Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250)

Emperor Frederick II (1194–1250) of the Swabian Hohenstaufen dynasty is not very well known in the Netherlands. Unfairly so. He was a fascinating figure in many respects. Some see him as a progressive, tolerant monarch, a scholar far ahead of his time; others as a ‘typical’ conservative medieval ruler. In this book, we set out to discover the man behind the myths and legends. These myths and legends have not been chosen at random. They have been carefully selected on the basis of an in-depth historiographical study and are based on the group tours the author has undertaken through Italy and Germany. During these journeys, he frequently came across references to or reminders of Emperor Frederick II. They can be seen as places of memory (lieux de mémoire) that can also be used as a kind of travel guide through the history of Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. To this day, the emperor continues to stir the emotions.

Huub Kurstjens (MA) (1956) was a history teacher for almost twenty years. He was co-author of a history teaching method for secondary education. From 1993 until his retirement in 2022, he worked as a history examination expert at Cito for the national examinations in secondary education. He was a member of the National Board of the Association of History Teachers (VGN) and of the board of the Italian Dante Alighieri Society of Nijmegen. He is the author of the books ‘De Hohenstaufen en Nijmegen’ and ‘Castel del Monte’. Numerous articles by him can be found on the Academia website. He gives lectures on the Hohenstaufen dynasty in general and Emperor Frederick II in particular.