Frederick I Barbarossa dies at Legnano

What if Frederick I Barbarossa dies at Legnano?

What do you think?

Who would become the new holy Roman emperor (Henry IV was 11 at this time)?

Would this emperor try to avenge Frederick?

If so, could the league become something stronger, last longer and maybe even unify Italy much earlier?

What about the third crusades?

Ideas, speculations, suggestions?
 
What if Frederick I Barbarossa dies at Legnano?

What do you think?

Who would become the new holy Roman emperor (Henry IV was 11 at this time)?

Would this emperor try to avenge Frederick?

If so, could the league become something stronger, last longer and maybe even unify Italy much earlier?

What about the third crusades?

Ideas, speculations, suggestions?

If Barbarossa died at Legnano the Lombard League would be probably be able to maintain its independence, possibly long enough to solidify into a single country (or maybe not - see below).

The obvious candidate for the emperorship would be the powerful Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria and head of the House of Welf. Henry IV wouldn't press any claim, having been dead since 1105. After the Lion dies in the late 1190s, you'd probably see a power sstruggle between the Hohenstaufens, lead by Frederick's son Henry (OTL's Henry VI), and the Welfs, most likely led by Henry's sons Otto (OTL's Otto IV) and Henry (OTL's Count-Palatine of the Rhine Henry V). It's doubtful Henry the Lion would avenge Barbarossa (his lack of support is partly what contributed to the OTL defeat) and when Henry Hohenstaufen has a chance to do anything about it, if he has a chance to do anything about it, the window of oppurtunity would have passed.

Whether or not the League would have lasted is difficult to tell. Medieval politics in Lombardy were ... tricky at best. It's possible they would unify Italy, but bear in mind that in the Middle ages "Italy" only referred to the Northern part of the peninsula, and more specifically to the Po River Valley - the center was firmly in the control of the Pope (who, as the leagues strongest supporter, was not a man they would upset), and the south wasn't considered Italian at all - it was Sicilian.

We probably won't see Imperial forces serve in the Third Crusade, which would mean Philip and Richard will be in a worse position than OTL - but not that much worse, since the Germans didn't really contribute much to the crusade (most having gone home when Frederick drowned). The Fourth Crusade, on the other hand, will be radically different, with Venetian politics changed and possibly no influence from Philip Hohenstaufen.

That's all I can think of at the moment.
 
What if Frederick I Barbarossa dies at Legnano?

What do you think?

Who would become the new holy Roman emperor (Henry IV was 11 at this time)?

Would this emperor try to avenge Frederick?

If so, could the league become something stronger, last longer and maybe even unify Italy much earlier?

What about the third crusades?

Ideas, speculations, suggestions?

The battle was actually fought at visual distance from my home, local historians say. I live some five-six kilometers from Legnano.
 
Top