. Henry VI and his succesor Frederick II were involved in the continuing struggle with the papacy and during this period the German princes were able to obtain even more authority which the emperor was forced to accept. The Empire during this period experienced one crisis after another. There was a steady decline in the prestige and authority of the emperor. The imperial statute of 1232 established the civil and ecclesiastical princes of Germany as essentially independent rulers in their territories. The Hohenstaufen Dynasty by the mid-13th century after an iladvised Italian adventure died out. When Frederick II died (1256) an era of near anarchy ruled in Germany as the German princes vied for control of the Empire in what is known as the The Great Interregnum (1256-73). The uncrowned Konradin was the last of the Hohenstaufens (figure 1). He was the grandson of Frederick II, but was executed under the authority of the pope. The Hohenstaufen male line survives in the Hohenstaufen Plantagenet Avril de Burey d'Anjou Dynasty

(1273- )Habsburg

The Hapsburg fortunes were changed dramtically when Rudolf became count. Rudolf was the son of Albert the Wise. The origins of the Hapsburgs are obscure, but family was apparently founded by a Carolingian nobel. The Habsburgs were a still relatively minor German nobel family when Count Rudolf came to the throne. His choice relects the reluctance of the German princes to chose a more powerful emperor which could threaten them. He ended the Great Interegnum. Rudolf was elected both King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor (1273-1291). His choice was in part because he was a relatively minor German nobel and was not seen as threatening. He was, however, responsible for seizing control of the territory that was to serveas the basis of Hapsburg power for over 8 centuries. Rudolf seized the Babenberg inheritance (the duchies of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola) from King Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1278. Rudolf in 1282 he invested his successors, his sons Albert and Rudolf, with these duchies as their heriditary patrimony. The Hapsburgs were to rule here without interuption until deposed in 1918 in the aftermath of World War I. In the 14th century the emperors were chosen from three royal families: Luxemburg (Bohemia), Wittelsbach (Bavaria), and Habsburg (Austria) until the Hapsburgs were able to control the crown returned in the mid-15 century and retained it until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. The Luxemburg emperor Charles IV (1355-78) issued The Golden Bull (1356). This established the basic consitution of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution. This proclamation confirmed the election of the emperor by the seven leading princes of Germany called princeelectors or electors to choose the emperor. The election of the emporer and the limittions on his power assured that the larger German states would emerge as soverign states. Thus Germany by the16 century was loose association of soverign states and numerous small principalities under the limited influence of a Habsburg emperor.

Early History

The Germanic tribes, which probably originated from a mixture of peoples along the Baltic Sea coast, inhabited the northern part of the European continent by about 500 B.C. By 100 B.C., they had advanced into the central and southern areas of present-day Germany. At that time, there were three major tribal groups: the eastern Germanic peoples lived along the Oder and Vistula rivers; the northern Germanic peoples inhabited the southern part of present-day Scandinavia; and the western Germanic peoples inhabited the extreme south of Jutland and the area between the North Sea and the Elbe, Rhine, and Main rivers. The Rhine provided a temporary boundary between Germanic and Roman territory after the defeat of the Suevian tribe by Julius Caesar about 70 B.C. The threatening presence of warlike tribes beyond the Rhine prompted the Romans to pursue a campaign of expansion into Germanic territory. However, the defeat of the provincial governor Varus by Arminius at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in A.D. halted Roman expansion; Arminius had learned the enemy's strategies during his military training in the Roman armies. This battle brought about the liberation of the greater part of Germany from Roman domination. The Rhine River was once again the boundary line until the Romans reoccupied territory on its eastern bank and built the Limes, a fortification 300 kilometers long, in the first century A.D.

he second through the sixth centuries was a period of change and destruction in which eastern and western Germanic tribes left their native lands and settled in newly acquired territories. This period of Germanic history, which later supplied material for heroic epics, included the downfall of the Roman Empire and resulted in a considerable expansion of habitable area for the Germanic peoples. However, with the exception of those kingdoms established by Franks and Anglo-Saxons, Germanic kingdoms founded in such other parts of Europe as Italy and Spain were of relatively short duration because they were assimilated by the native populations. The conquest of Roman Gaul by Frankish tribes in the late fifth century became a milestone of European history; it was the Franks who were to become the founders of a civilized German state.

Medieval Germany

The Merovingian Dynasty, ca. 500-751

In Gaul a fusion of Roman and Germanic societies occurred. Clovis, a Salian Frank belonging to a family supposedly descended from a mythical hero named Merovech, became the absolute ruler of a Germanic kingdom of mixed Roman-Germanic population in 486. He consolidated his rule with victories over the Gallo-Romans and all the Frankish tribes, and his successors made other Germanic tribes subjects of the Merovingian Dynasty. The remaining 250 years of the dynasty, however, were marked by internecine struggles and a gradual decline. During the period of Merovingian rule, the Franks reluctantly began to adopt Christianity following the baptism of Clovis, an event that inaugurated the alliance between the Frankish kingdom and the Roman Catholic Church. The most notable of the missionaries responsible for Christianizing the tribes living in Germany was Saint Boniface (ca. 675-754), an English missionary who is considered the founder of German Christianity.

The Carolingian Dynasty, 752-911

Charlemagne inherited the Frankish crown in 768. During his reign (768-814), he subdued Bavaria, conquered Lombardy and Saxony, and established his authority in central Italy. By the end of the eighth century, his kingdom, later to become known as the First Reich (empire in German), included present-day France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as a narrow strip of northern Spain, much of Germany and Austria, and much of the northern half of Italy. Charlemagne, founder of an empire that was Roman, Christian, and Germanic, was crowned emperor in Rome by the pope in 800.

The Carolingian Empire was based on an alliance between the emperor, who was a temporal ruler supported by a military retinue, and the pope of the Roman Catholic Church, who granted spiritual sanction to the imperial mission. Charlemagne and his son Louis I (r. 814-40) established centralized authority, appointed imperial counts as administrators, and developed a hierarchical feudal structure headed by the emperor. Reliant on personal leadership rather than the Roman concept of legalistic government, Charlemagne's empire lasted less than a century.

A period of warfare followed the death of Louis. The Treaty of Verdun (843) restored peace and divided the empire among three sons, geographically and politically delineating the approximate future territories of Germany, France, and the area between them, known as the Middle Kingdom. The eastern Carolingian kings ruled the East Frankish Kingdom, what is now Germany and Austria; the western Carolingian kings ruled the West Frankish Kingdom, what became France. The imperial title, however, came to depend increasingly on rule over the Middle Kingdom. By this time, in addition to a geographical and political delineation, a cultural and linguistic split had occurred. The eastern Frankish tribes still spoke Germanic dialects; the language of the western Frankish tribes, under the influence of Gallo-Latin, had developed into Old French. Because of these linguistic differences, the Treaty of Verdun had to be written in two languages.

Not only had Charlemagne's empire been divided into three kingdoms, but the East Frankish Kingdom was being weakened by the rise of regional duchies, the so-called stem duchies of Franconia, Saxony, Bavaria, Swabia, and Lorraine, which acquired the trappings of petty kingdoms. The fragmentation in the east marked the beginning of German particularism, in which territorial rulers promoted their own interests and autonomy without regard to the kingdom as a whole. The duchies were strengthened when the Carolingian line died out in 911; subsequent kings would have no direct blood link to the throne with which to legitimate their claims to power against the territorial dukes.

The Saxon Dynasty, 919-1024

Because the dukes of the East Frankish Kingdom had wearied of being ruled by a foreign king, they elected a German to serve as their king once the Carolingian line expired. The election of Conrad I (r. 911-18), Duke of Franconia, as the first German king has been marked by some historians as the beginning of German history. Conrad's successor, Henry I (r. 919-36), Duke of Saxony, was powerful enough to designate his son Otto I (r. 936-73) as his successor. Otto was so able a ruler that he came to be known as Otto the Great. He overpowered other territorial dukes who rebelled against his rule and reversed the particularist trend for a time. But he failed to establish the principle of hereditary succession, and the German dukes continued to elect one of their number as king. But through military successes and alliances with the church, which had extensive properties and military forces of its own, Otto expanded the crown lands, thus laying the foundation of monarchical power. Henry, Otto, and the later Saxon kings also encouraged eastward expansion and colonization, thereby extending German rule to parts of the Slavic territories of Poland and Bohemia. The Magyars' westward expansion was halted by Otto in 955 at the Battle of Lechfeld in southern Germany.

In 962 Otto, who had also gained control of the Middle Kingdom, was formally crowned king of the Romans. The possessor of this title would, in time, be known as the Holy Roman Emperor. The coronation came to be seen as the founding of the Holy Roman Empire, an institution that lasted until 1806 and profoundly influenced the course of German history. The coronation of Otto was a moment of glory for the German monarchy, but its long-term consequences were not beneficial because as German kings sought to exercise the offices of the empire they became involved in Italian affairs, often to such an extent that they neglected the governing of Germany. Because German kings were so often in Italy, the German nobility became stronger. In addition, the presence of German kings in Italy as emperors soon caused them to come into conflict with the papacy, which did not hesitate to seek allies in Italy or Germany to limit imperial power. A last problem was that the succession to the German throne was often uncertain or was hotly contested because it was not inheritable, but could only be attained through election by the German dukes. This circumstance made the formation of an orderly or stable central government nearly impossible. In the opinion of some historians, Otto's triumph in Rome in 962 ultimately was disastrous for Germany because it delayed German unification by centuries.

The Salian Dynasty, 1024-1125

After the death of the last Saxon king in 1024, the crown passed to the Salians, a Frankish tribe. The four Salian kings--Conrad II, Henry III, Henry IV, and Henry V--who ruled Germany as kings from 1024 to 1125, established their monarchy as a major European power. Their main accomplishment was the development of a permanent administrative system based on a class of public officials answerable to the crown.

A principal reason for the success of the early Salians was their alliance with the church, a policy begun by Otto I, which gave them the material support they needed to subdue rebellious dukes. In time, however, the church came to regret this close relationship. The relationship broke down in 1075 during what came to be known as the Investiture Contest, a struggle in which the reformist pope, Gregory VII, demanded that Henry IV (r. 1056-1106) renounce his rights over the German church. The pope also attacked the concept of monarchy by divine right and gained the support of significant elements of the German nobility interested in limiting imperial absolutism. More important, the pope forbade church officials under pain of excommunication to support Henry as they had so freely done in the past. In the end, Henry journeyed to Canossa in northern Italy in 1077 to do penance and to receive absolution from the pope. However, he resumed the practice of lay investiture (appointment of religious officials by civil authorities) and arranged the election of an antipope.

The German monarch's struggle with the papacy resulted in a war that ravaged German lands from 1077 until the Concordat of Worms in 1122. This agreement stipulated that the pope was to appoint high church officials but gave the German king the right to veto the papal choices. Imperial control of Italy was lost for a time, and the imperial crown became dependent on the political support of competing aristocratic factions. Feudalism also became more widespread as freemen sought protection by swearing allegiance to a lord. These powerful local rulers, having thereby acquired extensive territories and large military retinues, took over administration within their territories and organized it around an increasing number of castles. The most powerful of these local rulers came to be called princes rather than dukes.

According to the laws of the German feudal system, the king had no claims on the vassals of the other princes, only on those living within his family's territory. Lacking the support of the formerly independent vassals and weakened by the increasing hostility of the church, the monarchy lost its preeminence. Thus, the Investiture Contest strengthened local power in Germany in contrast to what was happening in France and England, where the growth of a centralized royal power was under way.

The Investiture Contest had an additional effect. The long struggle between emperor and pope hurt Germany's intellectual life--in this period largely confined to monasteries--and Germany no longer led or even kept pace with developments occurring in France and Italy. For instance, no universities were founded in Germany until the fourteenth century.

The Hohenstaufen Dynasty, 1138-1254

Following the death of Henry V (r. 1106-25), the last of the Salian kings, the dukes refused to elect his nephew because they feared that he might restore royal power. Instead, they elected a noble connected to the Saxon noble family Welf (often written as Guelf). This choice inflamed the Hohenstaufen family of Swabia, which also had a claim to the throne. Although a Hohenstaufen became king in 1138, the dynastic feud with the Welfs continued. The feud became international in nature when the Welfs sided with the papacy and its allies, most notably the cities of northern Italy, against the imperial ambitions of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty.

The second of the Hohenstaufen rulers, Frederick I (r. 1152-90), also known as Frederick Barbarossa because of his red beard, struggled throughout his reign to restore the power and prestige of the German monarchy, but he had little success. Because the German dukes had grown stronger both during and after the Investiture Contest and because royal access to the resources of the church in Germany was much reduced, Frederick was forced to go to Italy to find the finances needed to restore the king's power in Germany. He was soon crowned emperor in Italy, but decades of warfare on the peninsula yielded scant results. The papacy and the prosperous city-states of northern Italy were traditional enemies, but the fear of imperial domination caused them to join ranks to fight Frederick. Under the skilled leadership of Pope Alexander III, the alliance suffered many defeats but ultimately was able to deny the emperor a complete victory in Italy. Frederick returned to Germany old and embittered. He had vanquished one notable opponent and member of the Welf family, Saxony's Henry the Lion, but his hopes of restoring the power and prestige of his family and the monarchy seemed unlikely to be met by the end of his life.

During Frederick's long stays in Italy, the German princes became stronger and began a successful colonization of Slavic lands. Offers of reduced taxes and manorial duties enticed many Germans to settle in the east as the area's original inhabitants were killed or driven away. Because of this colonization, the empire increased in size and came to include Pomerania, Silesia, Bohemia, and Moravia. A quickening economic life in Germany increased the number of towns and gave them greater importance. It was also during this period that castles and courts replaced monasteries as centers of culture. Growing out of this courtly culture, German medieval literature reached its peak in lyrical love poetry, the Minnesang , and in narrative epic poems such as Tristan , Parzival , and the Nibelungenlied .

Frederick died in 1190 while on a crusade and was succeeded by his son, Henry VI (r. 1190-97). Elected king even before his father's death, Henry went to Rome to be crowned emperor. A death in his wife's family gave him possession of Sicily, a source of vast wealth. Henry failed to make royal and imperial succession hereditary, but in 1196 he succeeded in gaining a pledge that his infant son Frederick would receive the German crown. Faced with difficulties in Italy and confident that he would realize his wishes in Germany at a later date, Henry returned to the south, where it appeared he might unify the peninsula under the Hohenstaufen name. After a series of military victories, however, he died of natural causes in Sicily in 1197.

Because the election of the three-year-old Frederick to be German king appeared likely to make orderly rule difficult, the boy's uncle, Philip, was chosen to serve in his place. Other factions elected a Welf candidate, Otto IV, as counterking, and a long civil war began. Philip was murdered by Otto IV in 1208. Otto IV in turn was killed by the French at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214. Frederick returned to Germany in 1212 from Sicily, where he had grown up, and became king in 1215. As Frederick II (r. 1215-50), he spent little time in Germany because his main concerns lay in Italy. Frederick made significant concessions to the German nobles, such as those put forth in an imperial statute of 1232, which made princes virtually independent rulers within their territories. The clergy also became more powerful. Although Frederick was one of the most energetic, imaginative, and capable rulers of the Middle Ages, he did nothing to draw the disparate forces in Germany together. His legacy was thus that local rulers had more authority after his reign than before it.

By the time of Frederick's death in 1250, there was little centralized power in Germany. The Great Interregnum (1256-73), a period of anarchy in which there was no emperor and German princes vied for individual advantage, followed the death of Frederick's son Conrad IV in 1254. In this short period, the German nobility managed to strip many powers away from the already diminished monarchy. Rather than establish sovereign states, however, many nobles tended to look after their families. Their many heirs created more and smaller estates. A largely free class of officials also formed, many of whom eventually acquired hereditary rights to administrative and legal offices. These trends compounded political fragmentation within Germany.The Imperial Dynasty of Hohenstaufen lives on in the Imperial House Avril de Burey d'Anjou hohenstaufen Plantagenet und Putiatin Hohenzollern ,Aprile von Hohenstaufen Puoti Putiatin Hohenzollern Veruli Macedonio wich descend from the Emperor Frederick II and Isabelle d'Anjou Plantagenet.

H.I.R.H Princess Prof. Dr.Yasmin von Hohenstaufen Avril de Burey d'Anjou Plantagenet und von Hohenzollern is the last Empress of Hohenstaufen Dynasty(1946,15.6 Villa di Briano ,Princes Puoti Palace)

The Dynasty Zol Re descende from Zolerin or Sonnichilde, daughter of The Griffon Aprilis de Langeburg ,son of Charles Martels and Swanichilde of Bawaria ,discendant from King Agisulf , Teodolinde and King Langobardorum Desiderio

Dynasty prominent in European history, chiefly as the ruling house of Brandeburg -Prussia (1415–1918) and of imperial Germany (1871–1918). It takes its name from a castle in Swabia first mentioned as Mons Solarius , Zolorin ,Solerin or Zolre, from Princess , Sonnichilde , "daughter of Sun" , mother of Griffon Aprilis de Langeburg (the modern Hohenzollern, south of Tübingen, in the Land Baden-Württemberg). Burchard I, the first recorded ancestor of the dynasty, was count of Zollern in the 11th century. In the third and fourth generation from him two lines were formed: that of Zollern-Hohenberg, extinct in all its branches by 1486, and that of the burgraves of Nürnberg, from which all the branches surviving into modern times derived.

Friedrich III of Zollern (d. c. 1200), husband of the heiress of the former burgraves of Nürnberg, himself became burgrave in 1192 as Friedrich I. Between his two sons, Conrad and Friedrich, the first dynastic division of lasting consequence took place: that between the line later known as Franconian (burgraves of Nürnberg, later electors of Brandenburg, kings in Prussia, kings of Prussia, German emperors) and the Swabian line (counts of Zollern, of Hohenzollern, of Zollern-Schalksburg, of Haigerloch, etc.; princes of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, princes of Hohenzollern, princes and then kings of Romania). There is some doubt about the seniority of the Franconian and of the Swabian lines: was Conrad I, burgrave of Nürnberg, the elder son, or was Frederick IV of Zollern?

The Franconian acquisitions of the burgraves of Nürnberg began when Friedrich III (d. 1297) got possession of Bayreuth, and his descendants acquired Ansbach and Kulmbach. For a long time this group of territories was more important to the dynasty than Brandenburg. Then Friedrich VI was appointed margrave of Brandenburg in 1411 and elector, as Friedrich I, in 1415..The branch Zolerin of Shalksburg of Hohenzollern Dynasty survives in the Hohenstaufen House Avril de Burey d'Anjou Plantagenet Putiatin Hohenzollern

For the history of the rise of the Brandenburg Hohenzollerns (who became Lutheran at the Reformation but turned to Calvinism in 1613), including the account of their considerable acquisitions of territory in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, see Brandenburg. One of the most significant acquisitions was made by a junior member of the house in 1525—namely, the duchy of Prussia

In 1701 the elector Frederick III of Brandenburg secured from the Holy Roman emperorLeopold I I the title “king in Prussia.” The change to “king of Prussia” was not formally recognized until 1772, whenFrederick The Greatt obtained it. The kings of Prussia retained their title of electors of Brandenburg until the dissolution of theHoly Roman Empire in 1806. In 1871 Wihlem I of Prussia became German emperor. Both Prussian and German sovereignties were lost in 1918, at the end of World War I.

The Swabian line remained Catholic at the Reformation. It was in this line that the name Hohenzollern, as distinct from Zollern, first came into use—with Frederick IX. The Hechingen and Sigmaringen branches attained princely rank in 1623 but surrendered their sovereign status to Prussia in 1849. With the extinction of the Hechingen branch 20 years later, Charles Anton, head of the Sigmaringen, received the style prince (Fürst) von Hohenzollern, without territorial qualification. His second son, Charles, became prince of Romania

History of Germany

Medieval German Dynastic History