Duchy of Swabia
Frederick I Barbarossa appointed the noble Degenhard von Hellenstein as "Prokurator" (Governor) for the Duchy of Swabia while his son was underage. In 1179 the Emperor granted to Frederick VI in addition to the Duchy of Swabia, some areas acquired in Upper Swabia and Bavaria on the basis of contracts of inheritance with Duke Welf I of Bavaria and Count Rudolf of Pfullendorf. For the first a lion was found on a Hohenstaufen coat of arms in a seal of Frederick VI dated around 1181. This design was in also in a 1220 seal of Duke Henry of Swabia, later Staufen King Henry (VII) of Germany. The extended version of this seal with a three-lion crest was currently part of the Coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg.