He had a long red
beard and so the people called him Barbarossa, or Red-Beard. He
came to the throne in 1152.
At that time the province of Lombardy in northern Italy was a part
of the German empire.
In 1158 Milan (mi-lan'), the chief city of Lombardy, revolted. Then
over the Alps came an army of a hundred thousand German soldiers,
with Frederick at their head. After a long siege the city surrendered.
But soon it revolted again. The emperor besieged it once more and
once more it surrendered. Its fortifications were destroyed and
many of its buildings ruined.
But even then the spirit of the Lombards was not broken. Milan
and the other cities of Lombardy united in a league and defied
the emperor. He called upon the German dukes to bring their men
to his aid. All responded except Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony,
Frederick's cousin, whom he had made duke of Bavaria also. Frederick
is said to have knelt and implored Henry to do his duty, but in
vain.
In his campaign against the Lombards Frederick was unsuccessful. His
army was completely defeated and he was compelled to grant freedom
to the cities of Lombardy.
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