Pragmatic tolerance
In Italy, at last in Italy, Frederick 2th(1194-1250)
is explained with every merits that he has had, undoubtedly, but he has
presenters also with a tolerance that in Middle Age didn’t exist, because he
has gathered much intellectuals that were also Muslims and Jews, that were his
court and historical men; this is in official version of historiography is an example of tolerance; but it is so or
other motive has determined the presence of so much unchristian intellectuals?
Certainly other motives and the principal is merely political, or rather the
administration of Sicily needed also the persons that has experience of administration
and that just has tried the political management; persons that Frederick has
took from his father that has just proved the capacity. The names of Jacob
Anatoli(1194-1256), Juda Cohen, Ibn Sabin(1217-1271), Al Khusrawi are
intellectuals active in court of Frederick, that was orphan of his father,
Henry 6th,when he was three years old; thereupon he took what his
grandfather, Rugger 2th, has had in his court; other confirm of this hypothesis
is a step of David Abulafia(Frederick 2th, p.29); because he said that the
system of management were the same of Rugger 2th. and William 1th that reigned
between 1154 and 1160, that took as counselor Leo from Rayza member of Muslim
community in Bari during middle age; thereby the tolerance was very pragmatic,
because to William, and his successor, need managements with science and
experience; certainly Frederick was an intellectual herself because he was very
hungry of knowledge; hence he take profit to this presence of intellectuals,
but it isn’t tolerance but a tradition that Frederick to whom Frederick was
adherence, because he seen it from his born. Furthermore same author has denied
that the court of Frederick was a center cultural very high, because this court
followed that of Castile in Spain, where much translators by Arabic language
and other; but every historic men that has written on Frederick has forgotten that
he have to manage a state, thereupon he has need of clever managers, because
his first busy was empire of his family; same historical man, indirectly,
confirms this hypothesis, because he describes the character of
Frederick(p.218): “Frederick was not a man to satisfy of usual explication…; he
had a mind very scant incline to abstractions, he was attracted by real facts of material word.”, it is says
that the character of Frederick was very near to practical, typical of policy,
rather than platonic toughs. Thereby Frederick 2th managed his empire, stirred
between meridional Italy and Germany with practical way, and his tolerance is
alone to use science of intellectuals.
Alessandro Lusana
