080 – Frederick II's boys and here come the French
1250 - 1266 We take a look at what happened to the sons of Frederick II, Conrad, Henry and Manfredi. In the case of Manfredi we see his rise to influence over almost all of Italy before it all came crashing down with the invasion of Charles of Anjou.
13 Mars 202018min
079 – The Prisoner King and the rest of Frederick II's boys
1248 -1272 We start taking a look at how things progressed after the death of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, starting with his son Enzo, who fell prisoner to the Coomune of Bologna, giving rise to a whole series of legends
5 Mars 202020min
078 – The Golden age of communes
We take a look at some of the factors that made the 13th century the golden age of the communes such as trade and finance as the consular communes transformed into popular communes as early signs of the coming era of the "signorie" loomed.
27 Feb 202021min
077 – The situation in the 13th century and revenge in Florence
We take a look at how our communes are evolving in the 13th century with the whole messy Guelphs and Ghibellines business and have a look at the legend of how the factions were formed in Florence with the tragic tale of Buondelmonte dei Buondelmonti, a real soap opera, Florentine style.
20 Feb 202020min
Recap 04: Episodes 051 – 076 from the Concordat of Worms to the death of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II
We stop for our usual recap to look back over episodes 051 to 076 going from the Concordat of Worms in 1122 to the death of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, with a look at the rise of the Commune city states and the maritime republics, Venice in particular.
11 Feb 202017min
076 – St. Francis of Assisi
We look at the life and ideas of one of the most famous and influential figures in religious and non religious history, a young man who deemed of being a great soldier, who became one of the greatest champions of peace.
6 Feb 202038min
075 – Heresies and the Inquisition
We take a break to look at the increase in heretical ideas and movement in the 12th and 13th centuries such as the Cathars and Waldensians and how the church decided to dea with the rising tide of critical opposition to it.
21 Jan 202022min
074 – Goodbye Freddie II
We see the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II to its end as he faces off with Gregory IX and then Innocent IV, all the while dealing with the ever rebellious communes of northern Italy in their continuous struggle between pro-imperial Ghibellines and pro-papal Guelphs, up to the Battle of Parma in 1247.
14 Jan 202022min
