Frederick Barbarossa elected King of the Romans

March 4, 1152

The Hohenstaufen duke of Swabia, a nephew of the previous emperor, was chosen at Frankfurt to end the Welf-Staufer quarrels that had paralyzed Germany. Barbarossa, red-bearded and tireless, would spend the next thirty-eight years trying to make the imperial title mean something again in Italy. His election was a compromise between the two great German factions, and the young duke's charm and energy briefly united a kingdom accustomed to civil war.