Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor

About Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor (1122–1190), styled 'Barbarossa' (Red Beard), was a central figure in medieval European politics and a key member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His historical importance, earning him an HPI Rank of #344, stems largely from his efforts to reassert Imperial authority over the powerful Italian city-states, leading to numerous campaigns in Lombardy. He was also instrumental in organizing the German contingent of the Third Crusade, though he tragically drowned en route in the Saleph River.

Despite this high historical standing, Frederick I currently receives relatively low modern attention. His annualized Wikipedia views for 2025 stand at just 101K, resulting in an Attention Gap of -4x—meaning he is significantly under-attended relative to his historical influence. To place this in contrast, Philip IV of France, who ranks #626 in importance, currently receives 384K views, four times the traffic of the more historically significant Frederick.

This disparity is further compounded by a recent decline in online interest, with his 2025 viewership showing an 11.4% year-over-year drop, accompanied by a sharp -15% negative momentum between Q1 and Q3 of the year.