The Gothic King by John Paul Davis

Author:John Paul Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers

13

THE PHONEY KING OF SICILY

On hearing of the king’s return, the people of London took to the streets to welcome his arrival. Though Henry had often endured bitter relations with the city, gone were the days when the Londoners backed the invasion of rival lords. Not since 1238 had the city been the centre of an uprising, while the king’s wedding to the daughter of the Count of Provence was still very much in people’s memory.

In the king’s absence alms had been distributed and prayers said daily for his safe return. When he did return he was warmly welcomed and presented with a gift of £100. Unfortunately Henry was less ostentatious in his gratitude than he was in his willingness to spend. Perhaps because similar gifts had often been given to him in the past, he gave the impression of dismissing the gesture as nothing out of the ordinary. The Londoners viewed his lack of gratitude as ungracious, and it reminded them of his behaviour at the time of Prince Edward’s birth. None the less they decided to bestow another gift, this time a cup of some £200 in value, which Henry accepted more graciously.1

Around the time of Henry’s return a strange event is said to have taken place in Rome. Despite the death of the Bishop of Lincoln the Pope had not forgotten Grosseteste’s refusal to bestow the benefice at Lincoln on his nephew. On one occasion his anger boiled over, and in his rage he demanded that the bones of the bishop be exhumed as a mark of disgrace. Though his wish won little support among the cardinals, he ordered that a letter be sent to the King of England to that effect. The following night, the chronicler writes, the late bishop appeared to the Pope in a dream. Dressed finely in his robes of office, he stabbed him in the side with his pastoral staff and said to him, ‘Sinibaldo, you wretch of a Pope, so you are going to cast my bones out of my church, to bring shame upon me and the church of Lincoln? How did you think of such a blind piece of folly? You, raised to a position of honour by God, ought rather to show respect to His faithful, even when they are dead. The Lord will no longer suffer you to have any power against me.’

What happened next astounded the papal attendants. Though Innocent was now awake he was plagued by a severe pain in his side, and he did not eat or drink that next day. As it turned out 1254 would be Innocent’s final year, and when he died, on 7 December, he did so fearing that the wrath of God was imminent.2

During his time on the throne of St Peter the man formerly known as Sinibaldo Fieschi faced some of the severest challenges faced by a Pope. The issues presented at the Council of Lyon continued to plague the papacy throughout his tenure, and even after the death of Frederick political stability remained a challenge.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.