Germany during the Crusades
Henry VI (1190-1197)
Henry had married Constance of Sicily, the aunt of King William III of Sicily, in 1186. At the time the marriage seemed an excellent plan, for it gave the Hohenstaufen claim to almost all of the Italian peninsula. It also, however, greatly alarmed the popes, who had always argued that the Holy Church could never be safe if it were dominated by an over-mighty secular lord. The alliance with Sicily almost guaranteed a long-running feud with the papacy.
Henry was already an experienced ruler when his father died in 1190, and he moved easily into his role as emperor. Right from the start, he had to be concerned not only with the kingdoms of Germany and Italy but of Sicily as well.
He proceeded in much the same manner as Frederick had, settling Germany first, then Italy, then Sicily. By the Treaty of Fulda in 1190 Henry made peace with Henry the Lion, though the Welf-Hohenstaufen feud was still not over.
He then went over the Alps and took care of matters in northern Italy. Frederick's settlement was still recent, so he did not have to struggle hard there. He went on to Rome, where on 14 April 1191 Henry was crowned emperor by Pope Celestine III. But Sicily was another matter entirely.
The Sicilians were unpersuaded by Henry's claims, and they had elected one of their own, Duke Tancred of Lecce, as their king. Tancred was the illegitimate grandson of Roger II, and besides he was one of the greater southern barons and was a warrior. For his part, Henry suffered a series of setbacks, including the capture of his wife Constance. In June 1192 Celestine recognized Tancred as the legitimate ruler of Sicily.
In 1193, though, Henry's fortunes changed. First, he acquired a royal prisoner: Richard I of England, who had been captured while returning from the Crusades. Then, in February 1194, Tancred of Sicily died. When Richard was ransomed, Henry was free to mount a second exedition to Sicily, and this one was successful. He was crowned in Palermo on Christmas Day 1194. His son was born the next day, at Jesi, on the mainland.
Next spring, in March 1195, Henry took the cross. There are good indicators that Henry might have also intended to expand at the expense of Byzantium, taking up the old Norman claims again. His actions during these years have been the subject of some debate among historians, some of whom portray Henry as having grandiose ambitions of empire. The trouble is, we have very little in the way of evidence, and the debate is not likely to be resolved on way or the other.
For, Henry died in Sicily in May 1197, after quelling a serious revolt there. What he might have done will remain a matter of speculation. His son, Frederick II, was three years old at the time, so all kingdoms within the empire at once set about determining a successor. The Empire was about to undergo its first serious trials since the days of Lothair.