CHAP. XVII. derick's time. Their promotion would be sudden; the one was long a plain Archdeacon, the other was 1245-1250. long a needy knight. Why should Germany send to Cornwall or Castile for her Cæsars, when she could boast of such a son as Rodolph of Habsburg? This CHAPTER XVIII. A.D. 1247-A.D. 1250. 'In sul paese, ch' Adige e Po riga, DANTE, Purgatorio XVI. CHAP. XVIII. beginning of 1247 found Frederick in own Kingdom, to which he had restored peace after the outbreaks of the previous 1247-1250. year. But the wars in Germany and Upper Italy once more drew him away from the pleasures of Foggia and Lucera. Conrad and Enzio were alike looking for their father's presence. We are now,' he wrote, 'more free for the sword; we shall not by our absence give our foes cause to boast; we shall be beforehand with them and smite them with the hammer of our might. In the beginning of February we shall march, and we expect to find all our faithful vassals in readiness with their horses and arms, that our onslaught upon the rebels may not be delayed by any failing in the equipment of our allies.' He was above all anxious to secure the great pass over the Appenines. 'Pontremoli,' he wrote, is the one key and gate leading to Lombardy; we hear that the town is wavering in its faith, though the Castle remains true. Let all our good subjects unite to recover the town.' The Castellan and XVIII. 1247-1250. We Frederick of Antioch were particularly addressed; One more solemn rite was performed before Frederick left Apulia. His little son Henry, named after the first Plantagenet, was now baptized, although already nine years old. He was then, in a Court held at Naples, appointed Regent of the Kingdom, as the image of his father's person. The baptism had been so long put off, in hopes that the Pope would be reconciled to the Empire and perform the rite himself; several friends residing in the Papal Court had recommended this. Both father and son wrote to King Henry of England on the occasion. The Emperor began his march through Tuscany early in spring; it was the last march he ever made into the North. He called upon Orvieto to rejoice at his successes. If he passed near Viterbo, he must have viewed with grim satisfaction the state of his old enemy. Vitale of Aversa had been hovering around it for years, and had caused XVIII. 1247-1250. a famine by his ravages. Boys and girls were often CHAP. found dead in the churches. Forty-three persons dropped in one day. Young men forsook the city, leaving their families to starve. Many of the townsfolk sought shelter in the neighbouring caverns, but the enemy used to light fires and suffocate them. Yet a few months, and Viterbo would be glad to receive a charter of pardon from the Emperor, and to pull down the Palace of Cardinal Regnier.* Frederick did not turn aside to harass Perugia, upon which the Tuscans soon afterwards made a fierce assault. He had a short time before regulated the salary of the Podesta of Castel di Pieve, a town in that district, forbidding the official to flecce the citizens. After halting at Pisa, the Emperor marched his army through the dreaded pass of Pontremoli, and took up his quarters at Parma for the last time in his life. He then went on to Cremona, where he bestowed a most ample charter upon the Tuscan nephews of his trusty Pallavicino, with all the usual feudal rights. At Cremona he held a parliament on the 1st of May, to which came the ambassadors of every Ghibelline town in Lombardy. Three knights doomed to death were pardoned at the prayer of Eccelin da Romano. This chief arrived at Cremona, having lately baffled a plot against his hated life. His lieutenant in Verona had been less fortunate; that officer had been assailed by a prisoner in chains rendered desperate by the approach of doom, and had received three blows on the head with a concealed knife, which caused death in a fortnight. * Bussi. † Chronicon. Rolandini. Tyranny has too often driven the oppressed Italians XVIIL to deeds of murderous revenge. 1247-1250. The Emperor appeared in the North mild as a lamb;' he gave out that he was ready to obey the Church and restore peace to the world.* The death of the Landgrave Henry had just taken place, and the Pope's first scheme had thus been defeated. But there was no room for reconciliation. Innocent had already sent a fresh Legate into Germany, to set up another candidate for the Empire; the Lombard Guelfs were enjoined to hold out a little longer. The Pope thanked the Lord of Faucigny for his proffered aid. This seemed more necessary than ever; Frederick was talking of crossing the Alps, seizing the Pope's person, and then marching on to Germany. He had even fixed the 24th of June for a Diet to be held in that country. Wishing to strengthen his party by new ties, he gave one of his many daughters to the Lord of Carretto. He authorized Walter of Ocra, who had now become Archbishop of Capua, to arrange a match between young Manfred and the daughter of the Count of Savoy. The Castle of Rivoli was restored to that noble, who threatened otherwise to close the passes of the Alps. The Count of Vienne, still further to the West, promised his support. Frederick went on to Pavia and Turin, with stores of treasure and troops of knights. He urged the Count of St. Pol to meet him. A rumour was spread that King Louis himself was abetting the Imperial march upon Lyons.† If such was the real belief of the Ghibellines, they found themselves grievously mistaken. The Pope * Ann. Genuenses. † Chronicon. 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