Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick II (26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250), was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous; however, his enemies, especially the popes, prevailed, and his dynasty collapsed soon after his death. Historians have searched for superlatives to describe him, as in the case of Professor Donald Detwiler, who wrote:


 * "A man of extraordinary culture, energy, and ability – called by a contemporary chronicler stupor mundi (the wonder of the world), by Nietzsche the first European, and by many historians the first modern ruler – Frederick established in Sicily and southern Italy something very much like a modern, centrally governed kingdom with an efficient bureaucracy."

Frederick II in Supervolcano
Susan Ruppelt studied the eleventh-century Holy Roman Empire and settled on Frederick II for her doctoral theses. From what she had discussed with Bryce Miller, he concluded that his Ancient Greeks would fit with the modern world better than the medievals she had studied except for Frederick II who didn't fit in his own time. Unfortunately, the Stupor Mundi or stunner of the world wouldn't stun those to who Ruppelt would apply for a job. Nevertheless, she persisted in her studies.

After getting her doctorate, Ruppelt failed to get a permanent position at any college or university. She taught a couple of adjunct courses on Frederick II at Wayne State College and published several academic articles expanding on her thesis but no one seemed to need an expert on Frederick Hohenstaufen.