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[[File: Frederick II and eagle.jpg |thumbnail|left|250px|Contemporary drawing of Frederick II]]
Frederick II, (26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) Holy Roman Emperor and king King of Sicily was one of the most remarkable monarchs of the Middle Ages and indeed in the entire history of Europe. He was the ruler of all Germany and all of Southern Italy. He was one of the most powerful men in the Middle ages , and he attempted to change the political system of Medieval Europe. He had many ambitious political plans but they all failed. In many ways, Frederick II can be considered a remarkable failure, but he had a decisive influence on the development of the Renaissance.
Frederick II can be viewed as the first ‘Renaissance Prince.’’ He was a remarkable character and due to his many accomplishments he was commonly known as ‘Stupor Mundi’’ or the ‘Wonder of the World.’’<ref> Kantorowicz, Ernst. <i>Frederick the Second, 1194–1250</i> (London, Longman, 1931), p. 167</ref> The big questions is what influence did Frederick II on the Italian Renaissance and what did he accomplish through his cultural patronage? Ultimately, his secular and rational outlook helped shape the Renaissance.
====Background====
In 1196, Henry VI Hohenstaufen secured the election of his infant son as Holy Roman Emperor. However, the German nobles rebelled and Frederick was raised in Sicily. His mother secured for him the Crown of Sicily, a large kingdom which that included Sicily and all Southern Italy. Frederick was king in name and it was only when he gained manhood that he really ruled his kingdom. After the defeat of his rival in France, Frederick was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor.<ref>Abulafia, David. Frederick II. <i>A Medieval Emperor</i> (Penguin Press, London, 1988), p. 78</ref> However, he resided in Sicily and he proved to be a shrewd and capable ruler. He managed to pacify the island and he was a tolerant ruler. He was greatly interested in other cultures and treated the Christian, Jewish and Muslim inhabitants of his kingdom equally. Soon his relationship with the Pope deteriorated as he broke a promise to separate southern Italy from his kingdom in Sicily.
Frederick ruled Germany through a regent and he ruled all his many lands from Palermo, Sicily<ref> Abulafia, p. 113</ref>. He created a modern state in his kingdom and transported rebellious Muslim inhabitants to the mainland. It was expected that as the most powerful monarchs in Christendom that he would go on a crusade and attempt to reclaim the Holy Land for the Christians. When he was unable to go on Crusade , he was excommunicated by the Pope. At this time he began a conflict with the Northern Italian City States, that was to last until his death. Still excommunicated the Emperor went on crusade and entered into negotiations with the Fatimid Sultan and he secured a diplomatic coup. He was able to gain Jerusalem and Bethlehem through diplomacy and he later crowned himself King of Jerusalem.<ref> Smith, Thomas W. "Between two kings: Pope Honorius III and the seizure of the Kingdom of Jerusalem by Frederick II in 1225." <i>Journal of Medieval History 41 #1</i> (2015): 41-59</ref>
Soon he was involved in a brutal war with the League of Italian States (The Lombard League). Some cities sided with the Emperor and a vicious war raged through Italy until Frederick’s death. Frederick sought to make himself the undisputed master of Italy and also to subjugate the Pope to his will. At the same time, he fought a civil war in his German lands.<ref>Abulafia, p. 117</ref> The wars drained Fredericks resources and he was forced to compromise. He agreed to make concessions to the German nobles which greatly reduced the power of the Emperor in Germany. Frederick’s son rose in revolt against this settlement by he was soon defeated. In 1236 Frederick, waged war against the Lombard cities, with some success and he was on the verge of victory the Pope intervened. Pope Gregory IX did not want an Italy dominated by Frederick. The Emperor responded by seizing most of the Papal States.
Perhaps Frederick’s greatest contribution to the development of the Renaissance was in literature and the Italian Language. Frederick could speak six languages and he loved poetry. He was himself a poet and appreciated the company of poets. At his court, a group of poets known as the Sicilian School flourished. This group of poets possibly influenced by Arabic and Provencal examples, created new styles and ways of expressing their themes.<ref>G. Marrone, P. Puppa, and L. Somigli, (eds). <i>Encyclopaedia of Italian literary studies, Volume I</i> (Longman, UK, 2007), p782</ref> The poets of the Sicilian Schools extolled a new kind of poetry based on their own personal experiences and above all, they helped to perfect the love lyric. Their themes were very different from traditional poetry and the Sicilian School was pivotal in the shift away from epic and marital poetry to lyric poetry.
The School was also very important in the development of the sonnet, a form that was to be used by many of the greatest poets of the Renaissance in Italy and indeed, elsewhere. They were they the first to use an Italian dialect as a literary language and did not seek to write in Latin. This was to have a great influence on Renaissance literature and helped in the development of an Italian literary language.<ref>Burckhardt, p. 115</ref> The poets were to have a decisive influence on the development of the Italian literary language, the language that was used by Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio and others. Many of these writers freely acknowledged their debt to the Sicilian School. Dante acknowledged Frederick II’s role in the development of a literary language and Italian poetry even though he consigned the Emperor to hell in his great poem, the Inferno.<ref> Dante, <i>The Inferno</i>, trans by Mark Musa (Penguin, London, 1990), p. 115</ref>
====Conclusion====
Frederick II was a remarkable man and he dominated his era. He was a international figure and if he had succeeded in his plans he could have changed European history. His abiding achievement was possibly in the field of culture. He patronized artists and writers and this was emulated by later rulers. This was to be very important in the Renaissance. The Emperor also facilitated the translation and dissemination of many works from the Greeks and they too were influential . Frederick II valued reason in politics, his administration , and the law, he also encouraged empirical investigation , and this was to have to inspire many of the later humanists. Finally, a literary patron he made a lasting impression on the development of the Renaissance. His patronage of the Sicilian School was to change the lay the foundations for Renaissance literature. The role of Frederick II should not be overstated but nonetheless, he helped to create an environment in Italy that helped to promote the Renaissance.
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