The Hohenstaufen family which got hold of the Imperial German Throne shortly afterwards, were even more independent than their predecessors. Gregory had claimed that the Popes were superior to all kings because they (the Popes) at the Day of Judgement would be responsible for the behaviour of all the sheep of their flock, and in the eyes of God, a king was one of that faithful herd.
不久之后，夺取了德意志帝国皇位的霍亨施陶芬家族变得比他们的前任更为独立，更不把教皇放在眼里。格利高里曾经宣称，教皇超越于所有世俗的君主之上，因为末日审判那一天到来时，教皇必须为他所照管的羊群里每一只羊的行为负责，而在上帝眼里，一名国王不过是这个庞大羊群的众多忠实牧羊人之一。
Frederick of Hohenstaufen, commonly known as Barbarossa or Red Beard, set up the counter-claim that the Empire had been bestowed upon his predecessor "by God himself" and as the Empire included Italy and Rome, he began a campaign which was to add these "lost provinces" to the northern country. Barbarossa was accidentally drowned in Asia Minor during the second Crusade, but his son Frederick II, a brilliant young man who in his youth had been exposed to the civilisation of the Mohammedans of Sicily, continued the war. The Popes accused him of heresy. It is true that Frederick seems to have felt a deep and serious contempt for the rough Christian world of the North, for the boorish German Knights and the intriguing Italian priests. But he held his tongue, went on a Crusade and took Jerusalem from the infidel and was duly crowned as King of the Holy City. Even this act did not placate the Popes. They deposed Frederick and gave his Italian possessions to Charles of Anjou, the brother of that King Louis of Francewho became famous as Saint Louis.
霍亨施陶芬家族的弗里德里希，通常被人称为红胡 子巴巴罗萨，他提出了一个理论来反对教皇的理论。他宣称，神圣罗马帝国是经"上帝本人的恩许"，赋予他的先祖掌管的。既然帝国的疆域包括意大利和罗马，他要发动一场正义的战争，以收复这些"失去的行省"。不过在参加第二次十字军东征时，弗里德里希在小亚细亚意外溺死。继承王位的是他的儿子弗里德里希二世。这位年轻人精明强干，风度依然，很小的时候便受过西西里岛穆斯林文明的陶冶。他继续与教皇作对。教皇指控弗里德里希二世犯下了异端邪说罪。说实话，弗里德里希倒是真的对北方基督教界的粗犷作风、德国骑士的平庸愚笨以及意大利教士之阴险狡诈，怀有深刻而认真的蔑视。不过他保持沉默，投人十字军作战，从异教徒手里夺回了耶路撒冷，并因此被封为圣城之王，即便立下如此辉煌的护教功勋，也没能安慰心情恶劣的教皇们。他们把弗里德里希逐出教会，将他的意大利属地授予安如的查理，即著名的法王圣路易的兄弟。