Barbarossa was so much loved by his people that it was said, "Germany
and Frederick Barbarossa are one in the hearts of the Germans." His
death caused the greatest grief among the German Crusaders. They
had now little heart to fight the infidels and most of them at once
returned to Germany.

In the Empire the dead hero was long mourned and for many years
the peasants believed that Frederick was not really dead, but was
asleep in a cave in the mountains of Germany, with his gallant
knights around him. He was supposed to be sitting in his chair
of state, with the crown upon his head, his eyes half-closed in
slumber, his beard as white as snow and so long that it reached
the ground.

"When the ravens cease to fly round the mountain," said the legend,
"Barbarossa shall awake and restore Germany to its ancient greatness."





Henry the Second 1154-1189 and His Sons 1189-1216




I


In 1154, while Barbarossa was reigning in Germany, Henry II, one