The older image of the Staufer is shaped by German desires and ideals of the late 19th century. Under the influence of the increasingly questioned concept of the nation-state, this image has also fallen into crisis since the end of the last war. The characterization of Staufer rule has since fluctuated between power-obsessed tyranny, illusory claims to power, insistence on outdated imperial rights, and creative statecraft. The author traces, on one hand, the development of early state principles and their enforcement, while on the other hand, he also depicts the politics of the Staufer as a coexistence and rivalry among leading noble families. Simultaneously, with their rise from a still relatively unremarkable noble family to a noble house with a distinctive self-understanding and specific deficiencies in their power base, they grew into high politics.