Background
He most likely was the son of Burkhard I, and was married to Udilhild (or Udahild) of the House of Urach (died: 11 April, 1134), which house later became the Fürstenberg family.
He most likely was the son of Burkhard I, and was married to Udilhild (or Udahild) of the House of Urach (died: 11 April, 1134), which house later became the Fürstenberg family.
A younger son was Burkhard, who founded the Zollern-Hohenberg line (which went extinct in 1486). Friedrich I was the first reeve of the Swabian Alpirsbach Abbey, which had been founded by Adalbert of Zollern (from the short-lived Zollern-Haigerloch line) and other lords. The Zollern (later: Hohenzollern) dynasty based their rise to power on their loyalty to the ruling royal or imperial family.
Friedrich I served the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, and was sent on a diplomatic mission to France. He also accompanied Henry V on his Italian expedition in 1110 and again in 1111, where Henry V intended to claim the imperial crown in Rome. He is also mentioned as an advisor to Henry V in both 1111 and 1114, both times while the imperial party was in Strasbourg.