Frederick VI of Swabia (February 1167-20 January 1191) was Duke of Swabia from 28 November 1170 to 20 January 1191, succeeding Frederick V and preceding Conrad II.
Biography[]
Frederick was born in Modigliana, Emilia-Romagna, Italy in 1167, the son of Frederick Barbarossa and Beatrice I of Burgundy. He succeeded his eldest brother Frederick V of Swabia as Duke of Swabia in 1170, and, in 1188, he made a solemn oath to join his father on the Third Crusade. On 11 May 1189, he set out from Regensburg with the crusader army, and, along the way, he was betrothed to Constance of Hungary; however, Barbarossa's drowning death led to the betrothal being cancelled. Frederick commanded the vanguard of the crusading army and took command of the German army after his father's death at the Saleph River, leading the German army down to Antioch. At Tripoli, a large part of his army fell sick with malaria, and he was only able to bring 700 knights to the Siege of Acre. Frederick himself died of malaria on 20 January 1191.