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In 1239, following up on his infamous excommunication, Pope Gregory IX compared Frederick to the "beast that rises from the sea," the monster described by John in the Book of Revelation: its heretical presence on earth foretold Judgement Day and the end of the world! The pope's harsh words reflect the cultural climate of the first half of the 13th century, characterized by Guelph political propaganda against Frederick and his dynasty and the notorious clash between the Papacy and Empire; the sovereign was excommunicated no fewer than three times.
One of the most intriguing (and controversial) sources regarding the Emperor's alleged "wickedness” is the Chronicles of Fra Salimbene de Adam, a lengthy text that portrays Frederick II as greedy, heretical, and a defiler. Despite these accusations, the friar also singled out some of the Emperor's virtues, such as his cheerfulness, curiosity, and impressive cultural knowledge. Some of Salimbene's more fanciful and unreliable anecdotes include tales of cruel experiments to test the soul’s mortality, like enclosing a man in a wine barrel to see if, upon death, the soul escaped or perished along with him. In addition, there are accounts of experiments on the language of children torn from their mothers, who were not allowed to interact with anyone in order to see what language they would speak when grown up.
