![]() ![]() He substantially increased the Holy Roman Empire’s influence over neighboring states, such as Poland and Hungary, and preserved German power in Italy, despite the rising of the Lombard League in rebellion in northern Italy. He was undoubtedly one of the most powerful European rulers of his generation. So with such certainty, why would a myth about Barbarossa being asleep under a German mountain take root?įor Germany, especially during the Middle Ages and early modern period, Barbarossa’s reign was a height of Germany’s strength. There is little doubt that Barbarossa’s body was scattered across modern-day Turkey and Lebanon. The body was improperly preserved, however, and it was split into different parts and buried across the Holy Land, falling short of the goal of burying Barbarossa’s body in Jerusalem, which was, at that point, ruled by the Muslim leader Saladin (r.1174–1193). 1170– 1191), took his father’s corpse, pickled, to the Holy Land. ![]() Following his death, the German crusader army disintegrated, but Barbarossa’s son, Frederick VI of Swabia (r. This makes for a remarkable story, but Barbarossa died roughly 2,000 miles away from Kyffhäuser, drowning in the Saleph River in modern Turkey while leading his army during the Third Crusade. When he finally awakens, however, he will restore greatness to Germany and create prosperity for the land. Supposedly he continues to sleep under Kyffhäuser, his beard growing to an enormous length. According to the legends, ravens circling Kyffhäuser are a sign of Barbarossa’s continuing presence under the hills. According to these legends, Barbarossa actually sleeps deep underneath Kyffhäuser, a range of hills in the central German region of Thuringia, awaiting his country’s time of need. The myth was first recorded in the seventeenth century, but it no doubt stretched further back in time. 1155– 1190) sleeping under a mountain in Germany. The Brothers Grimm, the famous collectors of German myths, recorded the stories about the great Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (r. Frederick Barbarossa: The King Under the Mountain ![]()
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