S40 



ITALY. 



Hiftaty. granted him the kingdom of Sicily ami Naples ; and in 



s -/ ' his letters to the emperor, had assumed a degree of 



haughtiness, which ull'rmled him so much, that he or- 



dered the legates to depart from Germany. Perceiving 



Frrdrric t ^ e necesi jty o f returning to Italy, he convoked a meet- 



!* ing of the princes of the empire, with their vassals, at 



A I) Ui8 t'lm, for the express purpose of punishing the defection 



of the Milanese. The army, which now entered Italy, 



was still greater and better organized than the former 



one. After having obliged the Brescians to atone for 



their short opposition to his arms by a heavy fine, Fre- 



deric summoned a sort of diet in his camp, where some 



military regulations were enacted, and the deputies 



from Milan were heard in their defence. Their prof- 



fered tribute, and excuses for their conduct, however, 



were not accepted; 'the diet declared Milan under the 



ban of the empire ; and the army was ordered to pre- 



pare for the siege of that city. 



Having accepted of the submission of most of the Ita- 

 lian nobility, and of the smaller towns, Frederic pro- 

 ceeded to lay waste the Milanese territory ; and having 

 raised entrenchments round the city, attempted to re- 

 duce it by famine. The distress occasioned by this 

 measure, soon induced the majority of the people to lis- 

 ten to the advice of the Count de Blandrata, to submit 

 to the emperor. A treaty was accordingly concluded, 

 by which Frederic engaged to evacuate the Milanese 

 territory, and that of their allies of Tortona and Crema^ 

 on condition of their restoring their liberty to the 

 towns of Como and Lodi, and renouncing the other 

 Sovereign rights they had assumed ; and besides build- 

 ing the emperor a palace, it was stipulated, that a con- 

 siderable annual tribute should be paid to him. 

 general Soon after concluding this treaty, a general diet of 



diet ut Ron. the kingdom of Italy was held at Roncaglia. Its re- 

 solutions evidently mark the terror which the success 

 o f th e German army had inspired. The ancient feudal 

 prerogatives of the emperor were acknowledged, and 

 his exactions submitted to ; and the right of appointing 

 consuls and judges declared to reside in his person. 

 A new measure was also approved of, which, in its 

 consequences, proved most fatal to the liberties of the 

 Italian cities. This was the appointment of a new 

 magistrate in each town for the administration of jus- 

 tice, who was styled a podesta. The right of nomi- 

 nation was vested in the emperor ; but it was enacted, 

 that the podesta should in no case be a native of the 

 city over which he presided. Another enactment, no 

 less inimical to the privileges of the cities, was that 

 which deprived them, together with the independent 

 nobles, of the right of making war and peace, which 

 they had so long enjoyed. Having inquired, also, into 

 the cause of the dispute between Cremona and Placen- 

 tia, Frederic decided against the latter, which was al- 

 lied to Milan, and commanded its fortifications to be de- 

 molished. Encouraged by the general obedience of the 

 diet, Barbarossa did not deem it necessary to adhere to 

 his agreement with the Milanese, and not only seized 

 on part of their territory, but ordered the fortifications 

 of Crema, their ally, to be destroyed. The indignation 

 of the people, already excited by these insults, at length 

 burst into open insurrection, on the attempt to substi- 

 tute the podesta for the consuls ; and the inhabitants of 

 Milan and Crema unce more set the emperor at deft- 

 ance. 



Frederic having again laid waste the Milanese terri- 

 tory, proceeded to lay siege to Crema, whose hostages 

 he caused to be executed in sight of the walls. The 

 citizens, however, undismayed, continued for six months 



cv. 1158. 



to defend themselves with persevering valour, till at History 

 length worn out with famine^ they were forced to sur- >" "~:CT' 

 render, and leave their city, which wvs razed to the ' 

 ground. 



The death of Pope Adrian IV., which took place a Death of 

 few months before, occasioned a change in the affairs pope Adrian 

 of Italy by no means favourable to the emperor. The IV - 

 college of cardinals, unable to agree in their choice of 

 a successor, had nominated two popes : the one, Alex, 

 ander III. was generally recognised by the church ; 

 while the other, Victor III. had on his side the senate 

 and people of Rome, with whom Frederic, having 

 lately concluded a treaty, was inclined to concur. He; 

 however, summoned a council at Pavia, where he or- 

 dered the rival popes to await his decision. Alexander 

 refused to obey, asserting that the pope was neither 

 subject to emperors or councils. The decision was ac- 

 cordingly in favour of Victor, who excommunicated his 

 rival ; who, in return, excommunicated Frederic, and 

 discharged his subjects from their oath of allegiance. 



In the mean time, being obliged to send back to Ger- 

 many the greater part of his army, he was obliged to 

 carry on his hostilities with Milan on a small scale; 

 and at Cassano, was defeated by the forces of the repub- A D. 1160, 

 lie. The Milanese had the same advantage at Bui- AD. 1161. . 

 chignano ; but an army of 100,000 Germans having, in 

 the course of the summer, joined the emperor, their city 

 was again invested, and all supplies of provisions com- 

 pletely cut off from the besieged. The people at length, 

 unable any longer to sustain their privations, compelled 

 the consuls to surrender at discretion. The keys of 

 the city, and the carocci, were, at the emperor's com- 

 mand, reluctantly delivered up to him ; and, after ten 

 days of painful suspence, the whole inhabitants were 

 ordered to quit the city. The unfortunate exiles hav- 

 ing taken refuge in the neighbouring towns and villa- 

 ges, the army of the emperor, assisted by the inhabi- 

 tants of Lodi, Cremona, and Pavia, and other enemies 

 of the Milanese, proceeded to put in execution the sen- 

 tence of destruction ; and, in six days, the city of Milan Mil n de- 

 was completely demolished. F^deric b7 



This act of severity .spread an universal terror through jtarch' * 

 the Italian states ; the authority of Frederic was every H6g. 

 where acknowledged ; and even the more independent 

 maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa submitted to his 

 sovereign decision their mutual disputes. Having dis- 

 banded his army, he took up his residence with his 

 court at Pavia ; while his ministers and podestas ex. 

 ercised, without controul, the most tyrannical authority, 

 and, by their cruelty and extortions, rendered the im. 

 perial sway as much detested as it was dreaded. 



The inhabitants of Verona, and other cities, which 

 had as yet sided with the emperor, attempted at first to 

 represent these grievances to him ; but receiving no re- 

 dress, and finding their complaints overlooked, they 

 determined to recover their rights by force, and to con- 

 fine the power of Barbarossa within the same bounds 

 as that of his predecessors. The league at first con- League of 

 sisted of Verona, Vicenza, Padua, and Treviso; and ^ eg 

 being joined by the Venetians, who had long been jea- aeamst 

 lous of the power of Frederic, they proceeded to open Frederic, 

 hostilities, and expelled his German officers from their 

 territories. On hearing of this revolt, the emperor col- 

 lected the troops of his Lombard dependants, and 

 marched against the Veronese. He soon, however, 

 perceived that his troops were not to be trusted ; and 

 was obliged to leave his camp in a precipitate manner, 

 and shortly after to depart from Italy, where he found 

 it was now unsafe for him to remain without a Gero> 



