Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick III of Swabia became an acceptable candidate for Holy Roman Emperor in 1152 because his bloodline straddled Germany's two feuding dynasties: Hohenstaufen father, Welf mother. He collected his crowns methodically - Frankfurt and Aachen in March 1152, Pavia in 1155, Rome by papal hand that June, Arles in 1178 - and spent his reign trying to restore Roman law as a counterweight to the Church's grip on German territories after the Investiture controversy. Historians credit him with unusual stamina, battlefield skill, and political cunning that made contemporaries think him nearly superhuman. He joined the Third Crusade in 1190 and chose the overland route; attempting to cross the Saleph River, he drowned, and most of his forces abandoned the campaign. Centuries later his legend became a symbol for Italian unification, Wilhelmine Germany, and Nazi operations alike.