Philip of Swabia depicted in a medieval manuscript (about 1200).
(1177 –
June 21,
1208) was king of
Germany and duke of
Swabia, the rival of the emperor
Otto IV.
Biography
Philip was the fifth and youngest son of the emperor
Frederick I and
Beatrix, daughter of
Renaud III,
count of Burgundy, and brother of the emperor
Henry VI. He entered the clergy, was made
provost of
Aix-la-Chapelle, and in 1190 or 1191 was chosen bishop of
Würzburg. Having accompanied his brother Henry to
Italy in 1191, Philip forsook his ecclesiastical calling, and, travelling again to Italy, was made duke of
Tuscany in 1195 and received an extensive grant of lands. In his retinue in Italy was the
Minnesinger Bernger von Horheim.
In 1196 Philip became duke of Swabia, on the death of his brother
Conrad; and in May 1197 he married
Irene Angelina, daughter of the
Byzantine emperor,
Isaac II, and widow of
Roger III, Titular King of Sicily, a lady who is described by
Walther von der Vogelweide as " the rose without a thorn, the dove without guile."
Philip enjoyed his brother's confidence to a very great extent, and appears to have been designated as guardian of the Henry's young son
Frederick, afterwards the emperor Frederick II, in case of his father's early death. In 1197 he had set out to fetch Frederick from
Sicily for his coronation as
King of the Germans when he heard of the emperor's death and returned at once to Germany. He appears to have desired to protect the interests of his nephew and to quell the disorder which arose on Henry's death, but was overtaken by events. The hostility to the kingship of a child was growing, and after Philip had been chosen as defender of the empire during Frederick's minority he consented to his own election. He was elected German king at
Mühlhausen on
March 8,
1198, and was crowned at
Mainz on the
September 8 following.
Meanwhile, a number of princes hostile to Philip, under the leadership of
Adolph,
Archbishop of Cologne, had elected an
anti-king in the person of Otto, second son of
Henry the Lion, duke of
Saxony. In the war that followed, Philip, who drew his principal support from south Germany, met with considerable success. In 1199 he received further accessions to his party and carried the war into his opponent's territory, although unable to obtain the support of
Pope Innocent III, and only feebly assisted by his ally
Philip Augustus, king of
France. The following year was less favourable to his arms; and in March 1201 Innocent took the decisive step of placing Philip and his associates under the ban, and began to work energetically in favour of Otto.
Also in 1201, Philip was visited by his cousin
Boniface of Montferrat, the leader of the
Fourth Crusade. The Crusaders were by this time under
Venetian control and were besieging
Zara on the
Adriatic Sea. Although Boniface's exact reasons for meeting with Philip are unknown, while at Philip's court he also met
Alexius Angelus, Philip's brother-in-law. Alexius convinced Boniface, and later the Venetians, to divert the Crusade to
Constantinople and restore Isaac II to the throne, as he had recently been deposed by
Alexius III, Alexius and Irene's uncle.
The two succeeding years were still more unfavourable to Philip. Otto, aided by
Ottokar I, king of
Bohemia, and
Hermann I, landgrave of
Thuringia, drove him from north Germany, thus compelling him to seek by abject concessions, but without success, reconciliation with Innocent. The submission to Philip of Hermann of Thuringia in 1204 marks the turning-point of his fortunes, and he was soon joined by
Adolph of Cologne and
Henry I, Duke of Brabant.
On
January 6,
1205 he was crowned again with great ceremony by Adolph at Aix-la-Chapelle, though it was not until 1207 that his entry into Cologne practically brought the war to a close. A month or two later Philip was loosed from the papal ban, and in March 1208 it seems probable that a treaty was concluded by which a nephew of the pope was to marry one of Philip's daughters and to receive the disputed dukedom of Tuscany. Philip was preparing to crush the last flicker of the rebellion in
Brunswick-Lüneburg when he was murdered at
Bamberg, on
June 21,
1208, by
Otto of Wittelsbach, count palatine in
Bavaria. Otto, already known for his unstable character, fell into a rage when he learned of the dissolution of his betrothal to Gertrude of Silesia by her father,
Duke Henry I the Bearded of Lower Silesia. Henry was apparently informed of the Wittelsbach's cruel tendencies and in an act of concern for his young daughter decided to terminate the marriage agreement. Otto proceeded to blame Philip, without grounds, for another spurned marriage alliance (the first being to Philip's own daughter, Beatrice) and swore revenge on the German King, culminating in the murder at Bamberg.
Philip was a brave and handsome man, and contemporary writers, among whom was
Walther von der Vogelweide, praise his mildness and generosity.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Philip of Swabia
See also
