Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Biography
On 27 March 1188, at the Diet of Mainz, the archbishop of Cologne submitted to Frederick. Bishop Gottfried von Spitzenberg [de] of Würzburg preached a crusade sermon and Frederick asked the assembly whether he should take the cross. At the universal acclaim of the assembly, he took the crusader's vow. His second son, the duke of Swabia, followed suit. The eldest, Henry VI, was to remain behind in Germany as regent. At Mainz Frederick proclaimed a "general expedition against the pagans". He set the period of preparation as 17 April 1188 to 8 April 1189 and scheduled the army to assemble at Regensburg on 23 April 1189.
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor-37