ABSTRACT
Between 1191 and 1197 Henry VI of the Staufen dynasty reigned over central Europe and sought to control its destiny as king over Germany, emperor of the Romans and, finally, as king of Sicily. Henry VI has been overshadowed historically by both his father, Frederick Barbarossa, and his son, Frederick II. Nevertheless his brief reign was consequential and decisive. He strengthened his dominion in Germany and northern Italy, conquered southern Italy and Sicily, received tribute from north Africa, sent a crusading army to Syria and made his influence felt in Constantinople. But historians have often been critical of all these efforts, especially since Henry's main contribution to history, allegedly, was to worsen relations between regnum and sacerdotium, the empire and the church. The leaders of these two institutions at the time increasingly held very different views on political affairs. There were three main areas of disagreement: who was in charge of the German bishops, who was in charge of Italy and who was the leader of Christendom. As Henry VI quarrelled and negotiated with Pope Celestine III, he affected at least one important member of the curia, Lothar of Segni, who would later become Pope Innocent III. This survey of Henry VI's reign and conflicts with the papacy reveals that Innocent's policies and practices were strikingly similar to the emperor's career and goals. While Innocent condemned Henry's expansionism, the pontiff did much the same thing. This brief comparison also illustrates why the conflict between kings and popes proved intractable for so long.
