Editing Frederick Barbarossa (section)

===Charismatic leader===
[[File:Barbarossa.jpg|thumb|Frederick Barbarossa as a crusader, miniature from a copy of the ''Historia Hierosolymitana'', 1188]]

[[Otto of Freising]], Frederick's uncle, wrote an account of his reign entitled ''Gesta Friderici I imperatoris'' (Deeds of the Emperor Frederick), which is considered to be an accurate history of the king. Otto's other major work, the ''Chronica sive Historia de duabus civitatibus'' (''Chronicle or History of the Two Cities'') had been an exposition of the ''Civitas Dei'' (''[[The City of God]]'') of [[Augustine of Hippo]], full of Augustinian negativity concerning the nature of the world and history. His work on Frederick is of opposite tone, being an optimistic portrayal of the glorious potentials of imperial authority.<ref>{{harvp|Cantor|1969|pp=359–360}}</ref> Otto died after finishing the first two books, leaving the last two to [[Rahewin]], his provost. Rahewin's text is in places heavily dependent on classical precedent,<ref>{{harvp|Cantor|1969|p=360}}</ref> although it "was 'typical of medieval writers' to embellish their texts with choice quotations from earlier authors".<ref>{{cite book |last=Berard |first=Christopher |editor-last1=Archibald |editor-first1=Elizabeth |editor-last2=Johnson |editor-first2=David F. |date=2020 |title=Arthurian Literature XXXV |location=Cambridge |publisher=D.S. Brewer |page=49 |isbn=978-1-84384-545-5}}</ref> For example, Rahewin's physical description of Frederick reproduces word-for-word (except for details of hair and beard) a description of another monarch, [[Theodoric II]] written nearly eight hundred years earlier by Sidonius Apollinaris:<ref>[[Sidonius Apollinaris]], ''Epistles'' 1.2, a description of [[Theodoric II]] of the [[Visigoths]] (453–466). See Mierow and Emery (1953) p. 331.</ref>

{{blockquote|text=His character is such that not even those envious of his power can belittle its praise. His person is well-proportioned. He is shorter than very tall men, but taller and more noble than men of medium height. His hair is golden, curling a little above his forehead&nbsp;... His eyes are sharp and piercing, his beard reddish [''barba subrufa''], his lips delicate&nbsp;... His whole face is bright and cheerful. His teeth are even and snow-white in color&nbsp;... Modesty rather than anger causes him to blush frequently. His shoulders are rather broad, and he is strongly built}}

In the opinion of Norman Cantor, Frederick's charisma led to a fantastic juggling act that, over a quarter of a century, restored the imperial authority in the German states. His formidable enemies defeated him on almost every side, yet in the end he emerged triumphant. When Frederick came to the throne, the prospects for the revival of German imperial power were extremely thin. The great German princes had increased their power and land holdings. The king had been left with only the traditional family domains and a vestige of power over the bishops and abbeys. The backwash of the Investiture controversy had left the German states in continuous turmoil. Rival states were in perpetual war. These conditions allowed Frederick to be both warrior and occasional peace-maker, both to his advantage.<ref name="harvp|Cantor|1969|pp=428–429"/>