While Frederick was thus engaged, Pope Adrian, with whom he was latterly on very bad terms, died, on which a schism arose ; some of the cardinals choosing Victor 1V., who was inclined to the imperial interests, and the others Alexander III. Frederick, who considered himself as protector of the Church, called a council at Pavia. Alexander not recognising this council, which consisted of fifty or sixty German and Italian bishops, it proclaimed Victor IV. as the true pope, who was acknowledged by the emperor. Alexander excom municated the emperor and all his partisans; but though he was recognised by the kings of France and England and the estates of Lombardy, Frederick's superiority obliged him to seek refuge in France. When the emperor returned to Germany ho found that dissensions hail broken out between ?everal of the princes, which he however succeeded in appeasing ; and then set out to meet Louis the Young, king of France, at Lannea, near Dijon, where they bad agreed that a council should be held to terminate the schism in the chnrch, by deciding between the two popes, who were to appear, accompanied by the two sovereigns, their protectors. This plan however failed. The death of Pope Victor IV. in 1164 seemed to offer a favourable oppor tunity for reconciliation between Frederick and Alexander ill., which the former was inclined to embrace; but before his order. reached Rome his ambassador there had concerted with the cardinals to proceed to the election, and the choice fell on Guido, bishop of Crema, who took the name of Paschal Ill., and• was acknowledged by the emperor. Frederick crossing the Alps in 3165 marched direct to Rome, where Penh,' was solemnly installed, and then crowned the emperor and his consort Beatrice. The power of the emperor now seemed to be greater than ever, and he hoped entirely to reduce the cities of Lombardy, which had formed a powerful league, being roused by the cruelty and boundless extortion of his officers, oven in those places where Lis authority was acknowledged. Frederick's sans were how ever defeated by a leatilential disorder, which carried off the greater part of IAA army, and it was with no little difficulty that fie returned in 1168 from Ilia third Italian campaign as a fugitive. He remained six years in Germany to settle the very complicated aff.sirs of that country, where the ambition of the several princes led to continual disputes feuds, the most important of which was the conflict between Henry, surnamed the Lion, and many princes, bishops, and counts, who formed a confederacy against him. Henry however defeated them, ?nd soon afterward? married Matilda, daughter of henry II., king of England. In 1169 Frederick prevailed on the princes of the empire to choose his son Henry, who was only five years old, king of the Romans, and he was accordingly crowned at Aix•la•Chapelle. Having appeased the disorders In Saxony, and undertaken a successful expedition against Bolealaua, duke Of Poland, he prepared for the fourth time to cross the Alps. The negociation. in Italy had not lcd to any favourable results. Soon after Frederick's return to Germany, Pope Paschal died, and tho cardinals in the interests of the emperor chose for his successor Calixtus III., a man very inferior in talent to Alexander; but the latter bad so consolidated hie power, that Frederick thought ho should gain more by opposing an anti-pope to him than by attempting a reconciliation. The cities of Lombardy, encouraged by Alexander, extended their confederacy, and bnilt a new city, which they called Alexandria, in honour of him. Only Genoa and Pisa remained true to the emperor, who, to prevent matters from going too far, sent Christian, archbishop of Mentz, with a small army to Italy. The archbishop was equally distinguished as a prelate, a statesman, and a general ; but be was not able to effect much towards the establishment of peace. The emperor himself having passed Mount Cenis, laid siege to Alexandria, and the united Lombard army came to its relief. Nogociations were however opened, and a truce concluded. The emperor was so cure of the result that he sent part of the army back to Germany, which he soon had reason to repent. The Lombards grew bolder, and Henry the Lion, notwithstanding all the entreaties of tho emperor, refused to proceed. A battle soon took place near Legnano, in which the emperor was defeated by the Lombards with great loss, and bo him self being overpowered and supposed to be killed, his troops fled. A few days afterwards however, to the unspeakable joy of the army, he appeared again at Pavia, where the empress had already put on mourning.
This loss induced Frederick to think of peace. Ho treated first with Alexander, whom he acknowledged as pope, and who relieved him from the ban of excommunication. He then, by the mediation of Alexander, concluded a treaty, or rather a truce, for six years, with the cities of Lombardy, on very advantageous terms, for he in fact lost nothing essential, except that he gave up the cause of Calixtus, who obtained a rich abbey. On his return from Italy, where he passed the winter, he went to Burgundy, called a diet at Arles, and had him self and his consort crowned king and queen of Burgundy ; whence he returned to Germany much sooner and more powerful than his enemies expected. The peace of the empire being established, the
princes and bishops who had sided with Alexander becime reconciled to the emperor; but new troubles arose in Saxony. Henry the Liou formed great plans to extend his power, but was in the end forced to sue for peace. At Erfurt he appeared before the emperor and the German princes, to whom Frederick had made a promise to decide nothing respecting Henry without their approbation. The sentence was that he should be relieved from the ban of the empire, retain his family dominions of Brunswick and Liineburg, but for the preserva tion of peace, should go into banishment for seven years, which, at the intercession of the pope and the king of England, was reduced to three years. Henry accordingly went with his wife and childrcu to his father-in-law the king of England.
The truce with Lombardy now approached its last year. After several occurrences in Italy, not unfavourable to Frederick, Alex ander III. died in 1181, and was succeeded by Lucius ill., who was much inferior to him in ability and energy. The hostile dispositions of both parties bad greatly abated during the wars; and the emperor having summoned a diet of the empire at Constance, a definitive peace was concluded, honourable and satisfactory to nil parties. A year after the peace of Constance, order and tranquillity everywhere pre vailing, the emperor called a general diet at Mentz, one object of which was to establish his five eons. This diet presented a scene of unrivalled festivity and splendour. The Empress Beatrice, the emperor's five eons, the archbishops, bishops, princes and nobles of Italy and Germany, ambassadors from foreign sovereigns, 90,000 (some say 70,000) knights from all parts of Europe, and countless multitudes of people of all classes were here assembled. historians have recorded those brilliant days, the wouders of which havo been 'lauded down from generation to generation, and songs composed on that occasion are still sung on the banks of the Rhine. A year after this diet Frederick again went to Italy, where he was received with extraordinary honours by the cities of Lombardy, end oven concluded an alliance with Milan. But new disputes arose with the papal ere, through Frederick's refusal to grant to Lucius, and afterwards to his successor Urban 111., the sovereignty of the territory called ' St. l'eter'a Patrimony.' Ile however so increased his power in Italy by the marriage of his son Henry with the daughter and heiress of William, king of Sicily, that the pope did not venture to proceed to extremities. In Germany Frederick had declared Lubeck and Itatiebon imperial cities, and thereby had laid the foundation of a middle estate between the prince, and the emperor, by which the power of the latter was increased, and the class of citizens elevated. Tho separation of Bavaria from Saxony, which Henry the Lion had possessed together, added indeed to the power of the emperor, but embittered the ani mosity between the party of the Guelphs and Ghibelince.
Things were in this state when all Christendom was alarmed by the news of the taking of Jerusalem by the infidels. This event lad to the Third Crusade. On the exhortation of the pope, Frederick took the cross in 3188, with his son Frederick and a number of the prin cipal German nobles. Upon mature deliberation it was resolved that I the army should go by land through Germany, Hungary, and Asia Minor. The army, consisting of 150,000 men, besides many thousand volunteers, commenced its march in the Spring of 1189. Though it met with many difficulties, chiefly from the perfidy of the Greek emperor, who had secretly made a convention with Saladin and the sultan of Iconium to obstruct the passage of the Germans, Frederick penetrated into Asia, gained two victories over the Turks near Iconium, which he took, and was proceeding in his victorious career to Syria, when his eventful life was brought to a close in 1190, in an attempt to swim on horseback across the river Calycadnus, where he was carried away by the current. The statement that he was drowned in the Cydnus while bathing is certainly incorrect.
Frederick was a brave and liberal prince, equally firm in prosperity and adversity. These great qualities veiled the pride and ambition which were unquestionably in part the motives by which ho was actuated. He possessed an extraordinary memory, and a greater extent of knowledge of different kinds than was common in that age. He esteemed learned men, especially historians, and wrote in Latin memoirs of some part of his own life, which he left to Otho, bishop of Freysingen, whom he appointed his historian. He was of noble and majestic appearance, and, notwithstanding his disputes with the popes, a friend to religion. After his death his son Frederick, duke of Suabia, took the chief command, but died of a pestilential disorder at the siege of Acre in 1191 ; and of the mighty army that Frederick led from Germany only a small remnant returned.