3 Gregory renewed his old
complaints regarding the administration in Sicily.
complaints regarding the administration in Sicily.
Thomas Carlyle
The Eomans
were giving trouble to the Pope, and Henry was again assert-
ing himself against his father. The Pope had so far dealt
with only one point in the Lombard question, and he now
took it up again. At the request of two papal legates,
Frederick in April 1234 agreed to allow the Pope and the
Eoman Church to deal with all questions between him and
cities in Lombardy, in the March of Treviso, and in the
1 L. c. , 177, 5th June 1233. Arbi-
trium Gregorii IX. The "compro-
missum " was the agreement to accept
the Pope's award.
>> L. c. , 178, 7th June 1233.
? L. c. , 180, 12th July 1233. Letter
of Frederick to the Bishop of Ostia, a
nephew of the Pope's. Epis. Sae.
XHI. , vol. i. 652, 12th August 1233.
Gregory to Frederick. The Bishop of
Ostia also replied to Frederick's
letter, H. -B. , vol. iv. p. 450.
< M. G. H. , 'Const. ,' ii. 182, 14th
August 1233. Letter of Frederick to
Gregory accepting the award. It is
dated only two days later than Gre-
gory's letter. It was written from
Castrogiovanni in Sicily, and so, long
before Frederick could have heard from
the Pope.
? Epis. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 560, dated
15th July 1233.
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? 266
[PAST EL
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
Eomaniola. 1 The Pope informed the rectors of the League
of this early in May, and he asked them to let him know
whether they were prepared to do the same. He also asked
them not to interfere with the passage of troops from Ger-
many on their way to the emperor, lest Frederick should
have just cause of complaint against himself and the Lom-
bards. 2 He wrote again on the same subject about a fort-
night later, assuring them that the leaders of these forces
were prepared to give a formal guarantee that they would
do no injury to the Lombards either going or returning. 3
Soon after these letters the emperor paid at Eiete a surprise
visit to the Pope. He was accompanied by his young son
Conrad, and his object was to attest his devotion to the
Church, and to assure Gregory that he would recover for him
lands belonging to the ecclesiastical states. *
Gregory in his turn wrote strong letters to Palestine in
support of Frederick, and sent out the Archbishop of Eavenna
to see that effect was given to his wishes. 5 But desirous as
1 M. G. H. , 'Const. ,' ii. 183, April
1234. Forma Compromissi Impera-
toris Prior. Frederick agrees to this
" attendentes, qualiter sancta Romana
ecclesia mater nostra singulis ex debito,
quo tenetur indifferenter ad omnes,
illibata iura conservet et nos unitati
sue ad tuendum ecclesiasticam liber,
tatem et pro statu imperii reformando
reddiderit uniformes . . . teneamur in
omni reverentia tamquam matri et
honorem ecelesie ac reformationem
imperii iuxta consilium et submoni-
tionem ipsius faeere debeamus. "
>> Epis. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 681.
Gregory to the reotors of the Lombard
League, 4th May 1234. Gregory in-
forms them that Frederick has agreed
to submit to the Church " totum nego-
tium Lombardie, &c. ," " Quare man-
damus, quatinus, si hoc ipsum vultis
faeere, nobis vestris patentibus Htteris
intimetis. Ne autem aliquo inter-
veniente obRtaculo tan tum bonum
valeat impediri" he begs them " ut
si milites de Teutonic parti bus sint in
procinctu ad eiusdem imperatoris pre-
sentiam accedendi, eos impedimentis
aliquibus non gravatis, ne de nobis
et vobis, quibus de ipso non videtur
merito dubitandum, iustam habeat
materiam murmurandi. "
>> L. c. , 583, 20th May 1234, p. 474,
1. 16 f. In this letter Gregory remarks
that should obstacles be placed in the
way of the troops, " non immerito
extimari poterit, quod cum Lombardos
speciales ecelesie filios reputemus et
eis, quantum cum Deo possumus, in
necessitatibus asaistamus, id ex nostro
favore processerit vel consensu. "
* In references to this visit from
different points of view, see l. o. 750,
p. 649, L 6 f. , and M. G. H. , ' Const. ,'
ii. 215, p. 293 1. 23 f.
* Epis. Sae. XHI. , vol. i. 593, 7th
August, to John of Ibelin; 694, of
8th August, to the barons of the
? ? kingdom of Jerusalem and to the
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORTUS iH. , GREGORY IX. 267
the Pope may have been to meet Frederick's wishes as far as
possible, he was careful not to alienate the Lombards, for in
July he wrote them again, telling them that he could not
without injury to the Apostolic See (sine confusione sua) avoid
using the help of the emperor against the Eomans--help the
emperor had himself voluntarily offered (at Eiete). The
Pope had consequently been obliged to ask them to allow his
forces to pass through Lombardy; he assured them of his
determination to preserve their liberty and honour, and he
ended by asking them to let him know whether they would
accept the Pope's arbitration, and said that they might
remain assured of the favour which he proposed to show them
in everything " quantum cum Deo possumus. " 1 In Sep-
tember Frederick sent a fresh acceptance of the Pope's arbi-
tration, adding that he could also deal with any complaints
made by his adversaries in Northern Italy of wrongs inflicted
by him, and generally with any matters out of which quarrels
had arisen between them. 2 The following month the Lom-
bards assented. 3
In November 1234, Henry, Frederick's son, sent envoys to
make an alliance with the Lombards, and took them under
his protection. The treaty is dated 17th December. It was
an alliance offensive and defensive on the part of the king,
but only defensive on the part of the League. Milan and its
allied cities undertook to defend Henry so long as he was in
Lombardy, while Henry undertook to help and support Milan
and the other League cities, and not to make any agreement,
nor peace with Cremona and Pavia and their allied cities,
without the consent of the Milanese and their allies. * On
1 L. c. , 587, 3rd July 1234. In this
letter he remarks, " Verum cum non
posse lis (i. e. , the members of the
Lombard League) absque offensa sedis
apostolice offendi, que reputat vos
membra eius honorabilia et filios
speciales. "
? M. G. H. , ' Const. ,' ii. 184, Sep-
tember 1234.
? L. c. , 185, October 1234.
? L. o. , 325-28, 13th November to
17th December 1234. 328 of 17th
December is the Scriptum Foederis.
In this document Henry undertakes to
help, maintain and defend " contra in-
imicos, quos nunc habent (i. e. , the cities
of the Lombard League) vel de cetero
habebunt in Lombardia vel alibi, et
offendere inimicos eorum secundum
posse ipeius regis et principum, pre-
sertim Cremonam et Papiam et earum
sequaces, qui nunc sunt vel pro tem.
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? 270
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
dilatory tactics (frustratoriis dilationibus) to prevent the ex-
pedition fixed for the following year. 1
After Frederick's reply nothing could go right between him
and the Pope. In September, Gregory informed Frederick
that he had cancelled an order of the papal legate in Pales-
tine, placing the people of Acre under interdict, and he also
informed him that while he had restored the status quo ante
before the quarrel began between Frederick's marshal and
the nobles of Palestine, he ought to replace his marshal next
year by some one to be selected by the Pope. 2 On the same
clay he wrote Hermann, the Master of the Teutonic Order,
complaining bitterly of the conditions attached by the emperor
to the settlement by the Pope of the Lombard question.
These conditions were, as we have seen, that the settlement
should be on terms honourable to the emperor and for the
good of the empire, and that the decision must be given on
an early date. 3 Gregory repeated this complaint to Frederick,
1 L. o. , 195, 24th August 1236.
Frederick informed the Pope of the
eager desire of the German princes
for the expedition against the Lom-
bards : " Nos autom, qui vestris
paternis consiliis adherentes, quanto
prosperioribus potentie nostre suc-
cessibus gloriamur . . , cum maiori
benegnitate intendimus habere pro-
cessum et innate mansuetudinis mode-
ramine perfruentes Deo et ecclesie
cupimus effiei gratiores, a consilio et
voluntate vestra nolumus seperari," he
agrees to leave the matter to the Pope
on the same conditions as before pro.
vided " quod usque ad festum nativi-
tatis dominice primo venturum idem
negotium ad honorem nostrum et
imperii commode componatur. Nam
si ultra dilatio compositionis accederet,
intolerablile videretur, si Lombardi,
sicut moris eorum est, molirentur
ducere nos per verba et tam sollempnis
per principes et proceres imperii
expeditio iam prefixa posset frus-
tatoriis Lombardorum dilationibus
impederi. '*
>> Epis. Sae. XHI. , vol. i. 656, 22nd
September 1235.
>> L. c. , 657, 22nd September 1235.
With regard to Frederick's conditions
Gregory remarks, " Verum cum ex
huismodi serie litterarum, a prefati
verbo iudicis differente, ac ex eo, quod
imperialis industria talem conditionem
adiecit, per quam compromissum tolli-
tur et alquatenus tantum posse tor-
minari negotium non videtur, . . . "
and he asks Herman to beg the emperor
" quod super eodem negotio se iuxta
memoratam formam precise ac sine
conditione aliqua in manibus ponst
ecclesie et se illis laboribus non invol-
vat, a quibus de facili nequeat expe-
diri, diligenter moneas et inducas;
nuntiaturus eidem, quod si iamdicte
provisionis tenorem quod absit in-
fringens contra Lombardos, maxime
si se precise in manibus ecclesie pone re
sint parati, hoc potissimum tempore
? ? iuxta predictum consilium procedere
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? CHAP, m. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORIUS HE. , GREGORY IX. 271
to his legate in Lombardy, and even to the rectors of the
League, though in writing them he warned them of the danger
if they did not comply with his summons to attend at an
early date. 1
The Lombards, instead of attending on the date fixed,
renewed in November the League, in which Ferrara was now
included. 2 In Verona a new podesta was appointed, and
imperialists, who would not obey him, were threatened with
excommunication by the Pope.
3 Gregory renewed his old
complaints regarding the administration in Sicily. Frederick
expressed his surprise that the Pope should be disturbed by
mere rumours, and Gregory answered on the last day of
February by a lurid description, but without details, of what
was going on there. * Frederick had in his letter taken credit
to himself for disbelieving that the Church had anything to
do with the renewal of the League or with events in Tuscany
and Verona. The Pope let him know plainly that he would
proceed with the excommunication of any disobeying the
new podesta in Verona, a " fldelis " of the Pope and appointed
by him. So far as the League was concerned it was not sur-
prising that fear of the emperor should have led to its renewal,
nor that the members of the League should have endeavoured
to enlist public opinion in their favour (quod sibi favorem
acquirere moliantur) by giving out that the Church had
favoured their action. 8 The letter was unfriendly, if not hostile,
lisset, id pati equinamiter eandem
ecclesiam non deceret," Gregory
makes no reference to the new
situation created by the Lombard
treaty with Henry, entered into after
both parties had agreed to the Pope's
arbitration.
1 L. o. , 658, 661, 662. In the letter to
the Lombards, Gregory directs them
to attend on the day fixed " Alioquin
vobis poteritis imputare, si quod vobis
periculum exinde contigerit immin-
nere. "
>> H. B. , vol. iv. p. 796 f. , 5th and
7th November 1235.
? Epis. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 676, p.
575 (and H. -B. , iv. p. 828 f. , especially
831-2).
? L. c. , 676.
? L. c. , 676, p. 575, 1. 20 f. , Gregory
writes, " ai Lombardi vel alii tue metu
potentie sibi a futuris student cosibus
precavere et iuxta sapientiam huius
mundi aliquid de ecclesia pro sua parte
disseminant, . . . si Veronensibus ad
bonum pacis per venerabiles fratres
nostros . . . auctoritate nostra reductis,
et. . . nobilem virum . . . fidelem nos-
trum ad nuntiorum utriusque partis
instantiam, iniuncto ei quod via proced-
ens regia nequaquam ad sinistram vel
dexteram declinaret, in potestatem duxi -
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? 272
[PAST II.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
and ended with an open threat. Three weeks later Gregory
announced the arrival of the Lombard envoys, who stated
that they were unavoidably prevented from coming before
(Gregory gives no reason in this nor in any other letter), and
he asked Frederick to send back the Master of the Teutonic
Order to enable the Pope to deal with the matter. The
Lombards had undertaken to accept the Pope's orders, and the
Church could not tolerate an attack in the meantime on
them (id pati equinamiter candem ecclesiam non deceret). 1
Frederick answered Gregory in April, pointing out it was
very difficult to deal with general complaints, and his officers
might in some cases have done wrong; if so, he would deal
with them severely. Clerics had only to appear in his courts
when a dispute concerned a fief or lands in his own demesne.
He denied the charge that he ill-treated those who had sup-
ported the Church. We need not follow him in his denial of
other charges, but may note that he warned the Pope that
if he excommunicated people in Verona who had, in the
name of the emperor, ejected persons corrupted by the Lom-
bards, it would confirm the opinion that Gregory desired to
force Verona into the Lombard League. 2
Besides answering the Pope, Frederick took steps to have
public opinion on his side. He wrote Louis IX. , complaining
mus providendem, non est, quid nobis
valoat imputare. Verumtamen susti-
nere non possumus, quin contra eos,
qui, excommunicationum sententiis,
iuramentis et penis interpositis vili-
pensis, potestatem, qui pure se habuit
et de sineeritate fidei ab utraque
parte publico commendatur, cape re et
pacem non sunt veriti violare, sicut
iustitia exigit, procedamus. "
1 L. c. , 678, 21st March 1236. Ore-
gory ends the letter as follows : " Dili-
genter enim considerare te convenit,
quod illi qui excellence tue contraire
consulunt, ad id te nituntur inducere,
per quod te illis laboribus involute
de quibus de facili nequeas expediri,
utilitates suas fortius valeant pro-
curare. "
<< H. -B. , vol. iv. p. 828 f. , 16th Apri
l
1236. With regard to Verona, Frederick
writes (pp. 831-2): " Denique littera-
rum vestrarum caudam dissimulatione
non videmus transeundam, in qua
contra Veronenses qui Lombardorum
versutiis involuti, ejectis de civitate
illis qui corrupti jam fuerant fraudibus
et pecunia Lombardorum, nomen nos-
trum et imperii publice invocarunt,
ad excommunicationis sententiam vos
velle procedere dixistis; nec in hoc
commodum nostrum solummodo, sed
honorem Ecclcsie contemplamur. Non-
nulli sunt etenim qui, forsitan zizani-
orum fill i, ad aggregandum ci vita tem
ipsam societati Lombardorum sub
pretextu petitionis obsidum vos extim-
ant aspirasse. "
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORIUS m. , GREGORY IX. 273
of the Pope's attitude towards the Lombard situation, his
insistence on an unqualified acceptance of his arbitration,
and suspension of action against the Lombards pending the
crusade, a crusade which could not take place till the truce
with the Sultan had expired. 1 He also wrote Henry ILT. ,
asking for his good offices, and Henry III. did write both
the Pope and the cardinals on his behalf. 2
Frederick evidently did not accede to the Pope's request
to leave the settlement of the Lombard affairs in his hands,
for in May he issued an encyclical announcing that he would
hold an assembly at Piacenza, to which he invited envoys
from all Italian cities north of Eome (ab urbe citra), at which
he desired the presence also of ambassadors from Milan and
other League cities. Its object was to prepare the way for
a crusade, and to do this it was necessary to consider means
for suppressing heresy, for securing the rights of the Church
and of the empire, and finally for restoring peace, and doing
justice to sufferers from the dissensions in Italy. He dwelt
on the importance of the empire not only in temporal matters,
but also in protecting the Church from injury by heretics or
others. 3
1 L. c. , p. 872 f. Written not long
after Gregory's letter of 21st March
1236. Frederick complains of Gregory
(p. 879) that "processum nostrum in
Italiam, quem odiose quodam guerre
vocabulo donotare velle videtur, occa-
sione Terre Sancte suspendi rogavit ad
presens. . . . Nunquam enim inten-
tionem pape talem esse credimus quod
occasione transmarini negotii deberet
justicie gladius hebetari. Nam et post
edictam constitutionem eamdem, con-
tumaciam Romanorum jura Ecclesie
usurpantium, requirente Ecclesia non
dimisimus impunitam. Sic quilibet con-
tra nos et imperium posset calcaneum
indevotionis erigere, sic posset quilibet
rapinas et furta ac quelibet scolera
perpetuare sed mucronem quem de
manu Dei ad bonorum laudem et vin-
dictam malefactorum accepimus, eva-
ginare propterea non possemus. "
VOL. V.
* Henry wrote not only to the Pope,
but also to several cardinals, " amicis
nostris de curia specialibus. " Rymer's
'Foedera,' vol. i. 1, p. 228. (Vide his
second letter to the emperor).
>> M. G. H. . ' Const. ,' ii. 200, May
1236. Frederick makes it quite clear
that his immediate object is to deal with
the rebellious cities (p. 267, 1. 27 f. ):
" pacatis undique populis, sub devo-
tione nostri nominis perseverant, nisi
ut illud Ytalie medium, quod nostris
undique viribus circumdatur, ad nostre
serenitatis obsequia redeat et imperii
unitatem. Nec in hoo providere tan-
tummodo commodis nostris intendimus,
sed super hoc crucis negocium direc-
tissime procuratur . . . relicto in tam
nobile regione imperii nostri corpore
lacerato et dissimulata tam veteri
rebellione rebellium, assumere tantum
negocium non possimus. "
? ? S
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? 274 TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
Gregory's answer to the summons of a diet at Piacenza
was to appoint as his legate in Lombardy not the Patriarch
of Antioch, as requested by Frederick, but the Cardinal
Bishop of Palestrina, a native of Piacenza. Gregory wrote
Frederick that he had specially selected him, and that Frederick
could rely on his studying the honour of the Church and of
the empire, as he had abandoned all for God, and Frederick
must pay no attention to hostile remarks regarding him. 1
Gregory wrote at the same time to Herman, Master of the
Teutonic Order, who had apparently expressed his fears that
the Pope was about to take hostile action against the emperor.
He hotly denied the suggestion, and defended the bishop's
appointment. 2 That Herman should have written in this way
is very significant, as he was a peacemaker whose services
were constantly required both by the Pope and by the emperor.
The appointment of the bishop needed a good deal of justifica-
tion from the imperial point of view, for, as a result of his
action, in the following month the control of Piacenza was
taken out of the hands of the imperialists and given to a
podesta from Venice, thus entirely frustrating Frederick's
plans for a meeting there. 3
A short time before this Frederick had addressed the
Eomans, complaining of their failure to send envoys to meet
him on his arrival in Italy, and had reproached them with
their failure to support him against the people of Milan. *
1 Epis. Sae. Xm, vol. i. 691, 10th
June 1236. Gregory in his letter in-
formed Frederick that, on the advice
of his cardinals, he had decided to send
the Bishop of Palestrina as his legate
to Lombardy " de quo firmam potes
fiduciam gerere, quod cum a se sua et
suos propter Deum abdicaverit et
semetipsum eius servitio totaliter dedi-
carit, ad ea dumtaxat studebit prooe-
dere, quibus honorem ecclesie possit
ac imperii confovere, sicut ex ipsius
operibus colligere poteris evidenter ; et
si qui aliud suggerant, imperialis oxcel-
lentia auditum malevolis interdicat. "
> L. c. , 692, 10th June 123<<.
* The authorities are quoted, H. -B. ,
vol. iv. p. 904, note 2.
* L. c. , p. 901, attributed by H. -B.
to August 1236. " Ecce nunc Medio-
lanensium superbia sedem ab aquilone
obi constituit, non contents solum-
modo quod Rome sit simulis nisi
Romano imperio contradicat. Ecce
hii qui tenebantur vobis, ut dicitur,
tribute, persolvere, vobis contumalias
afferunt pro tributis. . . . Respon-
debitis forsitan qnod ista magnalia
reges et cesares faciebant. Ecce
quod re gem habetia et cesarem qui pro
exaltatione Romani imperii personam
exposuit, thesauros aperuit, laboribus
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORIUS IH. , GREGORY IX. 275
Frederick's attempts to get the active support of the Eomans
ran counter to the agreements made by him at various times
with the Papacy regarding the patrimony, and could only be
justified as a measure of self-defence in a contest with the
Papacy.
were giving trouble to the Pope, and Henry was again assert-
ing himself against his father. The Pope had so far dealt
with only one point in the Lombard question, and he now
took it up again. At the request of two papal legates,
Frederick in April 1234 agreed to allow the Pope and the
Eoman Church to deal with all questions between him and
cities in Lombardy, in the March of Treviso, and in the
1 L. c. , 177, 5th June 1233. Arbi-
trium Gregorii IX. The "compro-
missum " was the agreement to accept
the Pope's award.
>> L. c. , 178, 7th June 1233.
? L. c. , 180, 12th July 1233. Letter
of Frederick to the Bishop of Ostia, a
nephew of the Pope's. Epis. Sae.
XHI. , vol. i. 652, 12th August 1233.
Gregory to Frederick. The Bishop of
Ostia also replied to Frederick's
letter, H. -B. , vol. iv. p. 450.
< M. G. H. , 'Const. ,' ii. 182, 14th
August 1233. Letter of Frederick to
Gregory accepting the award. It is
dated only two days later than Gre-
gory's letter. It was written from
Castrogiovanni in Sicily, and so, long
before Frederick could have heard from
the Pope.
? Epis. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 560, dated
15th July 1233.
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? 266
[PAST EL
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
Eomaniola. 1 The Pope informed the rectors of the League
of this early in May, and he asked them to let him know
whether they were prepared to do the same. He also asked
them not to interfere with the passage of troops from Ger-
many on their way to the emperor, lest Frederick should
have just cause of complaint against himself and the Lom-
bards. 2 He wrote again on the same subject about a fort-
night later, assuring them that the leaders of these forces
were prepared to give a formal guarantee that they would
do no injury to the Lombards either going or returning. 3
Soon after these letters the emperor paid at Eiete a surprise
visit to the Pope. He was accompanied by his young son
Conrad, and his object was to attest his devotion to the
Church, and to assure Gregory that he would recover for him
lands belonging to the ecclesiastical states. *
Gregory in his turn wrote strong letters to Palestine in
support of Frederick, and sent out the Archbishop of Eavenna
to see that effect was given to his wishes. 5 But desirous as
1 M. G. H. , 'Const. ,' ii. 183, April
1234. Forma Compromissi Impera-
toris Prior. Frederick agrees to this
" attendentes, qualiter sancta Romana
ecclesia mater nostra singulis ex debito,
quo tenetur indifferenter ad omnes,
illibata iura conservet et nos unitati
sue ad tuendum ecclesiasticam liber,
tatem et pro statu imperii reformando
reddiderit uniformes . . . teneamur in
omni reverentia tamquam matri et
honorem ecelesie ac reformationem
imperii iuxta consilium et submoni-
tionem ipsius faeere debeamus. "
>> Epis. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 681.
Gregory to the reotors of the Lombard
League, 4th May 1234. Gregory in-
forms them that Frederick has agreed
to submit to the Church " totum nego-
tium Lombardie, &c. ," " Quare man-
damus, quatinus, si hoc ipsum vultis
faeere, nobis vestris patentibus Htteris
intimetis. Ne autem aliquo inter-
veniente obRtaculo tan tum bonum
valeat impediri" he begs them " ut
si milites de Teutonic parti bus sint in
procinctu ad eiusdem imperatoris pre-
sentiam accedendi, eos impedimentis
aliquibus non gravatis, ne de nobis
et vobis, quibus de ipso non videtur
merito dubitandum, iustam habeat
materiam murmurandi. "
>> L. c. , 583, 20th May 1234, p. 474,
1. 16 f. In this letter Gregory remarks
that should obstacles be placed in the
way of the troops, " non immerito
extimari poterit, quod cum Lombardos
speciales ecelesie filios reputemus et
eis, quantum cum Deo possumus, in
necessitatibus asaistamus, id ex nostro
favore processerit vel consensu. "
* In references to this visit from
different points of view, see l. o. 750,
p. 649, L 6 f. , and M. G. H. , ' Const. ,'
ii. 215, p. 293 1. 23 f.
* Epis. Sae. XHI. , vol. i. 593, 7th
August, to John of Ibelin; 694, of
8th August, to the barons of the
? ? kingdom of Jerusalem and to the
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORTUS iH. , GREGORY IX. 267
the Pope may have been to meet Frederick's wishes as far as
possible, he was careful not to alienate the Lombards, for in
July he wrote them again, telling them that he could not
without injury to the Apostolic See (sine confusione sua) avoid
using the help of the emperor against the Eomans--help the
emperor had himself voluntarily offered (at Eiete). The
Pope had consequently been obliged to ask them to allow his
forces to pass through Lombardy; he assured them of his
determination to preserve their liberty and honour, and he
ended by asking them to let him know whether they would
accept the Pope's arbitration, and said that they might
remain assured of the favour which he proposed to show them
in everything " quantum cum Deo possumus. " 1 In Sep-
tember Frederick sent a fresh acceptance of the Pope's arbi-
tration, adding that he could also deal with any complaints
made by his adversaries in Northern Italy of wrongs inflicted
by him, and generally with any matters out of which quarrels
had arisen between them. 2 The following month the Lom-
bards assented. 3
In November 1234, Henry, Frederick's son, sent envoys to
make an alliance with the Lombards, and took them under
his protection. The treaty is dated 17th December. It was
an alliance offensive and defensive on the part of the king,
but only defensive on the part of the League. Milan and its
allied cities undertook to defend Henry so long as he was in
Lombardy, while Henry undertook to help and support Milan
and the other League cities, and not to make any agreement,
nor peace with Cremona and Pavia and their allied cities,
without the consent of the Milanese and their allies. * On
1 L. c. , 587, 3rd July 1234. In this
letter he remarks, " Verum cum non
posse lis (i. e. , the members of the
Lombard League) absque offensa sedis
apostolice offendi, que reputat vos
membra eius honorabilia et filios
speciales. "
? M. G. H. , ' Const. ,' ii. 184, Sep-
tember 1234.
? L. c. , 185, October 1234.
? L. o. , 325-28, 13th November to
17th December 1234. 328 of 17th
December is the Scriptum Foederis.
In this document Henry undertakes to
help, maintain and defend " contra in-
imicos, quos nunc habent (i. e. , the cities
of the Lombard League) vel de cetero
habebunt in Lombardia vel alibi, et
offendere inimicos eorum secundum
posse ipeius regis et principum, pre-
sertim Cremonam et Papiam et earum
sequaces, qui nunc sunt vel pro tem.
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? 270
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
dilatory tactics (frustratoriis dilationibus) to prevent the ex-
pedition fixed for the following year. 1
After Frederick's reply nothing could go right between him
and the Pope. In September, Gregory informed Frederick
that he had cancelled an order of the papal legate in Pales-
tine, placing the people of Acre under interdict, and he also
informed him that while he had restored the status quo ante
before the quarrel began between Frederick's marshal and
the nobles of Palestine, he ought to replace his marshal next
year by some one to be selected by the Pope. 2 On the same
clay he wrote Hermann, the Master of the Teutonic Order,
complaining bitterly of the conditions attached by the emperor
to the settlement by the Pope of the Lombard question.
These conditions were, as we have seen, that the settlement
should be on terms honourable to the emperor and for the
good of the empire, and that the decision must be given on
an early date. 3 Gregory repeated this complaint to Frederick,
1 L. o. , 195, 24th August 1236.
Frederick informed the Pope of the
eager desire of the German princes
for the expedition against the Lom-
bards : " Nos autom, qui vestris
paternis consiliis adherentes, quanto
prosperioribus potentie nostre suc-
cessibus gloriamur . . , cum maiori
benegnitate intendimus habere pro-
cessum et innate mansuetudinis mode-
ramine perfruentes Deo et ecclesie
cupimus effiei gratiores, a consilio et
voluntate vestra nolumus seperari," he
agrees to leave the matter to the Pope
on the same conditions as before pro.
vided " quod usque ad festum nativi-
tatis dominice primo venturum idem
negotium ad honorem nostrum et
imperii commode componatur. Nam
si ultra dilatio compositionis accederet,
intolerablile videretur, si Lombardi,
sicut moris eorum est, molirentur
ducere nos per verba et tam sollempnis
per principes et proceres imperii
expeditio iam prefixa posset frus-
tatoriis Lombardorum dilationibus
impederi. '*
>> Epis. Sae. XHI. , vol. i. 656, 22nd
September 1235.
>> L. c. , 657, 22nd September 1235.
With regard to Frederick's conditions
Gregory remarks, " Verum cum ex
huismodi serie litterarum, a prefati
verbo iudicis differente, ac ex eo, quod
imperialis industria talem conditionem
adiecit, per quam compromissum tolli-
tur et alquatenus tantum posse tor-
minari negotium non videtur, . . . "
and he asks Herman to beg the emperor
" quod super eodem negotio se iuxta
memoratam formam precise ac sine
conditione aliqua in manibus ponst
ecclesie et se illis laboribus non invol-
vat, a quibus de facili nequeat expe-
diri, diligenter moneas et inducas;
nuntiaturus eidem, quod si iamdicte
provisionis tenorem quod absit in-
fringens contra Lombardos, maxime
si se precise in manibus ecclesie pone re
sint parati, hoc potissimum tempore
? ? iuxta predictum consilium procedere
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? CHAP, m. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORIUS HE. , GREGORY IX. 271
to his legate in Lombardy, and even to the rectors of the
League, though in writing them he warned them of the danger
if they did not comply with his summons to attend at an
early date. 1
The Lombards, instead of attending on the date fixed,
renewed in November the League, in which Ferrara was now
included. 2 In Verona a new podesta was appointed, and
imperialists, who would not obey him, were threatened with
excommunication by the Pope.
3 Gregory renewed his old
complaints regarding the administration in Sicily. Frederick
expressed his surprise that the Pope should be disturbed by
mere rumours, and Gregory answered on the last day of
February by a lurid description, but without details, of what
was going on there. * Frederick had in his letter taken credit
to himself for disbelieving that the Church had anything to
do with the renewal of the League or with events in Tuscany
and Verona. The Pope let him know plainly that he would
proceed with the excommunication of any disobeying the
new podesta in Verona, a " fldelis " of the Pope and appointed
by him. So far as the League was concerned it was not sur-
prising that fear of the emperor should have led to its renewal,
nor that the members of the League should have endeavoured
to enlist public opinion in their favour (quod sibi favorem
acquirere moliantur) by giving out that the Church had
favoured their action. 8 The letter was unfriendly, if not hostile,
lisset, id pati equinamiter eandem
ecclesiam non deceret," Gregory
makes no reference to the new
situation created by the Lombard
treaty with Henry, entered into after
both parties had agreed to the Pope's
arbitration.
1 L. o. , 658, 661, 662. In the letter to
the Lombards, Gregory directs them
to attend on the day fixed " Alioquin
vobis poteritis imputare, si quod vobis
periculum exinde contigerit immin-
nere. "
>> H. B. , vol. iv. p. 796 f. , 5th and
7th November 1235.
? Epis. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 676, p.
575 (and H. -B. , iv. p. 828 f. , especially
831-2).
? L. c. , 676.
? L. c. , 676, p. 575, 1. 20 f. , Gregory
writes, " ai Lombardi vel alii tue metu
potentie sibi a futuris student cosibus
precavere et iuxta sapientiam huius
mundi aliquid de ecclesia pro sua parte
disseminant, . . . si Veronensibus ad
bonum pacis per venerabiles fratres
nostros . . . auctoritate nostra reductis,
et. . . nobilem virum . . . fidelem nos-
trum ad nuntiorum utriusque partis
instantiam, iniuncto ei quod via proced-
ens regia nequaquam ad sinistram vel
dexteram declinaret, in potestatem duxi -
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? 272
[PAST II.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
and ended with an open threat. Three weeks later Gregory
announced the arrival of the Lombard envoys, who stated
that they were unavoidably prevented from coming before
(Gregory gives no reason in this nor in any other letter), and
he asked Frederick to send back the Master of the Teutonic
Order to enable the Pope to deal with the matter. The
Lombards had undertaken to accept the Pope's orders, and the
Church could not tolerate an attack in the meantime on
them (id pati equinamiter candem ecclesiam non deceret). 1
Frederick answered Gregory in April, pointing out it was
very difficult to deal with general complaints, and his officers
might in some cases have done wrong; if so, he would deal
with them severely. Clerics had only to appear in his courts
when a dispute concerned a fief or lands in his own demesne.
He denied the charge that he ill-treated those who had sup-
ported the Church. We need not follow him in his denial of
other charges, but may note that he warned the Pope that
if he excommunicated people in Verona who had, in the
name of the emperor, ejected persons corrupted by the Lom-
bards, it would confirm the opinion that Gregory desired to
force Verona into the Lombard League. 2
Besides answering the Pope, Frederick took steps to have
public opinion on his side. He wrote Louis IX. , complaining
mus providendem, non est, quid nobis
valoat imputare. Verumtamen susti-
nere non possumus, quin contra eos,
qui, excommunicationum sententiis,
iuramentis et penis interpositis vili-
pensis, potestatem, qui pure se habuit
et de sineeritate fidei ab utraque
parte publico commendatur, cape re et
pacem non sunt veriti violare, sicut
iustitia exigit, procedamus. "
1 L. c. , 678, 21st March 1236. Ore-
gory ends the letter as follows : " Dili-
genter enim considerare te convenit,
quod illi qui excellence tue contraire
consulunt, ad id te nituntur inducere,
per quod te illis laboribus involute
de quibus de facili nequeas expediri,
utilitates suas fortius valeant pro-
curare. "
<< H. -B. , vol. iv. p. 828 f. , 16th Apri
l
1236. With regard to Verona, Frederick
writes (pp. 831-2): " Denique littera-
rum vestrarum caudam dissimulatione
non videmus transeundam, in qua
contra Veronenses qui Lombardorum
versutiis involuti, ejectis de civitate
illis qui corrupti jam fuerant fraudibus
et pecunia Lombardorum, nomen nos-
trum et imperii publice invocarunt,
ad excommunicationis sententiam vos
velle procedere dixistis; nec in hoc
commodum nostrum solummodo, sed
honorem Ecclcsie contemplamur. Non-
nulli sunt etenim qui, forsitan zizani-
orum fill i, ad aggregandum ci vita tem
ipsam societati Lombardorum sub
pretextu petitionis obsidum vos extim-
ant aspirasse. "
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORIUS m. , GREGORY IX. 273
of the Pope's attitude towards the Lombard situation, his
insistence on an unqualified acceptance of his arbitration,
and suspension of action against the Lombards pending the
crusade, a crusade which could not take place till the truce
with the Sultan had expired. 1 He also wrote Henry ILT. ,
asking for his good offices, and Henry III. did write both
the Pope and the cardinals on his behalf. 2
Frederick evidently did not accede to the Pope's request
to leave the settlement of the Lombard affairs in his hands,
for in May he issued an encyclical announcing that he would
hold an assembly at Piacenza, to which he invited envoys
from all Italian cities north of Eome (ab urbe citra), at which
he desired the presence also of ambassadors from Milan and
other League cities. Its object was to prepare the way for
a crusade, and to do this it was necessary to consider means
for suppressing heresy, for securing the rights of the Church
and of the empire, and finally for restoring peace, and doing
justice to sufferers from the dissensions in Italy. He dwelt
on the importance of the empire not only in temporal matters,
but also in protecting the Church from injury by heretics or
others. 3
1 L. c. , p. 872 f. Written not long
after Gregory's letter of 21st March
1236. Frederick complains of Gregory
(p. 879) that "processum nostrum in
Italiam, quem odiose quodam guerre
vocabulo donotare velle videtur, occa-
sione Terre Sancte suspendi rogavit ad
presens. . . . Nunquam enim inten-
tionem pape talem esse credimus quod
occasione transmarini negotii deberet
justicie gladius hebetari. Nam et post
edictam constitutionem eamdem, con-
tumaciam Romanorum jura Ecclesie
usurpantium, requirente Ecclesia non
dimisimus impunitam. Sic quilibet con-
tra nos et imperium posset calcaneum
indevotionis erigere, sic posset quilibet
rapinas et furta ac quelibet scolera
perpetuare sed mucronem quem de
manu Dei ad bonorum laudem et vin-
dictam malefactorum accepimus, eva-
ginare propterea non possemus. "
VOL. V.
* Henry wrote not only to the Pope,
but also to several cardinals, " amicis
nostris de curia specialibus. " Rymer's
'Foedera,' vol. i. 1, p. 228. (Vide his
second letter to the emperor).
>> M. G. H. . ' Const. ,' ii. 200, May
1236. Frederick makes it quite clear
that his immediate object is to deal with
the rebellious cities (p. 267, 1. 27 f. ):
" pacatis undique populis, sub devo-
tione nostri nominis perseverant, nisi
ut illud Ytalie medium, quod nostris
undique viribus circumdatur, ad nostre
serenitatis obsequia redeat et imperii
unitatem. Nec in hoo providere tan-
tummodo commodis nostris intendimus,
sed super hoc crucis negocium direc-
tissime procuratur . . . relicto in tam
nobile regione imperii nostri corpore
lacerato et dissimulata tam veteri
rebellione rebellium, assumere tantum
negocium non possimus. "
? ? S
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? 274 TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
Gregory's answer to the summons of a diet at Piacenza
was to appoint as his legate in Lombardy not the Patriarch
of Antioch, as requested by Frederick, but the Cardinal
Bishop of Palestrina, a native of Piacenza. Gregory wrote
Frederick that he had specially selected him, and that Frederick
could rely on his studying the honour of the Church and of
the empire, as he had abandoned all for God, and Frederick
must pay no attention to hostile remarks regarding him. 1
Gregory wrote at the same time to Herman, Master of the
Teutonic Order, who had apparently expressed his fears that
the Pope was about to take hostile action against the emperor.
He hotly denied the suggestion, and defended the bishop's
appointment. 2 That Herman should have written in this way
is very significant, as he was a peacemaker whose services
were constantly required both by the Pope and by the emperor.
The appointment of the bishop needed a good deal of justifica-
tion from the imperial point of view, for, as a result of his
action, in the following month the control of Piacenza was
taken out of the hands of the imperialists and given to a
podesta from Venice, thus entirely frustrating Frederick's
plans for a meeting there. 3
A short time before this Frederick had addressed the
Eomans, complaining of their failure to send envoys to meet
him on his arrival in Italy, and had reproached them with
their failure to support him against the people of Milan. *
1 Epis. Sae. Xm, vol. i. 691, 10th
June 1236. Gregory in his letter in-
formed Frederick that, on the advice
of his cardinals, he had decided to send
the Bishop of Palestrina as his legate
to Lombardy " de quo firmam potes
fiduciam gerere, quod cum a se sua et
suos propter Deum abdicaverit et
semetipsum eius servitio totaliter dedi-
carit, ad ea dumtaxat studebit prooe-
dere, quibus honorem ecclesie possit
ac imperii confovere, sicut ex ipsius
operibus colligere poteris evidenter ; et
si qui aliud suggerant, imperialis oxcel-
lentia auditum malevolis interdicat. "
> L. c. , 692, 10th June 123<<.
* The authorities are quoted, H. -B. ,
vol. iv. p. 904, note 2.
* L. c. , p. 901, attributed by H. -B.
to August 1236. " Ecce nunc Medio-
lanensium superbia sedem ab aquilone
obi constituit, non contents solum-
modo quod Rome sit simulis nisi
Romano imperio contradicat. Ecce
hii qui tenebantur vobis, ut dicitur,
tribute, persolvere, vobis contumalias
afferunt pro tributis. . . . Respon-
debitis forsitan qnod ista magnalia
reges et cesares faciebant. Ecce
quod re gem habetia et cesarem qui pro
exaltatione Romani imperii personam
exposuit, thesauros aperuit, laboribus
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORIUS IH. , GREGORY IX. 275
Frederick's attempts to get the active support of the Eomans
ran counter to the agreements made by him at various times
with the Papacy regarding the patrimony, and could only be
justified as a measure of self-defence in a contest with the
Papacy.
