Why did Frederick I join the Third Crusade in 1189?

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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.

Frederick I, also known as Frederick Barbarossa, joined the Third Crusade in 1189 primarily because he was deeply moved by the shock of the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187.123

Following the news of the city's capture, Pope Gregory VIII issued a Crusade bull and sent a legation to the emperor to solicit his participation. Although Frederick had previously been excommunicated by Pope Alexander III due to his support for antipopes, he had reconciled with the church in 1177. Having participated in the Second Crusade earlier in his life, Frederick had long harbored a genuine desire to join another expedition to the Holy Land. Consequently, he took the cross and set out in May 1189 with the largest Crusader army assembled up to that time.123