Conradin of SWABIA, the last descendant of the imperial House of Hohenstaufen (q.v.), was the son of Conrad IV. (1237-54), and was born in 1252, two years before his father's death. His uncle Manfred (q.v.) had assumed the crown of Sicily on a rumour of Conradin's death, though he declared himself ready to give it up to the rightful heir. But Pope Clement VI.'s hatred of the Hohenstaufens led him to offer the crown of the Two Sicilies to Charles of Anjou, a consummate warrior and able politician. Charles immediately invaded Italy, and met his antagonist at Benevento, where the defeat and death of Manfred, in 1266, gave him undisturbed possession of the kingdom. But the Neapolitans, detesting their new master, sent deputies to Bavaria to invite Conradin, then in his 16th year, to come and assert his hereditary rights. Conradin accordingly made his appearance in Italy at the head of 10,000 men, and being joined by the Neapolitans in large numbers, gained several victories over the French, but was finally defeated near Tagliacozzo, 22d August 1268, and taken prisoner along with Frederick of Baden and other comrades. The two unfortunate princes were, with the consent of the pope, executed in the market-place of Naples on the 20th October. A few minutes before his execution, Conradin, on the scaffold, took off his glove, and threw it into the midst of the crowd as a gage of vengeance, requesting that it might be carried to his heir, Peter of
Aragon. The tragic tale has furnished materials for many poets. See SICILIAN VESPERS; also Del Giudice, La Condanna di Corradino (Naples, 1876).