PHILIP of Swabia. — Born on 26 July 1178 to Frederick Barbarossa and Beatrice of Burgundy, he was the fourth son of their union and, at the age of thirteen, was appointed bishop of Würzburg. Upon the death of his brother Frederick in 1195, he became Margrave of Tuscany and, the following year, added to the ancient Matildine lands the original duchy of Swabia.
The eastern policy of his brother Henry VI inspired the marriage, which took place in 1197, of Philip to Irene, daughter of Emperor Isaac Angelus. At the death of Henry VI, after initially supporting the rights of the young Frederick, he had himself elected King of Germany. But the Guelph party opposed him with Otto of Bavaria, a nephew of Richard the Lionheart. Gentle, wise, yet a natural defender of the German nation, he did not enjoy the support of Innocent III. Nor did the aid of Philip II of France suffice to prevent Otto’s victory. A brief victory, for in 1204 the struggle was renewed; Philip quickly reclaimed the regions of Lorraine, Thuringia, and the Lower Rhine, secured recognition as King of Germany from Innocent, and was promised the imperial crown, albeit in exchange for renouncing in favor of the Church the contested Matildine lands. Already the national poet Walter von der Vogelweide hailed him as emperor and conqueror when, on 21 June 1208, he fell victim to private vengeance, murdered in Bamberg by Otto of Wittelsbach. It was a heavy blow to the Swabians, who had yet to experience, with Frederick II, their military and political resurrection in Germany.
