The Rise of the Papal States by Pierre Daunou

Author:Pierre Daunou
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pronoun

“than you. But there exists between us and the

“emperor of the West, an alliance, a reciprocal

“friendship, which commenced with the reign of the

“sultan our father, whom may God receive to glory:

“we shall therefore, conclude no treaty unknown to

“Frederick, or contrary to his interests.”

However, after useless attempts at reconciliation, and various vicissitudes of success and misfortune, Frederick died in 1250, probably strangled, as they say, by his son, Manfred. On receiving this news, Innocent IV. invites the heavens and the earth to rejoice; these are the very words of a letter which he wrote to the prelates, lords, and people of the kingdom of Sicily. He terms Frederick the son of Satan.

Conrade IV. son of Frederick II. was called to succeed him; and, in the absence of Conrade, Manfred his brother governed the two Sicilies. Innocent declares, that the children of an excommunicated person can inherit nothing from their parent; he proclaims a crusade against them, and draws into the revolt the Neapolitan nobles. Manfred succeeded in subduing them; he took the city of Naples by assault, and compelled the pope to fly once more to Genoa. The crusade is again preached against the sons of Frederick, and their kingdom is offered to an English prince. The quarrels which soon sprang up between the two brothers, re-animated the hopes of the Court of Rome; it received the most lively expectations from them, when it learned the death of Conrade, when Manfred was suspected of parricide, and nothing more was wanting, but to destroy the last branch of the house of Swabia, Conradine, a child of ten years of age, the son of Conrade, and as grandson, legitimate heir of Frederick II. The pope hesitated no longer to erect himself into king of Naples: in order to support this title, he levied an army; but this army had only a legate for its leader; it was beaten by Manfred. Innocent IV. died from despair in consequence, at the moment he had entered on a negociation with Louis IX. which had for its basis, the conferring on a brother or son of this monarch, the kingdom of the two Sicilies. This pope had excited a civil war in Portugal, by deposing the king Alphonso II., already interdicted by Gregory IX., and calling to the throne a count of Boulogne, brother of Alphonso. Innocent had disputes also with the English, who complained loudly of his extortions, his breach of the laws, and disregard of treaties.

“The Peter’s pence tax did not satisfy him,

“they said; he exacted from all the clergy enor-

“mous contributions; he had general taxes asses-

“sed, and levied, without the king’s consent: in

“contempt of the right of patrons, he conferred

“benefices on Romans, who did not understand

“the English tongue, and who exported the money

“of the kingdom.”

Let us observe further, that in publishing crusades against Frederick II. and against his son, Innocent granted greater indulgences to them than to the expeditions into Palestine. The pope, said the French nobles, extends his own sovereignty by crusades against the Christians, and leaves our sovereign the task of fighting and suffering for the faith.

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