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Why did Frederick I add the word sacrum to the name of his empire in 1157?

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Medieval manuscript miniature showing Frederick I as a crowned crusader holding an orb and scepter, with Henry of Schaftlarn kneeling and presenting a book to him. — Frederick I Frederick I as a Crusader with (right) Henry of Schäftlarn dedicating to him a copy of the *History of the First Crusade* by Robert of St. Remy; miniature from a manuscript in the Vatican Library.

In 1157, Frederick I (Barbarossa) added the word sacrum ("holy") to the name of his empire to create the Sacrum Imperium (Holy Empire) as a direct counterweight to the Sancta Ecclesia (Holy Church).12

Following the Investiture Controversy, which had weakened the traditional imperial position, Frederick and his chancery sought to establish a new, exalted conception of the empire. By adopting this title, Frederick emphasized that the empire was a divinely ordained entity that existed independently of church authority. This move was part of a broader effort by the Hohenstaufen dynasty to assert the secular foundations of their power, arguing that the emperor’s authority was derived from Frankish conquest and the election of the princes, rather than being a gift conferred by the pope.32