Dear listmembers,
As part of my thesis, I am writing on the impact of the prophecies
circulating in the crusader camp before Damietta during the Fifth
crusade. I possess some proof that prophecies concerning the success
of a crusade led by an emperor possessed some impact upon the planning
of Frederick's crusade even after the loss of Damietta in 1221 (since
two clergymen enamored of these prophecies, Oliver of Paderborn and
James of Vitry, were also involved in promoving Frederick's crusade in
the 1220s). However, I have also encountered passing references to
prophecies concerning a Christian emperor attached to Frederick
Barbarossa which may have separately influenced Frederick II's
conception of his role as leader of a crusade. Alas, there were no
footnotes!
My query is: apart from the Joachimist and Sybilline prophecies
already circulating during the Third crusade which were applied to
both Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart, does anyone know of a
prophetic tradition applied to Frederick Barbarossa? I would also be
interested in concrete evidence for prophecies being applied to
Frederick II and his crusade in the 1220s and 1230s (I'm already aware
of the venerable prophetic tradition regarding Frederick and German
emperors in general prevalent in the later thirteenth century). I've
already looked at various appropriate chronicles, Caesarius of
Heisterbach, and some of the standard works on Frederick (Kantorowicz,
Van Cleve, Abulafia), but have drawn blanks.
All contributions will be gratefully acknowledged in print.
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