**1. Introduction**

Frederick II of Hohenstaufen was crowned King of Sicily when he was less than four years old, but, at the beginning of his reign, he was under the regency of his mother, Constance (until 27 November 1198), and of Pope Innocent III (until 25 December 1208). After this period, he ruled independently until his death (13 December 1250). Frederick II was not only King of Sicily but also King of Germany or of the Romans (1212–1250), King of Jerusalem (1225–1250), and, above all, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1220–1250) (for general information about Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, see: [1–11]). His most relevant and innovative iconographic representations were in Southern Italy, and, for this reason, we focus on the images in this geographical context. Historians have identified Frederick II in numerous artifacts, but, in reality, only a limited number of them can be considered real and official representations of the Swabian ruler (that is, those commissioned directly by him or his entourage). In particular, we have nine images: the bull (in three main versions), the seal (in three main versions), five coins (four denari and one augustale), the statue of the Capua Gate, and the lost image of the imperial palace in Naples (on the identification of Frederick II's official images, see: [12] (pp. 82–87)).

## **2. Bulls and Seals**

On 26 December 1208, when Frederick II began to rule independently, he continued to use bulls and seals prepared during the regency period as the King of Sicily. The first are hanging gold bulls with a diameter of 55 mm (on the bulls as the King of Sicily, see: [13] (Volume 1, pp. 27–30, images no. 27,3–4), [14] (p. 40), [5] (p. 302)), and the second are hanging red wax seals with dimensions that varied between 35 × 45 and 40 × 53 mm that are placed in a wooden box with a diameter of 60 mm (on the seals as the King of Sicily, see: [13] (Volume 1, pp. 27–30, images no. 27,1–2 and 27,5), [15] (Volume 1, pp. 29–31, cards no. 43 and 45), [14] (pp. 25–27), [16] (pp. 118–120), [8] (card II.4, pp. 325–326), [17] (Volume 2, p. 26, card II.A.7 by V. Rödel)). Both of these types present the king sitting on the throne, even though the garments and symbols of power are completely different: the first group differs from the bulls of the Norman predecessors and is comparable to

**Citation:** Vagnoni, M. Frederick II ofHohenstaufen (1208–1250). *Encyclopedia* **2021**, *1*, 710–719. https://doi.org/10.3390/ encyclopedia1030055

Academic Editor: Nikos A. Salingaros

Received: 14 June 2021 Accepted: 19 July 2021 Published: 3 August 2021

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**Copyright:** © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

more continental European models; instead, the second group more or less follows the seals of the predecessors William II and Constance of Hauteville (about that, see: [12] (p. 87)). However, both these bulls and seals were soon replaced by other types. Indeed, from December 1212, Frederick II began to use bulls and seals as the King of the Romans, and, from 22 November 1220, he used bulls and seals as the Holy Roman Emperor (used until his death on 13 December 1250). Both of the bulls are in gold and have diameters of approximately 62 and 42 mm, respectively; on one face, they present the king sitting on the throne, while, on the other face, they present an urban structure (presumably, a symbolic representation of Rome) or a sort of geographical map of Southern Italy (presumably, a symbolic representation of the Kingdom of Sicily) (on the bulls as the King of the Romans, see: [13] (Volume 1, pp. 27–30, images no. 28,2–5), [15] (Volume 1, pp. 31–34, cards no. 47 and 49), [8] (card III.2, pp. 330–331). On the bulls as the Holy Roman Emperor, see: [13] (Volume 1, pp. 27–30, images no. 30,2–5 and 30,6–7), [15] (Volume 1, p. 35, card no. 51), [5] (p. 302), [17] (Volume 2, pp. 27–28, card II.A.9 by V. Rödel)). Both of the seals are in red wax and have diameters of approximately 85 and 90 mm, respectively; again, they present the king sitting on the throne (on the seal as the King of the Romans, see: [13] (Volume 1, pp. 27–30, images no. 27,6–7 and 28,1), [15] (Volume 1, pp. 31–33, cards no. 46 and 48), [14] (pp. 28–29), [8] (card II.5, pp. 326–327 and card III.1, p. 329), [17] (Volume 2, p. 27, card II.A.8 by V. Rödel). On the seal as the Holy Roman Emperor, see: [13] (Volume 1, pp. 27–30, images no. 29,1–5 and 30,1), [15] (Volume 1, p. 34, card no. 50), [14] (p. 30), [16] (p. 128), [8] (card III.15, pp. 346–347)).

In every type of bull and seal, the inscription changes according to the different titles of Frederick II as the King of Sicily (REX SICILIE), the King of the Romans (ROMANORVM REX), the King of Jerusalem (REX IERVSALEM), and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (ROMANORVM IMPERATOR), but, in all of the artifacts, the representations of the ruler are similar (with only some insignificant changes), and they follow the same iconographic tradition (see, for an example, Figure 1). In particular, Frederick II sits on a throne with a backrest. He probably has long hair and a shaved face, and he wears a long tunic (in one specimen, the tunic is clearly embroidered with eagles), a broad cloak, a long lily scepter, a cruciferous globe, and a crown with lateral pendilia. The crown can be low with two crossed arches (a Bügelkrone) or high and squared (a Plattenkrone). The latter type probably represents the Reichskrone of the Holy Roman Empire. These iconographic elements differ from the figurative tradition of the Norman kings of Sicily and follow German patterns—in particular, the bulls and seals of the Swabian predecessors (grandfather Frederick I Barbarossa, father Henry VI, and uncle Philippe of Swabia). Evidently, this image represents Frederick II as a German emperor rather than as the King of Sicily, but this choice does not seem to possess specific political or propagandistic meanings. Presumably, it is due to the new status achieved and the consequent necessity to adopt adequate new cultural references in the representation of the ruler's figure (on that, see: [18], [12] (pp. 87–89) with more details and bibliographic references).

The royal image on bulls and seals is without a doubt an official representation of Frederick II and mainly had a juridical function (it was used to corroborate the legal value of diplomas and documents issued by the royal chancellery). Its mobile support would have facilitated its circulation, and we should consider that bulls and seals were in use not only in the Kingdom of Sicily but also in Frederick II's other domains. However, they were not made to be moved around but to be stored, with their documents, in the archives of their recipients, and their dimensions were somewhat reduced and certainly of scarce visual impact. Moreover, multiple documents could be issued for the same recipient and the subjects involved were limited to the aristocratic and ruling class of Southern Italy in particular. However, Frederick II's image on the bulls and seals has bigger dimensions and stylistically pays more attention to the iconographic details than the Norman specimens. This made the royal figure certainly more visible. Moreover, we should note that Frederick II's chancery issued a very high average number of documents per year in comparison with that of his predecessors on the Sicilian throne. Probably, during his reign, the circulation of

bulls and coins was capillary and widespread, and, for this reason, the royal image could reach a large number of subjects (about that, see: [12] (p. 89). About Frederick II's chancery, see in summary: [19,20]).

**Figure 1.** Seal of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen as emperor, impression on red wax, February 1224. München, Bayerische Hauptstaatsarchiv, diploma KS. 664. Image published in [12] (Figure 18).
