Germany and Italy: Summary
The Salian dynasty began in 1024, when Conrad II of Franconcia was elected king. He and the following kings helped strengthen the German government and also tried to conquer land in Italy. Many of the German people chose weak kings, however, so that other lords could become king instead by taking over. In order to fix the problem, the weak kings elected church workers such as bishops and abbots to be the administrators.
Involvement in Italy
The German emperors used their power to take control of some Italian lands so that they could get resources. It seemed easy to get Italy, since there wasn't a strong central government. The Papal States controlled central Italy, while the north was taken over by German rulers. Robert Guiscard along with some other Normans decided to take control of southern Italy in the late 11th century. His brother Roger conquered Sicily in 1091, and Roger's son then became king. This strengthened the Norman kingdom so that it was the strongest in Europe. The German kings decided to go for the north of Italy, since there was not much order and it seemed like an easy target. The Hohenstaufen dynasty went after this part of Italy the most.
Frederick I
Frederick I and II wanted to create a new German empire. Barbarossa, as Frederick I was called, wanted to get most of his money from Italy, and to make it the center of a new holy empire. The pope did not like the idea of Frederick trying to take over north Italy, and the northern cities didn't want a large ruler to tell them what to do. Everyone in Italy enjoyed their freedom. Frederick was therefore defeated in Legnano in 1176. He then went home, but later came back to Italy to get the Italian cities to come to an agreement where they would pay him money, and he would grant them freedom. He also married his son to the next in line of the Norman kingdom, meaning that his dreams of a holy empire were coming true. Once Frederick I died, Henry VI took over, becoming the most powerful ruler since Charlemagne. He died soon, and the empire collapsed.
Frederick II
Henry VI did have a son though, who was a very powerful ruler, being crowned king of Sicily in 1198, and king of Germany in 1212. He left Germany in 1220, and only came to visit every once and awhile. He decided to give the princes control since he was gone so long. His real goal was to unite Germany and Italy into one large empire. He ran into the same problem with the pope and northern Italians, though, and lost the war. While he was in Italy, the princes back in Germany elected king Rudolf of Habsburg to be their new king. He was very weak, and the princes had most of the control. Since the pope and Italians didn't want Frederick II, and neither did the Germans, he really had no power left. This meant Germany and Italy were made up of a bunch of small scattered states that governed themselves. Eventually, though, some of the larger cities in Italy such as Milan and Florence took over regions of Italy and organized themselves into city-states.