FREDERICK II: A Legendary Emperor

An up-to-date portrait of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstauffen, an exceptional figure in medieval history, by a world-renowned historian.

This book, based on German but also French and Italian archives, establishes Sylvain Gouguenheim as the unrivalled expert on the emperor and his accomplishments.

Stupor Mundi - the emperor who stunned the world - in the words of a contemporary chronicler, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250) exercised his power in rapidly changing times. During his tumultuous reign, he displayed qualities that place him among the most fascinating rulers of all Western medieval history.

Dominating Germany, Italy and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, standing up to radical opposition from the Pope, Frederick left an image that immediately took on mythical proportions. By not focusing on this persona, or on speculation about the emperor's psychology, but by concentrating on a study of his reign without preconceptions or anachronisms, Sylvain Gouguenheim considerably renews our knowledge of Frederick II.

A recognized medievalist and a professor of history at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Lyon, Sylvain Gouguenheim is the author of several books including Les Chevaliers Teutoniques (The Teutonic Knights) (Tallandier, 2008) and Tannenberg 15 Juillet 1410 (Tallandier, 2012). He is a top specialist on Germany in the Middle Ages.