Dante, and Boccaccio. The political, social, and literary revolutions of seven centuries have not materially altered the grammatical construction or orthography of the beautiful language spoken and sung by the knights and ladies of Palermo. The enduring fame of such an achievement far exceeds in value and utility the temporary and barren distinctions obtained by the gaining of battles, the sack of cities, the plunder of baronial strongholds, and the humiliation of popes. Such was the Emperor Frederick II., and such the civilization which, inspired by Moslem precept, tradition, and example, his commanding genius established in Southern Europe. Not only was he the most intelligent, but he was the most powerful and illustrious sovereign of his age. In addition to the imperial dignity, he possessed the titles of King of Naples and Sicily, of Lombardy, of Poland, of Bohemia, of Hungary, of Denmark, of Sardinia, of Arles, and of Jerusalem. In birth and affinity he was first among the great potentates of the earth. He was the grandson of the famous Barbarossa and of King Roger of Sicily. He was the uncle of Jaime I. of Aragon, Lo Conquerador. He was the father-in-law of the Greek Emperor of Nicea. He was the son-in-law of the Latin Emperor of Constantinople. He was the brother-in-law of the King of England. His relations with the Sultan of Egypt, dictated, in a measure, by state policy, but for the most part prompted by personal admiration, were of the most social and friendly character. He exchanged gifts with the chief of the execrated Ismailian sect known as the “Old Man of the Mountain.” Community of ideas, tastes, languages, and mercantile interests, which he shared with Mohammedan rulers, confirmed the intimacy already long existing between the Kingdom of Sicily and the fragments of the Hispano-Arab empire. His authority was respected from the Mediterranean to the Baltic; his matrimonial connections made his influence felt from the banks of the Nile to the Pillars of Hercules. It was this power, exercised over a territory of vast extent and unlimited resources, added to a consciousness of pre-eminent ability, that suggested to Frederick a renewal of the ancient Carlovingian jurisdiction, and the daring but imprudent attempt, by usurping the prerogatives of the Papacy, to realize a dream of more than imperial ambition.