Augsburg. For the fourth time, Frederick Barbarossa gathers his troops to descend into Italy at the head of a massive army across the Brenner Pass: 4,000 soldiers plus 1,500 Brabançon mercenaries, squires, and other auxiliaries, for a total of around 10,000 fighters. The impression is that after all, the cities of northern Italy, albeit with difficulty, have already been subdued. The rebellious Venetians appear to pose no real threat, and the fabled riches of southern Italy (the only land in the West where gold coins still circulate) seem within reach.
