Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250) and the political particularism of the German princes

Emperor Frederick II is generally regarded as having been a 'strong' ruler, yet the puzzle remains as to how he managed his governance of Germany without the benefit of the more centralized institutions with which he was familiar as king of Sicily. This article seeks to show that the emperor understood almost to perfection what could or could not be achieved as ruler of the Germans, and that the copious legislation of his reign can be analysed to show that his principles of governance for Germany demonstrated sound political sense. (c) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.