277
After this letter one might have expected an immediate
breach, but instead there was a very marked abatement of
the tension.
After this letter one might have expected an immediate
breach, but instead there was a very marked abatement of
the tension.
Thomas Carlyle
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.
Frederick gave further cause of offence by detaining a
nephew of the ruler of Tunis, although, according to the
Pope, he desired to go to Eome to be baptised. 1
Angry correspondence followed between the Pope and the
emperor. Frederick complained of the conduct of the Bishop
of Palestrina, and charged the Pope with sending him a
string of complaints instead of excommunicating the Lom-
bards for their contumacious behaviour. As regards the
complaints, Frederick promised to give redress if he found
in any case that wrong had been done. 2 Gregory wrote a
very angry reply. Frederick was one of those who dared
" os in coelum ponere. " He defended the bishop ; he had no
evidence that the Lombards were contumacious. They had
accepted the intervention of the Church, and he refused to
accept Frederick's promise to amend any wrong done. He
complained of Frederick's attempt to stir up the Eomans, his
lack of devotion, and his conduct with regard to the filling up
of benefices in the Sicilian kingdom. He ended his catalogue
of Frederick's sins by declaring that the most serious of all
were the hindrances he put in the way of the recovery of the
Holy Land by not allowing a crusade to be preached, and by
not permitting contributions towards it from his subjects
save with his assent.
In the course of his letter Gregory referred to Constantine's
Donation and the subsequent transfer of the empire to the
Germans. As regards the Donation he claimed that it was
made with the consent of the Senate, and people not only
of Eome but of the whole empire, as Constantine held it right
that the vicar of the prince of the apostles who ruled over
non pepercit. . . . vestre sollicitudinis 1 Epie. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 694, 23rd
ltudium excitamus, eisdemque super June 1236. Letter from Gregory to
hiiaquo honorom Urbiset orbis respiciunt Frederick,
vota vestra plenissime conferatis;" * L. o. , 692, 10th June 1236
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? 276
[PART II.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
the priesthood and the souls of men should also hold the
lordship over the whole world and over the bodies of men.
Subsequently it was the papal see which transferred the empire
to the Germans, parting, however, with none of the substance
of its jurisdiction. The power of the sword was given him by
the Pope at the coronation when the emperor obtained his
crown. 1
1 L. c. , 703, 23rd October 1236.
p. 600, 1 . 38 f. "Unde nichil de
tuo iure usurpasse, de tuo nichil,
licet contrarium asseras, occupasse
officio credimur, si nos, de quorum
consilio te ad id in principio,
medio et fine procedere, sicut pluries
promisisti, decuerat, prompti nostrum
summo creditori exolvere debitum
invemmur.
Quarts premissa . . . diligentius
attendentes, ilium, ut per eum nostrum
impleremus ministerium, clegimus in
hac parte ministrum, qui eo tibi et
quibuscumque discordantibus minori
posset haberi ratione sub pectus, quo
eius mens terrenis desideriis absolute
suis actibus fermenti minus ingereret
odii vel am oris, qui se ipsum et sua
relinquens in divini amoris altitudinem
evolasset. . . . Nec enim locus originis
recte contra eum in suspicionis argu-
mentum inducitur, cum non bonitas
hominis deformetur a loco, set potius
loci malitia per hominem reformetur.
. . . eui nichil posse credimus imputari,
si eo presente sedata sint intestina
bella Placentie, si alique civitates
Lombardie, cladibus preliorum op-
presse, ad pacis fuerint duloedinom
invitate. Quiuimmo tibi ad infamiam
reputatur, quod, ecclesia suo prefato
median te legato, pacem imperii de-
digneris vel non patiaris potius refor-
mari. " He is, however, prepared to
do justice if he can prove anything
against him.
As regards the Lombards (p. 601,
1- 41 f. ), " Nec etiam nobis de obiecta
eis contumacia constitit, ad quos pro
facto imperii mandatum apostolicum,
cui superba cervice restiterint, nulla-
tenus emanavit; quinimmo compromis-
sum in manus nostras venerabili fratre
nostro . . . patriarcha Antiocheno
procurante toque petente firmante3,
. . . " As regards Frederick's answers
and promises to give satisfaction
(p. 602, 1 . 19 f. ), "sicut non in
principio, sic in fine non credi-
mus, qui simili promissione delusos
multoties nos dolemus. Indigne ergo
super oppressionibus predictarum eccle-
siarum et hominum regni, in quo nullus
manum vel pedem absque tuo movet
imperio, affirmativam nostra proposi-
tionis negativa ignorantie imperialis
interimis, quibus consensum vel origi-
ri me prestitisse . . . non solum scire
? ? set etiam plane potueris emendare,
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? CHAP, m. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORITJS III. , GREGORY IX.
277
After this letter one might have expected an immediate
breach, but instead there was a very marked abatement of
the tension. Notwithstanding Gregory's defence of the Bishop
of Palestrina, he was replaced a month later by two other
legates, and the Pope wrote Frederick six months later that
he had done this on the representation of Herman, the Grand
Master of the Teutonic Order, and of Peter de Vinea, the
chief justice of the kingdom. 1
Some time before this letter Gregory had again approached
Frederick with a view to making a further attempt at a
peaceable settlement, and the emperor had agreed to send
Herman to negotiate, though with some hesitation, in view
of the predecessor of the new legates. 2 When Gregory officially
notified Frederick, he also wrote the Lombard cities belonging
to the League, stating that Frederick had sent special envoys
asking the Pope to assist in dealing with the matters at issue
between him and the Lombards. In virtue of his office, the
Pope could not refuse, and he accordingly advised and directed
them to send their procurators armed with full powers to
Mantua to meet the papal legates. He ended by assuring
moliris, illius sequens exemplum qui
absorbens fluvium non miratur, . . .
neo non et imperium cure perpetuo
tradidit, et nefarium reputans, ut ubi
caput totius Christiane religionis ab
imperatore celesti di&ponitur, ibidem
terrenus imperator potestate aliqua
fungeretur, Italiam apostolice disposi-
tioni relinquens, sibi novam in Grecia
mansionem elegit; de qua postmodum
in persona prefati magnifici Caroli,
qui iugum a Romana ecclesia vix
ferendum impositum pia debere docuit
devotione portari, sedes apostolica
transferena in German os, predecee-
soribus tuis( aicut et in tua peraona
recolis esse factum, in consecrationis
et inunctionia munere, nichil do suba.
tantia sue iuriadictionia imminuens,
imperii tribunal supposuit et gladii
potestatem in subsecuta coronatione
concessit; ex quo iuri apostolice sedis
et non minus fidei ac honori tuo dero-
gare convinceris, dum factorem pro-
prium non agnoscia. "
1 L. o. , 707, 23rd May 1237.
? H. B. , vol. v. p. 33, March 1237,
Frederick to Gregory. " Nam licet
istorum legatorum (i. 6. , the cardinal
bishop of Ostia and the cardinal priest
Thomas) sequentium fides et merita
[non solum] apud Deum et homines,
sod apud nos maxime longe discrepent
a priori (i. e. , the Bishop of Palestrina),
eadem tamen erat omnimodo legationis
istorum forma oum prima. " Frederick
remarka in another part of the letter,
" Quod enim aollicitudinis nostre labo-
ribus suum divina potentia diebus
nostria exaltat imperium . . . si sub-
tiliter et emcaoiter verum vellemus
inspicere, major vobia ex hoc exalta-
tionis materia deboret afferri quam
nobis, ut pote cum in exaltatione
Komani imperii Romana patenter
? ? exaltatur Ecclesia, . . . "
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? 280 TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [past n.
After Gregory's letter of 23rd October 1236, his complaints
of Frederick's conduct do not recommence till March 1238.
During this period, after negotiations had broken down, the
League forces were routed at Portenuovo in November 1237,
and in consequence the League cities were prepared to make
very large concessions. Negotiations, however, again broke
down, according to Frederick, over questions regarding host-
ages and the imperial jurisdiction over the cities. 1 In January
1238, Frederick sent the Eomans the carrocio taken from the
Milanese at Oortenuovo, with a letter indicating a close con-
nection between him and the city, the " urbs regia " ; a chal-
lenge to the curia. 2
In June 1238 the Pope wrote Frederick asking his consent
to papal mediation between him and the Lombards. Frederick
refused, but in August he himself sent an embassy to the
Pope, of which we have conflicting accounts from Gregory
and Frederick, each throwing the blame on the other for its
failure. 3 After the mission had left Eome, Gregory drew
up a number of detailed charges against Frederick, and he
1 L. c. , 252, August 1244, pp. 348
and 349. Frederick's account, which
is in some detail, seems more prob-
able than the story that negotiations
broke down because he insisted on
unconditional surrender.
? H. -B. , vol. v. p. 162 f. , January
1238. Frederick to the Roman senate
and people. In this letter he writes :
" Ab observatione quoque cujuslibet
rationis intentio nostra discederet si
nos quos Romani Cesaris fulgor illus-
trat Romanos expertes victorie romane
tripudiis pateremur, si vos fructu
negotii, quod vestro nomine gessimus,
dum nos rebelles romani imperii sub
romani nominis exclamatione devici-
mus fraudaremus ; si ad urbem regiam
regiminis nostri dec us non deferremus
et gloriam, que nos in Germaniam ad
nanciscendum imperiale fastigium velut
mater ab ulnis filium destinavit. "
>> For the Pope's request in June
1238 that Frederick would allow him
to mediate between him and the Lom-
bards, see Frederick's letter of July
in W. A. I. , vol. i. 351, from which it
appears that the Pope must have
written some time in June.
On the 6th August the Pope ap-
pointed Qregorio de Montelongo his
legate in Lombardy, vide Felten's ' Life
of Gregory IX. ' p. 267, note 2. Accord-
ing to Frederick (M. G. H. , 'Const. ,'
i. p. 295, 1. 23 f. ) he had sent a legation
before this which according to him
had arrived at a settlement with the
Pope. That such a mission was sent
appears also from a letter of the
Pope's (Epis. Sae. XHI. , vol. i. 620,
1st July, p. 662, 1. 20 f. ), but he and
Frederick do not agree as to the result,
nor as to the causes of its failure-
See also Frederick's account of the
negotiations as given in the letter of
the bishops (H. -B. , v. p. 257). This
was written very shortly after the
mission, and was for communication
to the Pope, and was not an encyclical
? ? for the general public.
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK H. , H0N0RIUS HI. , GREGORY IX. 281
deputed certain German bishops to get Frederick's answer
to these charges. His detailed replies are given in a report
from the bishops of 28th October 1238. The charges are im-
portant/as they agree on all important points with the grounds
on which Gregory based his excommunication of Frederick
in 1239. There is one important omission. The last charge
as given in the bishops' report to the Pope acouses Frederick
of impeding assistance to the Holy Land by his quarrel with
the Lombards, although the Church was prepared to give him
effective help in making a satisfactory settlement. In the
sentence of excommunication no reference is made to the
Lombards. 1
While negotiations were going on both parties were pre-
paring for war.
In October or November, Frederick married his illegitimate
son Enzio to Adalasia, the heiress of two of the Sardinian
"judicatures," and gave him the title of King of Sardinia,
though the Church had long claimed the lordship of the
island. 2 The Pope, on the other hand, got the Venetians and
Genoese to enter into an alliance for nine years, during which
time they undertook not to enter into any sort of agreement
with the emperor saving with the Pope's consent. 3
Just before the final rupture Frederick wrote the cardinals,
1 H. -B. . vol. v. , 28th October 1238,
p. 266. The last charge as given in
the bishop's letter runs as follows:
" Quod per eum (t. e. , the emperor)
impeditur negotium Terre Sancte
occasione discordie quam ha bet cum
quibusdam Lombardis; cum parata
sit Ecclesia dare opom et operam
emcacem ut sibi et honori imperii
super his que commissa sunt contra
eum a Lombardis congrue satisfiat,
et Lombardi ipsi ad hoc ipsum
eint preparati: " In the sentence of
excommunication the corresponding
clause runs (1. e. , p. 288, 20th March
1239) : '* Item excommunicamus et
anathematizamus eumdem pro eo
quod per ipsum impeditur negotium
Terre Sancte ot reparatio imperii
Romanic. "
* The Pope had written Adelasia
(Epis. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 726, 30th April
1235), " volumus, ut de nostro consilio
et mandato talem in virum recipias, qui
et nobilitati tue gratus et nobis merito
sit acceptus. . . . " L. c. , 729, 31st May
1238. Adelasia had promised three years
before to pay tribute, and had acknow-
ledged the Pope's lordship, vide Cod.
dep. Sardin. i. 357 doc. 76, and 347 doc.
57, quoted by Felten, p. 264, note 6.
Sardinia was divided into four judica-
tures, each under a ruler known as the
"judex. "
There was much correspondence
in connection with the papal claims in
the time of Innocent III.
>> H. -B. , vol. v. p. 1223 f. , 3rd Novem-
ber 1239.
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? 282
[pabt n.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
who, according to him, shared equally with the Pope in all
matters which he " proponit statuere, vel denunciando decre-
verit. " He begged them to use their influence to prevent the
Pope's issuing a sentence of deposition against him, and
warned them that if he were attacked he would retaliate. 1
Frederick, according to his encyclical, also sent envoys to
Eome just before the final breach, promising to give satisfac-
tion for any wrongs done to the Church. Before the mission
could arrive, Gregory ended negotiations by excommunicating
Frederick.
The rupture appears to have been inevitable under the
circumstances. Frederick was determined to make himself
master of Italy north and south. Sicily and the south were
already his, and provided him with the funds he required, but
for really efficient armies he needed troops from Germanyr
and for this purpose it was necessary to be able to depend on
the passes of the Alps being kept open for the passage of his
troops. On several occasions the Lombard League had been
able to close them and, for the time being, effectually to
block his schemes. The destruction of the League was thus
essential from his point of view. On the other hand, since
1 H. -B. , vol. v. p. 282, 10th March
1239. Frederick, addressing the car-
dinals, writes : " Cum ait Christus
caput Ecclesie, et in Petri vocabulo
suam fundaverit Ecclesiam supra
petram, vos Apostolorum statuit suc-
cessores ut Petro pro omnibus minis-
trante, vos qui estis candelabra Ecclesie
supra montem, non sub modio consti-
tute revera omnibus qui sunt in domo
Domini ex effectu bonorum operum
luceatis, noo a publica mundi lingua
et conscientia generali vos subtrahere in-
tendatis ; cum ad singula quo presidens
Sedi Petri proponit statuere, vel denun-
cienda decreverit, equa participatio
vos admittat, nisi ipsius religionis
Ecclesie status et zelus effervescens
evitandi scandali generalis cautelam
vobis suggesserit ad futura. Quis enim
non miretur et stupeat, quod tot
venerabilium patrum congregations
munitus Ecclesie generalis sedens in
solio (utinam justus judex) inconsulte
velit prooedere, ac suis motibus excan-
descens, in Romanum intendit princi-
pem, advocatum Ecclesie, ao ad predi-
oationem Evangelii stabilitum, senten-
tiam depositionis statuere et ob favo-
rem Lombardoreum rebelliuin exereere-
spiritualem gladium, si dicere liceat,
minus juste ; " He warns the cardinals
" oportet nos defendendo gravius oBen-
dere resistentes, salva in omnibus
Ecclesie sanctitate quam cultu sacro
et debita reverentia corde et ope vene-
ramur. "
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK: H. , HONORIUS HI. , GREGORY IX. 283
1059, when Eobert Guiscard and Eichard of Capua acknow-
ledged the Pope as their liege lord, the curia had possessed
in the Normans a valuable counterpoise to the domination
of the Germans in the north. There had been friction at
times, sometimes very serious friction, for the Normans were
difficult vassals, but on the whole the Norman Government
of Southern Italy and Sicily had been a valuable asset to the
Papacy. This ceased when Henry VI.
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.
Frederick gave further cause of offence by detaining a
nephew of the ruler of Tunis, although, according to the
Pope, he desired to go to Eome to be baptised. 1
Angry correspondence followed between the Pope and the
emperor. Frederick complained of the conduct of the Bishop
of Palestrina, and charged the Pope with sending him a
string of complaints instead of excommunicating the Lom-
bards for their contumacious behaviour. As regards the
complaints, Frederick promised to give redress if he found
in any case that wrong had been done. 2 Gregory wrote a
very angry reply. Frederick was one of those who dared
" os in coelum ponere. " He defended the bishop ; he had no
evidence that the Lombards were contumacious. They had
accepted the intervention of the Church, and he refused to
accept Frederick's promise to amend any wrong done. He
complained of Frederick's attempt to stir up the Eomans, his
lack of devotion, and his conduct with regard to the filling up
of benefices in the Sicilian kingdom. He ended his catalogue
of Frederick's sins by declaring that the most serious of all
were the hindrances he put in the way of the recovery of the
Holy Land by not allowing a crusade to be preached, and by
not permitting contributions towards it from his subjects
save with his assent.
In the course of his letter Gregory referred to Constantine's
Donation and the subsequent transfer of the empire to the
Germans. As regards the Donation he claimed that it was
made with the consent of the Senate, and people not only
of Eome but of the whole empire, as Constantine held it right
that the vicar of the prince of the apostles who ruled over
non pepercit. . . . vestre sollicitudinis 1 Epie. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 694, 23rd
ltudium excitamus, eisdemque super June 1236. Letter from Gregory to
hiiaquo honorom Urbiset orbis respiciunt Frederick,
vota vestra plenissime conferatis;" * L. o. , 692, 10th June 1236
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? 276
[PART II.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
the priesthood and the souls of men should also hold the
lordship over the whole world and over the bodies of men.
Subsequently it was the papal see which transferred the empire
to the Germans, parting, however, with none of the substance
of its jurisdiction. The power of the sword was given him by
the Pope at the coronation when the emperor obtained his
crown. 1
1 L. c. , 703, 23rd October 1236.
p. 600, 1 . 38 f. "Unde nichil de
tuo iure usurpasse, de tuo nichil,
licet contrarium asseras, occupasse
officio credimur, si nos, de quorum
consilio te ad id in principio,
medio et fine procedere, sicut pluries
promisisti, decuerat, prompti nostrum
summo creditori exolvere debitum
invemmur.
Quarts premissa . . . diligentius
attendentes, ilium, ut per eum nostrum
impleremus ministerium, clegimus in
hac parte ministrum, qui eo tibi et
quibuscumque discordantibus minori
posset haberi ratione sub pectus, quo
eius mens terrenis desideriis absolute
suis actibus fermenti minus ingereret
odii vel am oris, qui se ipsum et sua
relinquens in divini amoris altitudinem
evolasset. . . . Nec enim locus originis
recte contra eum in suspicionis argu-
mentum inducitur, cum non bonitas
hominis deformetur a loco, set potius
loci malitia per hominem reformetur.
. . . eui nichil posse credimus imputari,
si eo presente sedata sint intestina
bella Placentie, si alique civitates
Lombardie, cladibus preliorum op-
presse, ad pacis fuerint duloedinom
invitate. Quiuimmo tibi ad infamiam
reputatur, quod, ecclesia suo prefato
median te legato, pacem imperii de-
digneris vel non patiaris potius refor-
mari. " He is, however, prepared to
do justice if he can prove anything
against him.
As regards the Lombards (p. 601,
1- 41 f. ), " Nec etiam nobis de obiecta
eis contumacia constitit, ad quos pro
facto imperii mandatum apostolicum,
cui superba cervice restiterint, nulla-
tenus emanavit; quinimmo compromis-
sum in manus nostras venerabili fratre
nostro . . . patriarcha Antiocheno
procurante toque petente firmante3,
. . . " As regards Frederick's answers
and promises to give satisfaction
(p. 602, 1 . 19 f. ), "sicut non in
principio, sic in fine non credi-
mus, qui simili promissione delusos
multoties nos dolemus. Indigne ergo
super oppressionibus predictarum eccle-
siarum et hominum regni, in quo nullus
manum vel pedem absque tuo movet
imperio, affirmativam nostra proposi-
tionis negativa ignorantie imperialis
interimis, quibus consensum vel origi-
ri me prestitisse . . . non solum scire
? ? set etiam plane potueris emendare,
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? CHAP, m. ] FREDERICK II. , HONORITJS III. , GREGORY IX.
277
After this letter one might have expected an immediate
breach, but instead there was a very marked abatement of
the tension. Notwithstanding Gregory's defence of the Bishop
of Palestrina, he was replaced a month later by two other
legates, and the Pope wrote Frederick six months later that
he had done this on the representation of Herman, the Grand
Master of the Teutonic Order, and of Peter de Vinea, the
chief justice of the kingdom. 1
Some time before this letter Gregory had again approached
Frederick with a view to making a further attempt at a
peaceable settlement, and the emperor had agreed to send
Herman to negotiate, though with some hesitation, in view
of the predecessor of the new legates. 2 When Gregory officially
notified Frederick, he also wrote the Lombard cities belonging
to the League, stating that Frederick had sent special envoys
asking the Pope to assist in dealing with the matters at issue
between him and the Lombards. In virtue of his office, the
Pope could not refuse, and he accordingly advised and directed
them to send their procurators armed with full powers to
Mantua to meet the papal legates. He ended by assuring
moliris, illius sequens exemplum qui
absorbens fluvium non miratur, . . .
neo non et imperium cure perpetuo
tradidit, et nefarium reputans, ut ubi
caput totius Christiane religionis ab
imperatore celesti di&ponitur, ibidem
terrenus imperator potestate aliqua
fungeretur, Italiam apostolice disposi-
tioni relinquens, sibi novam in Grecia
mansionem elegit; de qua postmodum
in persona prefati magnifici Caroli,
qui iugum a Romana ecclesia vix
ferendum impositum pia debere docuit
devotione portari, sedes apostolica
transferena in German os, predecee-
soribus tuis( aicut et in tua peraona
recolis esse factum, in consecrationis
et inunctionia munere, nichil do suba.
tantia sue iuriadictionia imminuens,
imperii tribunal supposuit et gladii
potestatem in subsecuta coronatione
concessit; ex quo iuri apostolice sedis
et non minus fidei ac honori tuo dero-
gare convinceris, dum factorem pro-
prium non agnoscia. "
1 L. o. , 707, 23rd May 1237.
? H. B. , vol. v. p. 33, March 1237,
Frederick to Gregory. " Nam licet
istorum legatorum (i. 6. , the cardinal
bishop of Ostia and the cardinal priest
Thomas) sequentium fides et merita
[non solum] apud Deum et homines,
sod apud nos maxime longe discrepent
a priori (i. e. , the Bishop of Palestrina),
eadem tamen erat omnimodo legationis
istorum forma oum prima. " Frederick
remarka in another part of the letter,
" Quod enim aollicitudinis nostre labo-
ribus suum divina potentia diebus
nostria exaltat imperium . . . si sub-
tiliter et emcaoiter verum vellemus
inspicere, major vobia ex hoc exalta-
tionis materia deboret afferri quam
nobis, ut pote cum in exaltatione
Komani imperii Romana patenter
? ? exaltatur Ecclesia, . . . "
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? 280 TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [past n.
After Gregory's letter of 23rd October 1236, his complaints
of Frederick's conduct do not recommence till March 1238.
During this period, after negotiations had broken down, the
League forces were routed at Portenuovo in November 1237,
and in consequence the League cities were prepared to make
very large concessions. Negotiations, however, again broke
down, according to Frederick, over questions regarding host-
ages and the imperial jurisdiction over the cities. 1 In January
1238, Frederick sent the Eomans the carrocio taken from the
Milanese at Oortenuovo, with a letter indicating a close con-
nection between him and the city, the " urbs regia " ; a chal-
lenge to the curia. 2
In June 1238 the Pope wrote Frederick asking his consent
to papal mediation between him and the Lombards. Frederick
refused, but in August he himself sent an embassy to the
Pope, of which we have conflicting accounts from Gregory
and Frederick, each throwing the blame on the other for its
failure. 3 After the mission had left Eome, Gregory drew
up a number of detailed charges against Frederick, and he
1 L. c. , 252, August 1244, pp. 348
and 349. Frederick's account, which
is in some detail, seems more prob-
able than the story that negotiations
broke down because he insisted on
unconditional surrender.
? H. -B. , vol. v. p. 162 f. , January
1238. Frederick to the Roman senate
and people. In this letter he writes :
" Ab observatione quoque cujuslibet
rationis intentio nostra discederet si
nos quos Romani Cesaris fulgor illus-
trat Romanos expertes victorie romane
tripudiis pateremur, si vos fructu
negotii, quod vestro nomine gessimus,
dum nos rebelles romani imperii sub
romani nominis exclamatione devici-
mus fraudaremus ; si ad urbem regiam
regiminis nostri dec us non deferremus
et gloriam, que nos in Germaniam ad
nanciscendum imperiale fastigium velut
mater ab ulnis filium destinavit. "
>> For the Pope's request in June
1238 that Frederick would allow him
to mediate between him and the Lom-
bards, see Frederick's letter of July
in W. A. I. , vol. i. 351, from which it
appears that the Pope must have
written some time in June.
On the 6th August the Pope ap-
pointed Qregorio de Montelongo his
legate in Lombardy, vide Felten's ' Life
of Gregory IX. ' p. 267, note 2. Accord-
ing to Frederick (M. G. H. , 'Const. ,'
i. p. 295, 1. 23 f. ) he had sent a legation
before this which according to him
had arrived at a settlement with the
Pope. That such a mission was sent
appears also from a letter of the
Pope's (Epis. Sae. XHI. , vol. i. 620,
1st July, p. 662, 1. 20 f. ), but he and
Frederick do not agree as to the result,
nor as to the causes of its failure-
See also Frederick's account of the
negotiations as given in the letter of
the bishops (H. -B. , v. p. 257). This
was written very shortly after the
mission, and was for communication
to the Pope, and was not an encyclical
? ? for the general public.
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK H. , H0N0RIUS HI. , GREGORY IX. 281
deputed certain German bishops to get Frederick's answer
to these charges. His detailed replies are given in a report
from the bishops of 28th October 1238. The charges are im-
portant/as they agree on all important points with the grounds
on which Gregory based his excommunication of Frederick
in 1239. There is one important omission. The last charge
as given in the bishops' report to the Pope acouses Frederick
of impeding assistance to the Holy Land by his quarrel with
the Lombards, although the Church was prepared to give him
effective help in making a satisfactory settlement. In the
sentence of excommunication no reference is made to the
Lombards. 1
While negotiations were going on both parties were pre-
paring for war.
In October or November, Frederick married his illegitimate
son Enzio to Adalasia, the heiress of two of the Sardinian
"judicatures," and gave him the title of King of Sardinia,
though the Church had long claimed the lordship of the
island. 2 The Pope, on the other hand, got the Venetians and
Genoese to enter into an alliance for nine years, during which
time they undertook not to enter into any sort of agreement
with the emperor saving with the Pope's consent. 3
Just before the final rupture Frederick wrote the cardinals,
1 H. -B. . vol. v. , 28th October 1238,
p. 266. The last charge as given in
the bishop's letter runs as follows:
" Quod per eum (t. e. , the emperor)
impeditur negotium Terre Sancte
occasione discordie quam ha bet cum
quibusdam Lombardis; cum parata
sit Ecclesia dare opom et operam
emcacem ut sibi et honori imperii
super his que commissa sunt contra
eum a Lombardis congrue satisfiat,
et Lombardi ipsi ad hoc ipsum
eint preparati: " In the sentence of
excommunication the corresponding
clause runs (1. e. , p. 288, 20th March
1239) : '* Item excommunicamus et
anathematizamus eumdem pro eo
quod per ipsum impeditur negotium
Terre Sancte ot reparatio imperii
Romanic. "
* The Pope had written Adelasia
(Epis. Sae. XIII. , vol. i. 726, 30th April
1235), " volumus, ut de nostro consilio
et mandato talem in virum recipias, qui
et nobilitati tue gratus et nobis merito
sit acceptus. . . . " L. c. , 729, 31st May
1238. Adelasia had promised three years
before to pay tribute, and had acknow-
ledged the Pope's lordship, vide Cod.
dep. Sardin. i. 357 doc. 76, and 347 doc.
57, quoted by Felten, p. 264, note 6.
Sardinia was divided into four judica-
tures, each under a ruler known as the
"judex. "
There was much correspondence
in connection with the papal claims in
the time of Innocent III.
>> H. -B. , vol. v. p. 1223 f. , 3rd Novem-
ber 1239.
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? 282
[pabt n.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
who, according to him, shared equally with the Pope in all
matters which he " proponit statuere, vel denunciando decre-
verit. " He begged them to use their influence to prevent the
Pope's issuing a sentence of deposition against him, and
warned them that if he were attacked he would retaliate. 1
Frederick, according to his encyclical, also sent envoys to
Eome just before the final breach, promising to give satisfac-
tion for any wrongs done to the Church. Before the mission
could arrive, Gregory ended negotiations by excommunicating
Frederick.
The rupture appears to have been inevitable under the
circumstances. Frederick was determined to make himself
master of Italy north and south. Sicily and the south were
already his, and provided him with the funds he required, but
for really efficient armies he needed troops from Germanyr
and for this purpose it was necessary to be able to depend on
the passes of the Alps being kept open for the passage of his
troops. On several occasions the Lombard League had been
able to close them and, for the time being, effectually to
block his schemes. The destruction of the League was thus
essential from his point of view. On the other hand, since
1 H. -B. , vol. v. p. 282, 10th March
1239. Frederick, addressing the car-
dinals, writes : " Cum ait Christus
caput Ecclesie, et in Petri vocabulo
suam fundaverit Ecclesiam supra
petram, vos Apostolorum statuit suc-
cessores ut Petro pro omnibus minis-
trante, vos qui estis candelabra Ecclesie
supra montem, non sub modio consti-
tute revera omnibus qui sunt in domo
Domini ex effectu bonorum operum
luceatis, noo a publica mundi lingua
et conscientia generali vos subtrahere in-
tendatis ; cum ad singula quo presidens
Sedi Petri proponit statuere, vel denun-
cienda decreverit, equa participatio
vos admittat, nisi ipsius religionis
Ecclesie status et zelus effervescens
evitandi scandali generalis cautelam
vobis suggesserit ad futura. Quis enim
non miretur et stupeat, quod tot
venerabilium patrum congregations
munitus Ecclesie generalis sedens in
solio (utinam justus judex) inconsulte
velit prooedere, ac suis motibus excan-
descens, in Romanum intendit princi-
pem, advocatum Ecclesie, ao ad predi-
oationem Evangelii stabilitum, senten-
tiam depositionis statuere et ob favo-
rem Lombardoreum rebelliuin exereere-
spiritualem gladium, si dicere liceat,
minus juste ; " He warns the cardinals
" oportet nos defendendo gravius oBen-
dere resistentes, salva in omnibus
Ecclesie sanctitate quam cultu sacro
et debita reverentia corde et ope vene-
ramur. "
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? CHAP. III. ] FREDERICK: H. , HONORIUS HI. , GREGORY IX. 283
1059, when Eobert Guiscard and Eichard of Capua acknow-
ledged the Pope as their liege lord, the curia had possessed
in the Normans a valuable counterpoise to the domination
of the Germans in the north. There had been friction at
times, sometimes very serious friction, for the Normans were
difficult vassals, but on the whole the Norman Government
of Southern Italy and Sicily had been a valuable asset to the
Papacy. This ceased when Henry VI.
