ITALY. 



'. n.'im. 



A. D. 1215. 



Death f>f 

 Innocent 

 III. 



who conveyed him to Aix-la-chapelle, and there crown- 

 ed him king of the Romans. Otho, in the meantime, 

 had IXTII di'l'fiited by the King of France at Bouvines, 

 with a loss of 30,000 men ; l>y which his power was 

 so much weakened, that he never afterwards was able 

 to m ike head against his competitor. 



It was about this period that the dissensions of the 

 Boundelmonti and the Uberti first broke out in Flo- 

 rence ; which kept that city in a state of civil war for 

 more thin :> years, and prepared its citizens for ta- 

 king the distinguished part which they afterwards did 

 in the wars of Italy- (-See FLORENCE.) 



The following year is marked by the death of Inno- 

 cent III., whose "intrigues had so much raised the pa- 

 pal authority, and occasioned so many wars in Europe. 

 Besides his unprincipled, political conduct, his charac- 

 ter is stained by his cruel persecutions of the Albigen- 

 ses, and the encouragement ^for that purpose given to 

 the Spaniard Dominic and his followers, so distinguish- 

 ed in after times for their hostility against religious li- 

 A. D. 1216. berty. Innocent died at Perugia, on his way to Tus- 

 cany , for the purpose of restoring peace between the 

 Pisans and Genoese, in order to combine their forces 

 for the defence of Palestine. 



Our attention should now naturally be directed to 

 the magnificent conquests of the Venetians and Genoese 

 during the 4th crusade ; but as these transactions, and 

 the naval victories of these two republics, deserve to be 

 narrated in a more connected manner, their history will 

 fall more properly to be considered under the article 

 VENICE. 



The contest between Otho and Frederic armed the 

 cities of Italy against each other. The Milanese re- 

 mained constant in their attachment to the cause of 

 Otho ; and were joined by Thomas, count of Savoy, 

 and Crema, Placentia, Alexandria, &c. On the other 

 side, Pavia, Cremona, Parma, Modena, &c. embraced 

 the cause of Frederic, and were styled the Ghibeline 

 League. The city of Pavia, however, after several de- 

 feats, was forced to join the opposite party. Notwith- 

 standing these wars, the wealth of the Lombard cities 

 was daily increasing ; and, even at this early period, the 

 opulent among them had begun to lend money on in- 

 terest to their foreign neighbours a trade which they 

 afterwards monopolized to such a degree, that, in most 

 European countries, the name Lombard became syno- 

 nimous with that of banker. The progress of science, 

 too, such as it existed in these ages, attested their pros- 

 perity. The university of Bologna, originally dedica- 

 ted to the study of the civil and canon laws, now pos- 

 sessed teachers of every branch of liberal science ; and 

 the number of students, and the many rival establish- 

 -ments in other cities, demonstrated the zeal of the Ita- 

 lians for those acquirements, which had been unknown 

 to their ancestors. 



The death of Otho having now put an end to the 

 competition for the empire, the Pope Honorius III. 

 agreed to invest the King of Naples with the imperial 

 dignity, upon condition of his immediately taking the 

 cross, and proceeding to the Holy Land. Frederic, 

 whose education at the papal court had taught dissi- 

 mulation to a character otherwise resembling his an- 

 cestors, readily accepted the condition. He, however, 

 remained in Germany for two years, until he had ob- 

 tained the coronation of his son Henry (then only ten 

 , years old) as king of the Romans. He then entered 

 A. D. 1220. ^ a 'y at 'h e ' lea 'l ot 'a considerable army, and proceeding 

 directly to Rome, received from Honorius the imperial 



Olho dies 

 A. D. 1218 



crown, renewing at the same time his premise of pro- 

 feeding to Palestine. But the affairs of his hereditary 

 kingdoms first demanded his attention; and he found 

 them in such a state of anarchy Jhul insubordination, 

 that for several years they continued his sole object of 

 attention, notwithstanding the entreaties and menaces 

 of the pontiff. His zeal in the cause of the crusaders 

 was at length roused, by his second marriage with Yo- 

 lanta, the heiress of the kingdom of Jerusalem. He 

 sent some reinforcements to the East, and began to 

 make preparations for embarking at Brindisi, where he 

 collected his army. A pestilential fever, which raged 

 among the troops, and attacked the emperor himself, 

 obliged him, for another year, to defer Jlis voyage. But 

 on the death of Pope Honorius, Gregory IX. who suc- 

 ceeded him, excommunicated the emperor for not per- 

 forming his promise, accusing him at the same time of 

 feigning disease", for the purpose of evading it. Fre- 

 deric, however, ordering his bishops to disregard the 

 papal sentence; and, appealing to the European princes, 

 determined by his actions to prove his sincerity, and 

 embarked the following autumn for the Holy Land. 

 But this measure did not appease the indignation of the 

 pope ; and not contented with exciting his subjects to 

 rebellion, and sending an army of crusaders, headed by 

 Frederic's own father-in-law, to lay waste his territories, 

 he even interdicted the Christians in Palestine from 

 giving obedience to his orders. Notwithstanding these 

 difficulties, the emperor succeeded in making an ho- 

 nourable peace with the sultan of Egypt, and Jerusa- 

 lem was restored to the Christians; though such was 

 the veneration of the patriarch for the papal mandates, 

 that he refused to assist at Frederic's coronation ; and 

 the new king of Jerusalem was obliged, with his own 

 hands, to invest himself with the ensigns of royalty. 

 His rapid return to Italy, soon disconcerted the plans 

 of his enemies ; the army, which had invaded Naples, 

 was dispersed ; and the pope, alarmed for his safety, 

 hastened to conclude a treaty. 



In this peace, the cities of the League of Lombardy 

 were included, at the desire of Gregory, who knew the 

 value of their assistance ; and their independence was 

 thus for the second time publicly recognized. 



The emperor had now to contend with a new ene- 

 my in his own family. His son Henry, king of the 

 Romans, whose ambition, it is said, was excited by the 

 secret intrigues of the pope, appeared in Germany in 

 open rebellion against his father ; and the Milanese had 

 promised to crown him king of Italy, an honour which 

 they had constantly refused to Frederic. In public, 

 however, Gregory affected the utmost horror at this 

 rebellion, and exhorted the German prelates not to lend 

 their aid in so disgraceful a course. But on the ap- 

 proach of the emperor, the young prince was deserted 

 by all his partisans, and obliged to throw himself on 

 the mercy of his father. Frederic having' deprived 

 him of the crown of Germany, sent him into Apulia, 

 where, after a confinement for many years, he died a 

 prisoner. He now returned into Lombardy to punish 

 the defection of the Milanese. To this he was incited 

 by Eccelino III., (commonly called the cruel) who had 

 for 10 years governed Verona, as podesta, with abso- 

 lute authority, and who, also, as chief of the Ghibeline 

 faction, had considerable influence in Cremona. Parma, 

 and Modena, which were zealously attached to that 

 party. 



Frederic's first exploit was the surprise of Vicenza, 

 which having been taken by storm, was pillaged by the 



6 



A. P. 12 



Frederic 

 embarks- 

 the Holy 

 I. anil. 

 A.D. 12 



A. D. 13 



Hcbellioi 

 of Henrj 

 king of t 



Humans. 



A.D. 12 



Suppress 

 by Fredi 



Frederic 

 pumshei 

 the Mill 

 nese. 



