No More Learning

Neverthe-
less fear of the German arms was stronger than hatred; the inhabitants
of Philippopolis and Hadrianople fled at their approach and left the cities
deserted; Isaac Angelus, dreading an attack on Constantinople, had to
submit. He agreed to provision Frederick's army, to transport it to Asia
Minor, and to provide hostages for his good conduct. Isaac had given
way none too soon; for Frederick, disgusted with his behaviour, had written
to his son in Germany with instructions to collect a fleet from the maritime
towns of Italy and to get the Pope's sanction to a crusade against the
Greeks. Timely submission alone prevented Barbarossa from anticipating
the work of the Fourth Crusade.
Without entering the Greek capital the German army moved south-
ward from Hadrianople and crossed from Gallipoli into Asia Minor. Here
CH, XII.


## p. 412 (#458) ############################################

412
Death of Frederick Barbarossa, 10 June 1190
too unexpected difficulties were encountered: the promises of the Sultan
of Iconium on which Frederick had reckoned were as valueless as those of
the Emperor of Constantinople; the line of march of the crusading army
was continually harassed by Turkish bands; supplies were cut off and
famine was added to the other difficulties which beset their path. Iconium
had to be captured before Sultan Qilij Arslān would fulfil his compact,
grant them a safe passage through his dominions, and provide them with
the necessary supplies. With Armenian guides they proceeded on their
way across the Taurus till they reached the banks of the Cilician river
Salef. There the great Kaiser met his end. How precisely, we cannot tell;
there are many versions of the story. Frederick, perhaps, chafing at the slow
progress of his army over the narrow bridge, rode impetuously into the
stream and was borne under by the swift waters, or, wearied by the tedious
march across the mountains, he may have wished to refresh himself in
the cool stream and found the current too strong for his aged limbs.
Certain it is that his body was drawn lifeless from the river.
The memory of Frederick Barbarossa was not extinguished when his
bones were laid to rest in the church of St Peter at Antioch. He has
lived on in the minds of his fellow-countrymen as the truest expression of
German patriotism. It is but a little more than a century ago that his
name was first linked with the well-known Kyffhäuser Saga; the hero of
that famous legend is his gifted, brilliant, yet far less patriotic grandson.
Rückert and Grimm', with a keener perception of the fitness of things,
make not Frederick II but Frederick Barbarossa sleep in the solitary cave
on the mountain side with his great red beard growing round the table
at which he sits; twice his beard has encircled the table; when it has done
so a third time he will awaken and fight a mighty battle, and the Day of
Judgment will dawn.
1 Rückert, Patriotische Gedichte, 1813; J. and W. Grimm, Deutsche Sagen, 1816,
p. 29. Cf. also Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, 1854, pp. 906 sq.


## p. 413 (#459) ############################################

413
CHAPTER XIII.
FREDERICK BARBAROSSA AND THE LOMBARD LEAGUE.
When the votes of the Electors called the young Duke of Swabia,
Frederick of Hohenstaufen, to the throne, men's minds turned to him in
anxiety yet in the fulness of hope. Germany had need of settled
government in order to reunite her inherent forces and to raise the fallen
dignity of the Empire to the high level once attained by Charles and
Otto the Great. The character of the young monarch who now undertook
to direct the destinies of the Empire was not unequal to the task, and the
manly ambition which glowed within him found in the example of those
great predecessors a spur and inspiration fraught with promise. His
person seemed a symbol of domestic peace to the Germans who had raised
him to his throne. His father had transmitted to him the Ghibelline
blood of the Hohenstaufen with all the other imperial traditions of the
Franconian house. On his mother's side he was related to the Welfs,
and thus seemed to form a reuniting link of friendship between the two
great parties so long at variance. He was a voice calling upon the
scattered forces of Germany to combine and work in harmony for
common interests.
Gifted with a good memory and a keen intelligence, Frederick
spoke his native language eloquently but was not at home in the
Latin tongue, although he read Latin authors with pleasure and took
a delight in those narratives of Roman history which brought before his
mind, yearning for greatness and fame, memories of that bygone Roman
Empire on the restoration of which his heart was set. Like all men of
a higher cast of character, he opened his ears to the spirit of his age and
yielded to the influences of the revived classical learning. His mind was
full of the revived conceptions of the Roman imperial law, of which the
Italian jurists saw in him the embodiment. They did not, however,
understand that the Empire transplanted into German soil was not the
Empire of old, and that in Frederick of Hohenstaufen they had before
them the most authentic representation of the good and evil of Germanic
power against which, as by an inevitable antithesis, the free Lombard
communes were to rise. Frederick was the successor of Charles the Great
rather than of Augustus, and his counterpart was the new Italy which
had taken the place of the ancient Rome.
The crown was hardly on his brow when he sent to Italy ambas-
sadors, who presented themselves to the Pope and were well received.
Eugenius III, in May 1152, had at once written to Frederick from
CH. XIII.


## p. 414 (#460) ############################################

414
Barbarossa's early relations with the Papacy
Segni congratulating him on his election and announcing the dispatch
of a legate who would acquaint him with his intentions. The Pope, in
expressing his confidence that the king would maintain the promises
made by Conrad III to himself and the Roman Church, hinted at an
early visit to Rome. With a bearing on this subject which lay so near
his heart, Eugenius wrote on 20 September 1152 to Wibald, Abbot of
Corvey (Stablo), informing him of the machinations set on foot in Rome
by the popular faction at the instigation of the heretic, Arnold of Brescia,
unknown to the nobles and leading personages of the city. About two
thousand of the common citizens had met secretly to arrange for the elec-
tion of one hundred senators for life and two consuls, and to vest the
supreme authority over them and over Rome in one man holding the
rank of Emperor. The Pope enjoined Wibald to inform Frederick of this
secretly in order that he might take steps to meet the occasion. Frederick
stood in need of no incitement from the Pope to turn his thoughts to
Italy, and in the very first days of his reign he had discussed the matter
in council with the princes. His ecclesiastical advisers would have liked
him to have given effect without further negotiations to the engagements
made between Conrad III and the Holy See, and then to have proceeded
to Rome to receive the crown and re-establish the impaired authority of
the Pope. But the lay princes were opposed to this immediate absence
from Germany, either because the position of the kingdom was still too
unstable or because they thought it expedient to wait for a fresh in-
vitation from the Pope. Frederick, although anxious to receive the
crown and feeling that it was important to do so quickly, saw the
necessity of first dealing with the affairs of Germany. In the case of
the election of Wichmann? to the archbishopric of Magdeburg the inter-
pretation of the Concordat of Worms was involved, and this introduced
a serious cause of disagreement with the Pope.
In spite of this incident, friendly relations were maintained between
the Pope and the king. It was a matter of pressing importance for
both that the coronation at Rome should not be long deferred. While
settling the affairs of Germany, Frederick kept his attention steadily
fixed on Italy, and in giving his decision in favour of the Saxon Henry
the Lion, whom he liked and wished to reconcile to the Empire, in the
dispute between that prince and the Duke of Bavaria, he aimed at
securing powerful co-operation in his expedition into Italy. Invitations
to enter upon this expedition were many and fervent. The rebel barons
of Apulia pictured to him the easiness of an enterprise against the
King of Sicily; many Italian cities asked his aid against other and more
powerful cities, especially against the powerful and haughty Milanese
whom they had not sufficient strength to oppose. Anastasius IV, who
had succeeded Eugenius III in July 1153, confirmed the proposals of his
predecessor, and went so far as to grant the pallium to Wichmann for
See supra, Chapter XII, pp. 392–3.


## p. 415 (#461) ############################################

Pope Hadrian IV
415
a
new era
the see of Magdeburg, while urging Frederick to come to Rome. The
moment had come, and the young restorer of the Empire set out in
October 1154 from the Tyrol for Italy. In November he encamped near
Piacenza, on the plains of Roncaglia, in order to hold, according to
custom, his first Italian diet. A few days afterwards, on 3 December
1154, Anastasius died at Rome, and with his successor
opened, in which the story of the House of Swabia up to its end was
inextricably bound up with that of the Papacy.
'The new Pontiff was known as Hadrian IV. He was born in England,
at Langley near St Albans, in poor circumstances, and his name was
Nicholas Breakspear. He had left his native country in youth and
wandered through various districts of France in search of instruction.
After a stay of some duration at Arles, his studies being now complete,
he was received into the monastery of Saint-Ruf in Provence, where
his good looks, well-weighed speeches, and prompt obedience made him
a favourite. There he was able to turn to account his intellectual gifts,
and made such advance in his studies and in the esteem of his fellow-
religious that he was raised to the rank of abbot. In this office, however,
he did not obtain the same sympathies as before, either because the
monks found the rule of a foreigner irksome, or that he had heaped up
resentments against himself by his unflinching severity. Thus disputes
arose between him and his monks which brought him to Rome to
Eugenius III. In this way the Pontiff learned to estimate his true worth
and, removing him from the abbacy, appointed him Cardinal-bishop of
Albano and then placed him at the head of the Norwegian missions.
By carrying the Gospel into these distant regions and there organising
the Church, he secured such a reputation at Rome and among the car-
dinals that they, on the day after the death of Anastasius (4 December
1154), soon after his return from his mission, elected him to the
Papacy.
A strong man, called upon to face difficult times, he entered on his
sacred office with a very lofty conception of the supreme mission for
which this office had been instituted on earth by God. The zeal and
piety which inspired him were combined with a capacity for public
affairs bordering on astuteness, while the suavity of his manner was
accompanied by a strength and tenacity of character which looked
straight forward, without swerving, to the end in view. He had scarcely
become Pope when an occasion arose for displaying his firmness. The
Romans, in the last days of the pontificate of Eugenius, had consented
to a sort of truce which had enabled the Pope to re-enter Rome and
establish himself in the Vatican within the precincts of the Leonine
city. But it was a truce which both parties viewed with suspicion.
Arnold of Brescia with his followers was still in Rome, and his presence
encouraged the popular faction to contend for communal liberty against
pontifical supremacy. This new Pope, a foreigner, confident of his
CH. XIII.


## p. 416 (#462) ############################################

416
Rome and Sicily
authority and hostile to the teaching of Arnold, could not be acceptable
to the Romans, whose discontent reached at last the pitch of violence.
One day when Cardinal Guido of Santa Pudenziana was returning
from the Vatican, he was attacked and seriously wounded by Arnold's
followers. Hadrian in return for this grave outrage unhesitatingly
launched an interdict against the city, declaring that it should not be
removed until Arnold and his party were banished from Rome.
Never before had this heavy sentence fallen upon the city, and the
unforeseen event spread terror in men's minds. Easter was close at
hand, Holy Week had begun, and the churches were prayerless and shut
against the faithful. Hadrian remained unmoved amidst the amazement
of the panic-stricken people. Urged by the clergy and the populace,
the senators sought the Pope's presence and swore to banish Arnold and
his followers. While wandering in the Campagna he was taken prisoner
by members of the papal party, but being rescued by some friendly
barons who revered him as an apostle he found refuge in one of their
strongholds. His rebellious adversary having thus been got rid of,
Hadrian was able at last to issue forth from the Leonine city and proceed
with great pomp to the Lateran, where he presided at the Easter
solemnities.
While things were thus happening in Rome, fresh causes of anxiety
had arisen in the south, where the quarrel between the Curia and the
King of Sicily, William I, was once more active. The new king, who
had but recently succeeded Roger, began his reign under difficult cir-
cumstances. Harassed by rebellion within and by hostility on the part
of the Eastern and Western Emperors without his dominions, he thought
of reverting to the subtle traditional Norman policy by trying to renew
friendly relations with the Pope and thus separating him from Frederick.
On the election of Hadrian he had sent ambassadors to discuss terms of
peace but without success. Later, towards March 1155, the Pope,
alarmed perhaps by the arrival from Sicily of William at Salerno, sent to
him, in return, Henry, Cardinal of SS. Nereus and Achilleus, with letters
apostolic. In these letters, however, William was addressed ambiguously
as Lord instead of King of Sicily. He therefore sent back the cardinal
to Rome without even receiving him, a treatment which was greatly
resented by the Curia and the Pope. All probability of agreement
being thus upset, the king, notwithstanding his domestic troubles and
the movements among the hostile barons who were hoping great things
from Frederick's approach and were inclining towards him, sent out an
expedition against the papal territory under his Chancellor, who set
siege to Benevento, laying waste many districts, and burning anong
other places Ceprano, Bauco, and Frosinone. On his return he pulled
down the walls of Aquino and Pontecorvo, and expelled almost all the
monks from Monte Cassino on the suspicion that they were partisans
of the papal cause. Hadrian could do nothing in his own defence


## p. 417 (#463) ############################################

Frederick and the Lombards
417
except put William under excommunication and place all his hope on
Frederick.
The Pope had pursued steadily the negotiations relative to the visit
of the future Emperor to Rome. The agreements arrived at under
Eugenius III were confirmed, and the two potentates entered into a
close alliance, the terms of which included the submission of the Roman
Republic to the Pope, hostility towards the King of Sicily, and an
embargo on the acquisition of any Italian territory by the Emperor of
the East. Frederick, however, had scarcely set foot in Italy before he
perceived that he was walking on a volcano. The lofty notions of
domination of the Roman-Germanic Emperor were met by a burning
sentiment of liberty, which was the breath of life to those prosperous
cities wherein had originated a new phase of civic existence and com-
merce. It was clear that Frederick could never hope to have supremacy
in Italy and to hold aloft the imperial authority, if he did not first
subdue the strength of those self-reliant republics which in spite of their
intestine feuds shewed little willingness to submit. At Roncaglia the
representatives of the republics had appeared and had shewn a certain
degree of respect for the imperial authority, but it was not difficult to
see what fire was smouldering under the ashes. Pavia, Lodi, and some
other towns favoured Frederick out of hatred for Milan, to which they
were subordinate, but Milan was the soul of Lombardy and could not
endure the imperial yoke. During the diet Frederick had adjudicated
and settled terms of peace in the disputes between the different cities,
especially between Pavia and Milan, but the latter gave clear signs of
disinclination to bend to his will. It was necessary for Frederick to
use force and bring his heavy hand to bear. He very soon found an
opportunity of shewing his hostility to Milan. His temper had been
aroused by the conduct of the Milanese in guiding his army through
their territory along bad and inconvenient roads. He entered Rosate, a
strong castello of the Milanese, and, driving out the inhabitants, gave
it over to fire and pillage. In the same way the castelli of Trecate
and Galliate were entirely destroyed. The cause of the Empire in Italy
was bound up with that of feudalism, which was waning every day
before the growth and emancipation of the communes. The city of Asti
and the castello of Chieri had rejected the authority of the Marquess
of Montferrat, and Frederick, on an appeal from the marquess, put them
to fire and sword. But these acts of destruction were not sufficient to
prove his power and determination. The opportunity had not come for
carrying his power against Milan. That city was too powerful and too
well stocked with provisions and means of defence. A siege would have
exposed the army of Frederick to too serious a test and would have de-
layed too long his coronation. It was better to attack some other places
faithful to Milan and, by thus weakening the strength of her allies, to
spread through Lombardy the terror of his arms and unbending purpose.
27
C. MED, H. VOL. V. A. XIII.


## p. 418 (#464) ############################################

418
Execution of Arnold of Brescia
Pavia, always a relentless enemy, pointed out to him Tortona which,
when asked to separate from Milan, firmly refused. Frederick, supposing
that her subjection, like that of other strongholds, would be easy, laid
siege, supported by the forces of Pavia and of the Marquess of Montferrat,
but met with a stubborn resistance which gave earnest of obstinate
struggles to come. The fury of the assaults, the gallows on which
Frederick had the prisoners hanged in order to strike terror into the
besieged, the pangs of hunger, availed nothing during two months to
shake their determination. It was only at the beginning of April that
they were compelled to surrender through thirst. The inhabitants' lives
were spared but they were scattered abroad, and Tortona was razed to
the ground and utterly destroyed. All Lombardy rang with the news
of this event.
Frederick had spent so much time on this siege and had used up so
much of his strength upon it that he had to renounce all thoughts of the
entire subjugation of Lombardy. In the meantime he had taken steps to
secure the friendly assistance of the great maritime cities, Venice, Genoa,
and Pisa, in view of an expedition against the King of Sicily and, after
keeping Easter with great magnificence at Pavia, he moved towards Rome.
His route lay through Tuscany, where he intended to meet the Pope, who
was then at Sutri. His journey was so rapid that the Curia felt some
suspicions. Recollections of the violence used scarcely half a century
before by Henry V to Paschal II in St Peter's, in order to wring from
him concessions in the matter of the investitures, may perhaps have
occurred to Hadrian and the cardinals at this moment. After consultation
with the latter, with Peter, prefect of the city, and Otto Frangipane,
the Pope sent two cardinals to Frederick with special instructions to
settle the conditions of their interview. The cardinals found Frederick
at San Quirico near Siena and were received with marks of honour. They
explained the object of their mission, and among other requests asked
that Arnold of Brescia should be handed over to the Pope, who felt
anxiety at his being a fugitive at large. The request was a small one and
was at once granted. Frederick caused one of the barons friendly to
Arnold to be made prisoner and compelled him to surrender the unfor-
tunate refugee. The hour of martyrdom had now come for the apostle of
Brescia. He was condemned to death by the prefect of Rome and fell a
victim to his consuming zeal for the purity of the Church. His death
perhaps occurred at Civita Castellana, but the exact day and place are
unknown. He encountered the stake without fear; he made no recan-
tation; he murmured a silent prayer to God; and committed himself to
the rope and the flames with such calmness and serenity that even his
executioners gave way to tears. His ashes were cast into the Tiber lest
the Romans should preserve them as relics for veneration and as incentives
to revenge, but his words long re-echoed in the ears of the people. By the
martyrdom of Arnold an ill-omened seal was set to the compact between


## p. 419 (#465) ############################################

Meeting of King and Pope
419
Pope and Emperor which was only to bear fruit in bloodshed and was soon
to be dissolved. Frederick had not hesitated to comply with the first re-
quest of the papal ambassadors, but with regard to their other demands he
replied that he had already sent to the Pope Archbishop Arnold of
Cologne and Anselm, Archbishop-elect of Ravenna, to discuss these points,
and therefore could give no answer until they returned. The dispatch of
these ambassadors, when made known to the Pope, increased his suspicions.
He feared some underhand dealing and, giving up his original intention
of proceeding to Orvieto, withdrew to Civita Castellana, a strong and
well-fortified place. There he received the imperial envoys, whom he
informed, in his turn, that he could give no reply until the cardinals
whom he had sent to Frederick should have returned. Thus both embassies
turned back, leaving things where they were. Meeting however on the
way, they resolved to return together to the king, who had reached
Viterbo. There the negotiations were concluded, the king swearing to
respect the life and liberty of the Pope and to observe the stipulations
as agreed before. Among those present at the conferences was Cardinal
Octavian of St Cecilia who, it would appear, was not in agreement with
the other cardinal-legates of the Pope. Probably already at that time
he represented in the Curia the leaning towards closer ties with Germany
and greater compliance with the policy of the Emperor. It is certain
that he was already on friendly terms with Frederick and an object
of suspicion to the dominant and stricter party who, as we shall see
later on, were not without reasons for suspicion. The conditions and
place of meeting having been settled, the Pope and the king moved
forward. Frederick with his court and army encamped at Campo Grasso
in the territory of Sutri, and the Pope, now assured of his personal safety,
left Civita Castellana and came down to Nepi, where on the following
day he was met by a large company of German barons who accompanied
him in solemn procession along with his bishops and cardinals to the
tent of the king.
But here a new surprise awaited him, reviving all his doubts and
suspicions. Frederick, on the Pope's arrival, did not advance to offer his
services as squire to hold Hadrian's bridle and stirrup. The cardinals
were thrown into great excitement. The Pope himself, disturbed and
uncertain what to do, dismounted unwillingly and seated himself on
the throne prepared for him. The king then knelt before him and
kissed his feet and drew near to receive the kiss of peace. But the Pope
firmly refused. “Thou hast denied me,” he said, “the service which, out
of reverence for the Apostles Peter and Paul, thy predecessors have
always paid to mine up to the present time, and until thou hast satisfied
me I will not give thee the kiss of peace. ” The king replied that he was
not bound to this act of service. Through the whole of that day and
of the next the dispute on this point of ceremonial went on. So obstinate
was the contention that some of the cardinals, either from exasperation
CH. XIII.
27-2


## p. 420 (#466) ############################################

420
Advance to Rome
or fear, left the camp and returned to Civita Castellana. The question
was more serious than it seemed to be, for Frederick by his refusal
wished to shut out even the semblance of homage to the Pope, and by so
doing implicitly denied that he was in any way indebted to the Pontiff for
the imperial crown. But the unshakeable firmness of the Pope carried
the day. The existence of ninth-century precedents for the papal claim
was a notorious fact, and among the followers of the king the older men
could remember having seen the Emperor Lothar pay this very service
to Innocent II. Frederick besides had too many reasons for hastening
on the coronation to put obstacles in his own way over a matter of
form. The camp was moved a little farther away to the neighbourhood
of a lake in the district of Nepi, and here, according to arrangement, the
king and Pope met, coming from different directions; Frederick, in
the presence of the army, fulfilled the functions of squire, holding the
Pope's bridle for about a stone's throw and the stirrup as he dismounted.
Agreement having thus been secured, Hadrian and the king advanced
towards Rome together, journeying and halting in company and keeping
up friendly conversations, in the course of which the Pope reiterated his
grievances against the Romans and the King of Sicily, calling upon
Frederick to give him his promised help in restoring the papal authority
in Rome, and in providing him with security against his powerful and
aggressive neighbour in the south. As they drew near to Rome, they
were met by the ambassadors sent by the senate and people of Rome to
greet Frederick. The Pope's presence and his evident alliance with the
king had not yet quelled the high spirit of the Romans. They still felt
conscious of a strength real enough to contest the possession of Rome,
and, with the glamour of ancient Roman greatness before them, they used
the language of lords and dispensers of the Roman Empire, demanding a
tribute and sworn guarantees for the safety and liberties of the city.
Frederick, in agreement with and at the advice of the Pope and the
cardinals, haughtily repulsed their audacious requests. The ambassadors
withdrew to the Capitol in wrath, there to convey the news of the rejection.
Wounded in their pride and determined not to surrender the liberty
won after so many years of conflict with the Popes, the Romans made
ready to avenge this outrage. The Pope, who understood the Roman
temper, advised the king to act quickly and cautiously. The Leonine
city was still the Pope's. It was necessary to keep it in their hands,
and therefore a strong band of men was at once sent to occupy it by
night. In order to reassure Frederick, the Pope proposed that Cardinal
Octavian, his faithful adherent, should act as their leader. Without
waiting for the Sunday, on the following day (Saturday, 18 June 1155),
preceded by Hadrian, who went to await him on the steps of St Peter's,
Frederick came down from Monte Mario at the head of his army
and, in great pomp, surrounded by his princes and barons, entered the
church and went with the Pope to worship at the tomb of the Apostles.


## p. 421 (#467) ############################################

Imperial coronation.
Fighting at Rome
421
Here, according to the accustomed rites, he received at the Pope's hands
the imperial crown amid such loud acclamations from the Germans that
the roof of the church seemed to send back peals of thunder.
While Frederick re-entered his camp without the walls of the city,
the unexpected news of the coronation reached the Capitol, where the
Romans had assembled to discuss the best means of preventing the
ceremony. Finding themselves thus over-reached, their indignation knew
no bounds, and they seized their arms and rushed to the Leonine city in
fury. Some German soldiers who had remained behind, and some followers
of the Pope and of the cardinals, were killed by the populace. The
tumult was great, and Hadrian and the cardinals were in personal
danger. The report of the commotion reached the camp at the point
nearest to the city, where Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, was encamped.
He rose in haste and entered by a breach in the walls, which had been
left open since the days of Henry IV, to meet the Romans, followed
quickly by the Emperor with all his forces. There followed a terrible
struggle which lasted persistently throughout the day, accompanied by
great slaughter. At last towards nightfall the disciplined soldiery of a
regular army got the better of the stubborn fury of the populace. The
Romans were driven back over the Tiber, with great loss in killed and
wounded and leaving behind them some hundreds of prisoners.
Frederick was boastful of his victory, but, if by rapidity of movement
he had been able to carry out his coronation undisturbed, the bloodshed
which followed it did not give him possession of Rome and could not
secure it for Hadrian. It was out of the question to make his way into
the city by force, nor was it expedient, even if possible, to remain where he
was. The infuriated Romans refused all intercourse with him and would
not supply him with the means of victualling his army. The only course
open was to strike his camp and, taking with him the Pope and the
cardinals, to retire towards the Sabina and make for a crossing over the
Tiber near Soracte, at some distance from Rome. After a brief rest at
the monastery of Farfa, he led his army to an encampment in the valley
of the Tiber on the banks of the Aniene near Ponte Lucano. Here the
Pope and the Emperor celebrated the festival of SS. Peter and Paul
(29 June 1155), and it is said that on this occasion the Pope absolved the
soldiery from the guilt of the bloodshed in Rome, declaring that he was
not guilty of murder who slew another in fighting for his own sovereign.
From Ponte Lucano they went on to the territory of Albano and
Tusculum. Since it was impossible to make an immediate attack on
Rome and obtain mastery over the city, the Pope urged Frederick to
seize the favourable opportunity and move against the King of Sicily,
now that his barons, emboldened by the Emperor's presence in Italy, had
risen in open rebellion. Frederick was inclined to listen to him and his
ecclesiastical advisers were in favour of the design, but fever was already
making inroads on his army, and the lay barons strongly opposed it
CH. XIII.


## p. 422 (#468) ############################################

422
Frederick's return to Germany
and insisted on his return to Germany. The Emperor abandoned the ex-
pedition, and took leave of the Pope with promises of a speedy return
with stronger forces to subjugate Rome and Sicily. They parted with all
the forms of friendship, but the Pope felt his disappointment and isolation
bitterly. On his way Frederick set fire to Spoleto, which had offered him
resistance, and at Ancona he met with the Byzantine ambassadors of the
Emperor Manuel Comnenus, who offered him money and help towards
the Sicilian expedition, an aid which he was obliged to refuse on account
of his homeward journey. He continued his march in speed to Verona,
where he met with an unfriendly reception. At the defile of the Adige
he encountered obstinate resistance which he overcame with courage
and skill, leaving traces behind him of his stern severity as a warning
to those who were inclined to oppose him. In this way he reached
Germany with no other gain than the imperial crown, but he had learned
to know the Italians and had taught the Italians to know him. He
knew henceforward what kind of obstacles he had to expect and what
amount of strength would be required to overcome them. The crown of
Empire was his, but it behoved him to make it the symbol of real power
and of intrinsic greatness, and to guard it not only from the claims of
the Papacy as of old but from the rising popular forces of the free
communes which seemed to have sprung as by enchantment from the
soil. A conflict there was bound to be, and it was imperative that he
should be prepared.
The departure of the Emperor rendered the condition of the cities
favourable to the Empire more serious, for Milan and the communes in
alliance with her became increasingly aggressive throughout the cruel
and incessant warfare waged between the cities of Lombardy. Frederick
had scarcely turned his back when Tortona, notwithstanding the opposi-
tion of Pavia, sprang again into life with the help of Milan in money and
men, and her newly reconstructed walls once more raised a bulwark of
defence for the citizens who had already shewn such a heroic capacity of
resistance. The hegemony of Milan established itself more firmly than
ever, and thanks to her well-chosen alliances with other cities this pre-
dominance bore with increasing weight on the other communes. The
cities thus held within her grasp looked to the Germanic Emperor as
their only means of salvation.
The Emperor, in the meantime, strengthened by the prestige of the
imperial crown and the renown of his military exploits in Italy, had
turned energetically to the restoration in Germany of the imperial
authority and the organisation of the State'. Having divorced his first
wife, he had married Beatrix, the heiress of the County of Burgundy,
thereby extending his influence towards Provence and bringing the
frontiers of his effective rule nearer to Italy, never absent from his
thoughts. After having received, along with the Empress, the homage
1 For events in Germany see supra, Chapter xli.


## p. 423 (#469) ############################################

Divisions among the cardinals
423
of Burgundy at Besançon, he returned to Germany in January 1158.
Scarcely two years had passed since his coronation in Rome; the whole
of Germany regarded with pride and wonder the sovereign who had led
her back to the position of the central power in Europe.
But this conception of universal influence had its roots in Italy, and
it was in that country that the foundations of the Empire must be laid if
they were to rest on a stable basis. In northern Italy it was necessary
to have a firm foothold in order to confront the Papacy, from which the
Empire could not sever itself but towards which it was yet indispensable
to assert full independence. It was equally necessary if the imperial
influence was to be efficacious in the political affairs of southern Italy
and in the relations between Germany and the Empire of the East.
Frederick never lost sight of the imperial idea amid all the pre-occu-
pations of his German kingdom. He knew henceforward what diffi-
culties he would have to struggle against before reaching his goal, and
made his preparations by keeping a watchful eye on his adversaries
and combining the forces necessary for their overthrow. Difficulties had
in fact increased since his return from Italy.
Milan and the communes friendly to her had renewed their strength
and were haughtier and more aggressive than ever, while the papal policy
was moving in a direction the reverse of favourable to the Empire.
Hadrian IV, bitterly disappointed in the hopes which he had placed in
Frederick, found himself in a very critical situation. Rome was closed
against him and the King of Sicily threatened his borders, while he had
no aid or defence except among the rebel Sicilian barons. The harassing
uncertainty of his position was aggravated by divided opinions among
his councillors. The rising divisions among the cardinals had now
become sharply accentuated, and two parties had been formed in
favour of opposite courses of action. One side held fast to the con-
tinuance of the alliance with the Emperor, the other, distrustful of
Frederick and mindful of the ancient enmity between Papacy and Empire,
stood for a renewal of the Hildebrandine policy of close relations with
the Norman princes. Each of these two parties had a powerful leader.
At the head of the first party was Octavian, Cardinal of Santa Cecilia,
who had powerful family connexions in Rome, and on account of his
intimate personal relations with Frederick had been chosen to con-
duct his advanced guard into the Leonine city at the time of the
coronation. The other party was led by Roland, Cardinal of St Mark and
Chancellor of the Church, a learned expert in the canon law, a firm,
sagacious man, a sharer in the councils and policy of Hadrian, convinced
like him of the Church's supremacy and resolved to maintain it. Amidst
such conflicting views the Pope, in November 1155, yielding to the incite-
ments of the rebel barons of Apulia, betook himself to Benevento and
there became the chief pivot of the revolt against King William. The
latter, seeing that the Pope was joining hands on the one side with the
CH. XIII.


## p. 424 (#470) ############################################

424
Papal peace with Sicily
insurgents and on the other with the Eastern Emperor then preparing
an expedition against him, was in such difficulties that he reopened
negotiations, offering very favourable conditions of peace. The Pope
was inclined to accept them, but the anti-Sicilian party prevailed, and
the majority of the cardinals would not consent to listen to the advan-
tageous terms proposed. The hour of regret came quickly. William
made an energetic movement against the rebels and the Byzantines, and
after defeating them turned back against the Pope and threatened
Benevento. The Curia had no way of escape and was forced to yield.
Hadrian sent Roland and two other cardinals to sue for the peace which
he had just rejected, and obtained it under much less favourable condi-
tions than those before offered.
With this peace began a political estrangement between the Pope and
the Emperor. The new situation irritated Frederick, and was regarded
with dislike also by the German clergy. The treaty between the Pope
and King William seemed a treacherous infraction of the terms agreed
upon at Constance in 11531, and there certainly seemed to be grounds for
believing that the Pope had fallen short of that understanding. On the
other hand Hadrian had as an excuse the Emperor's abandonment of
him and the calamitous situation in which he found himself at Benevento
without hope of assistance. In every way the relations between the
Pope and the Emperor had become clouded by suspicion and bitterness,
when an incident occurred which led to the first open rupture. Eskil,
Archbishop of Lund, on returning to his see from Italy, was made
prisoner in Germany and detained until he paid a ransom. In spite of
the Pope's entreaties Frederick had done nothing towards liberating
him. Hadrian was deeply offended, and in October 1157, when the
Emperor took formal possession of the Burgundian kingdom at Besançon,
he sent two legates, the Chancellor Roland and Bernard, Cardinal of
San Clemente, to obtain Eskil's freedom and to treat of the political
relations as modified by recent events. Frederick received the legates
courteously, but their greeting struck him as a strange one. "The
Pope and cardinals salute you, he as father, they as brethren. ” Re-
ceived in solemn audience the next day, they presented the Pope's
letter. Its tone was severe and haughty. Hadrian rebuked Frederick
for having allowed the Archbishop of Lund to be despoiled and im-
prisoned with impunity in German territory, and for having con-
sciously connived at this act of sacrilege. The Pope added that such
dissimulation and negligence he could not understand, since he was
quite unconscious of having given any cause of offence. The Emperor
would do well to remember that the Church had received him joyfully
and had conferred upon him the imperial crown. That step the Pope
had never regretted, and would rejoice to be able to bestow upon him
even greater benefits. He feared lest some one were sowing tares of
See supra, Chapter 1v (B), p. 190.


## p. 425 (#471) ############################################

The quarrel over “beneficia”
425
discord between them, and ended by recommending to him the two
cardinals who had full powers to treat with him.
On the Chancellor Rainald reading this letter aloud, the princes
present rose in a storm of indignation. They were especially incensed at
the allusion to the imperial dignity as conferred by the Pontiff and at
the word benefits (beneficia) which the German chancellor had evidently
translated by fiefs, the sense it bore in feudal law. They recalled the
rash assertions of Rome that the Empire and the Italian kingdom were
gifts of the Pontiffs, and remembered the picture in the Lateran repre-
senting Lothar at the feet of the Pope with the humiliating inscription
which declared him to be the Pope's liegeman (homo papae), and how
Hadrian renouncing such vain pretensions had promised to have the
picture destroyed. The legates were not intimidated by this tumult;
indeed it seems that one of them exclaimed: “And from whom does the
Emperor hold the Empire if not from the Pope? ” The composure of
the legates fanned anger into fury, and the Count-Palatine of Bavaria,
Otto of Wittelsbach, advanced with drawn sword against one of the
cardinals. Frederick's authority, however, assuaged the tumult and
saved the cardinals from danger. On the following morning they were
both dismissed with stringent orders to return directly, without diverging
to right or left into episcopal or abbatial territory. Frederick at once
wrote to the German clergy to inform them of the incident before
Rome had time to speak. In a circular sent out through the whole
kingdom, he explained the tenor of the papal manoeuvre and the indig-
nation of the princes. He added that the legates had been immediately
dismissed because blank letters were found in their possession with the
papal seal to enable them to strip the altars and carry off the treasures
of the German churches. The Empire was his by the choice of the
princes, and he held it direct from God. To affirm that the imperial
crown came to him as a beneficium from the Pope was a lie against an
institution of God and a denial of the teaching of St Peter. He ex-
horted the clergy to rally to him against such pretensions, since he
would without hesitation encounter death rather than submit to such
contumely. At Rome the legates on relating their bad reception at
Besançon were judged in accordance with the different opinions pre-
vailing in the parties to which the cardinals belonged. The Pope on his
part wrote to the German bishops in terms of grave complaint, calling
upon them to intervene and obtain from the Emperor that Rainald of
Dassel and Otto of Wittelsbach, who were the worst offenders against
the persons of the cardinals, should make satisfaction to the Church.
But the Pope's words were not well received by the bishops. They
replied respectfully but coldly, shewing plainly that they took the part
of the Emperor. It was evident that the answer had been written in
agreement with the Emperor, whose claims were put forth more firmly
than ever along with counter-allusions to the papal aggressiveness. The
CH. XIII.


## p. 426 (#472) ############################################

426
Frederick's second expedition to Italy
divine institution of the Empire was insisted on, and the treaty with the
King of Sicily condemned. The bishops finally advised the Pope to
issue new letters to soothe the angry feelings of the Emperor. The
Welf Duke Henry the Lion made a similar recommendation.
Hadrian perceived that this was not the time for a stubborn
obstinacy. Prudence was all the more necessary as the descent of
Frederick with a formidable army behind him was becoming more im-
minent day by day. Already the Chancellor Rainald and Otto of
Wittelsbach had preceded him into Italy to prepare for the expedition
and to secure the fidelity and aid of the Italian cities. In June 1158 two
other cardinals appeared before Frederick in Augsburg. In much more
obsequious fashion they handed in the letters in which the Pope ex-
plained in satisfactory terms the expressions in the previous letters which
had aroused such wrath. Frederick received the communication with
apparent good-will and treated the cardinals with every courtesy; but
in his heart his distrust still rankled, although he did not wish to give
the Pope a pretext for joining his enemies while he was on the point
of entering Italy.
The Emperor's two envoys, Rainald of Dassel and Otto of Wittels-
bach, had worked hard to smooth the way for the expedition. Having
taken possession of Rivoli and secured the defile of the Adige, they re-
ceived oaths of fealty from many Italian cities. Beginning at Verona they
went down the Po to Ferrara, then visited Modena and Bologna, going
on from thence to Ravenna and Ancona, which latter place they secured
for Frederick, ousting the Byzantine emissaries who were there trying
to obtain a footing. Turning back they wrested Piacenza from the
league made with Milan. Thus so far as was possible all was made
ready for the expedition, and the road to Italy lay open to the Emperor.
In July 1158, accompanied by the King of Bohemia and the flower of
the German nobility, Frederick crossed the Alps at the head of the
greatest army seen in Italy for centuries, and turned towards Lom-
bardy with the determination to subdue it and stamp out all forces of
resistance to the Empire. The cities which sided with him rallied to
him, but those which were hostile he found ready to oppose him in
combination, with Milan as their centre of union. His faithful Lodi
had been destroyed, and not only was Tortona rebuilt but many other
fortresses were rendered capable of checking the advance of an enemy.
Hostilities began at Brescia, which was quickly forced to submit by the
Bohemians who formed the advanced guard. The rebuilding of Lodi
was soon set on foot, and Frederick, after proclaiming the ban of the
Empire against Milan, passed the Adda by a bold manoeuvre, took
possession of the fortress of Trezzo, and laid siege to Milan. He was
aided by all the cities unfriendly to their powerful rival, especially by
Pavia and Como. In spite of the great force arrayed against her,
Milan made a stiff resistance and gave occasion for remarkable displays


## p. 427 (#473) ############################################

The Diet of Roncaglia, 1158
427
of prowess on both sides. After a siege of a month, the Milanese
were compelled to surrender, famine having made its ravages quickly felt
in so populous a city. Frederick offered terms which were relatively
lenient. Como and Lodi were to be rebuilt without hindrance, many
hostages handed over, a large indemnity was to be paid, and, worst
of all, there was to be a great curtailment of their liberties.
Milanese submitted perforce, but in their hearts they were resolved to
shake off their yoke at the first possible opportunity.
On receiving the homage of the Milanese, Frederick dismissed a
large number of his German barons, and after a short expedition into
Veronese territory he proceeded to Roncaglia, where he had convoked
many Italian barons, representatives of the cities, and numerous bishops
of upper and central Italy to a diet. The presence of the bishops and
their assent was a matter of considerable importance, because in times
gone by they had been the foremost representatives and ministers of the
Empire in Italy. There, before a people who had just witnessed his great
power, the triumphant monarch proposed to arrange the relations be-
tween the Empire and the cities of the Italian kingdom. Never perhaps
had the imperial rights been so proudly proclaimed, and at that moment
the authority of the Empire appeared absolute in Italy and as if it were
to last for ever. The jurists, led by the celebrated doctors of the Bolognese
school, carried away by the memories of ancient Rome and the reviving
study of the Justinianean code, proclaimed in the monarch's name his
absolute supremacy, appealing as to a dogma to the famous axiom
“quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem. "
To the principles extracted from Roman legislation were added others
which derived from German notions of law and in reality formed the
basis and the bulk of the constitutions of Roncaglia. All the regalia
were the Emperor's, his all feudal rights, the mints, the customs, the
mills, and all other rights, even that of appointing the city consuls, the
podestà, and other civic magistrates. And he who had thus been
declared lord over the whole world, and whose will was law, dictated in
the diet other rules all tending to restrict the rights of the communes, and
settled differences between various cities, not without a sense of justice,
yet often diminishing the power of the allies of Milan, from which city
he also took away the dominion over Monza and the counties of Seprio
and Martesana. Frederick had reached the summit of his ambition.
The Lombard cities now had their wings clipped, and could venture
no more on any dangerous flights. Frederick's only possible opponent
was the Pope, whose sole support was the King of Sicily, occupied at
home with rebellion and abroad with the ambitious schemes of Byzantium.
The glory of his power would soon rival that of Charlemagne and Otto.
But Frederick did not realise that he was pursuing the phantom of
an irrevocable past. Soon in Lombardy the rights claimed at Roncaglia
began to appear excessive even to the cities which supported the
CH. XIII.


## p. 428 (#474) ############################################

428
Revolt of Milan
Emperor. Their imperial tendencies had sprung principally from hatred
of their neighbouring enemies, and, when they perceived that their
interests and municipal liberties were infringed, their zeal began to cool
and symptoms of discontent to appear. Genoa was the first to shew
resistance to the interference of the Emperor in her domestic affairs and
the government of the city. Safe on the side of the sea, the Genoese
sought to gain time by negotiations, while at the same time at great
expenditure of labour and money, men and women combining in the
work, they strengthened the defences on the land side and made them-
selves safe against a sudden attack. Pavia and Cremona as partisans of
Frederick accepted obediently the podestà appointed by him to each,
and Piacenza, although secretly attached to Milan, had not the courage
to resist. On the other hand the little city of Crema, in alliance with
Milan, stoutly refused to dismantle her walls and fill up her trenches as
Frederick demanded. The latter had been offered a large sum of money
from the Cremonese to insist upon this demand. The Milanese, not one
whit less stubborn, did not feel beaten after their siege. Their irrita-
tion was still great at the loss of Monza and the territories wrested from
them by the decrees of Roncaglia, when Frederick sent them two legates,
the Chancellor Rainald of Dassel and the Count-Palatine of Bavaria,
Otto of Wittelsbach. The authority of these two personages did not
intimidate the Milanese, who, knowing that they had come to establish
officials of imperial appointment, rose against them with such fury that
they had to make good their escape in secret. Frederick felt the insult
bitterly, and realised the necessity of striking Milan a deadly blow
if he were to be supreme in Lombardy. Meanwhile the Milanese
declared open war, attacked and took possession of Trezzo, making
prisoners of its German garrison, and tried several times, but in vain, to
destroy the new city of Lodi which was being built under the auspices
of the Emperor. Brescia also shook off the imperial authority and
joined Milan, while Piacenza, which had yielded perforce, left Frederick
under no delusion as to her aversion. The Emperor, then at Bologna,
again proclaimed the ban of the Empire against Milan, and wrote to
Germany demanding reinforcements, which were promptly granted, and
which arrived led by Henry the Lion. With him came the Empress and
Duke Welf VI, uncle of the Emperor, who had just been invested with the
lands of the Countess Matilda, to which the Pope laid claim. Advancing
into Lombardy, and aided chiefly by Pavia and Cremona, Frederick
began to ravage the country, in order to weaken Milan and cut off the
supply of provisions necessary for her defence. Afterwards, in July
1159, he laid siege to Crema with a great force. The heroic resistance
of this small city for seven months against the great besieging army of
Frederick has been handed down as an object of admiration to later ages.
The siege, conducted with obstinacy and savage fury, was endured by
the besieged with a firmness of mind which nothing could bend, not


## p. 429 (#475) ############################################

Renewed disputes between Pope and Emperor
429
even the sight of their own kindred who had been taken prisoner being
bound to the machines with which the enemy advanced to make their
attacks upon the walls. Undaunted, the Cremaschi repelled their onsets,
without compassion for their own flesh and blood, and with no other
thought than to defend their native city to the last. It was only in
January 1160, after a six months' struggle, when all their forces were
exhausted and further resistance was impossible, that these valorous
citizens surrendered. Their only conditions were that their own lives
should be spared, and the lives of those Milanese and Brescians who
had joined with them in the defence. Crema was destroyed, and her
rival Cremona was able to exult with unseemly joy over her ruins.
Meanwhile the disputes between the Pope and the Emperor had
broken out again more hotly than ever. An impassable abyss lay
between them, for the irreconcilable principle of two supremacies rendered
their two representatives irreconcilable also, and provided endless sub-
jects of disagreement. Frederick, already disposed to take offence, had
become hardened in his resentment because the Pope refused to confirm
the nomination of Guido, son of the Count of Biandrate, to the arch-
bishopric of Ravenna. Much greater was his indignation when a letter
arrived from Hadrian carried by a messenger of mean appearance who
disappeared immediately after consigning it. The letter was marked by
a renewal of the bitter tone which for some time past had dropped out
of their correspondence, and was full of complaints against the recent
exactions made by the imperial officers on ecclesiastical possessions.
Frederick, more incensed than before, ordered his Chancellor in answering
it to place his name before the Pope's and to address him in the second
person singular tu instead of by the customary plural vos. In this
way
he thought to remind the Pope of the old imperial supremacy. But
the Pope stiffened himself all the more, in spite of the great but un-
availing efforts of Eberhard, Bishop of Bamberg, to soothe the two
antagonists. The bishop writing of Frederick to a cardinal said: “You
know what he is. He loves those who love him and turns away from
others, not having yet thoroughly learned to love also his enemies. ”
The exhortations of Eberhard bore no fruit. The Pope, it is true,
sent four cardinals to the Emperor to discuss the points of disagreement
between them, but with conditions which seemed too hard. All magis-
tracies and regalia of Rome, the Pope affirmed, belonged to St Peter,
and therefore the Emperor had no right to send his envoys direct to the
Romans; the estates of the Pope were not to be subject to fodrum
except at an imperial coronation ; Italian bishops owed the Emperor no
homage but only an oath of fealty, and were not obliged to entertain
imperial envoys in their palaces. Restitution was to be made to the
Pope of the possessions of the Roman Church-Tivoli, Ferrara, Massa,
Ficarolo, the lands of the Countess Matilda, the territory from Acqua-
pendente to Rome, the duchy of Spoleto, and the islands of Sardinia
CH. XIII.


## p. 430 (#476) ############################################

430
Death of Pope Hadrian IV
and Corsica. Frederick was certainly not the man to submit to such
exaggerated claims. He repelled them, not without expressions of irony,
by saying that he would not require homage from the Italian bishops
if they would give up those of their temporalities which were regalia;
further, imperial envoys would have no right to be entertained in the
bishops' palaces if these happened not to be built on lands held from
the Emperor; but normally they were so built, and were imperial
palaces. Then the Pope's affirmation that imperial envoys could not be
sent direct to the Romans, since the magistracies at Rome and the
regalia were papal, would imply that he, Roman Emperor by right
divine, was a mere phantom sovereign, bearing an empty name.
Such was the situation when some ambassadors from the city of
Rome came to Frederick with offers of recognition of the imperial rights
in return for his recognition and protection of the Roman Senate.
Frederick grasped the opportunity, received the Roman envoys with marks
of honour, and dismissed them not without hope. He then proposed to the
legates that a committee of arbitration should be formed consisting of
six cardinals on the Pope's side and six bishops on his own, and informed
them that he would send ambassadors to Rome to treat with the Pope
and the Roman citizens, thus inserting a threat amid the formalities of
friendship. Ambassadors were sent, but Hadrian absolutely refused
arbitration, admitting no tribunal above his own, and the Romans
themselves shewed a suspicious temper, fearing that the Emperor, in re-
storing the banished prefect of the city, wished to introduce a magistrate
of his own, and while retaining the semblance to destroy the reality of
an independent senate. Here, as on other occasions, Frederick ran
counter to the sentiment of municipal freedom widespread throughout
Italy. Hadrian again, recognising the power of this sentiment, turned
his eyes towards Lombardy in the hope of securing the assistance of the
communes. A first attempt at a league between the citizens of Milan,
Brescia, and Piacenza agreed at Anagni with Hadrian to come to no
terms with the Emperor without the consent of the Pontiff and that of
his successors, and the people of Crema, still besieged within their walls,
sent their oath to the same effect.