On 12th February, 1256, the king summoned the prelates to meet him in London "on grave and difficult affairs," after Mid-lent Sunday, informing them at the same time that his brother Richard of Cornwall had been elected king of the Romans. Before this meeting, the authority of Rustand the papal nuncio had been reinforced by the presence of the archbishop of Messina, the bearer of letters from the pope which asked the English prelates and clergy to listen to his words and advice, and to furnish him with means of support under the title of procurations. On Sunday, 2nd April, the archbishop of Messina spoke to the prelates and a great number of others in the Chapter-house at Westminster, about the kingdom of Sicily, endeavouring to make them see how important it was that the nation should enter cordially with the king into the business. The proposal, thus for the first time brought formally before the people, was debated for several days; and it was finally determined to refuse the pope's offer of the kingdom, for various reasons stated in a document drawn up in Latin and French and given to the archbishop.

At this same meeting, on Passion Sunday, 1256, Rustand the legate published various letters he had brought from the pope, giving him large and unheard-of powers for the purpose of raising money to meet the great needs of the Roman Curia. Amongst other things, he declared that the pope had granted to himself for five years the first fruits-that is the first year's revenues of all benefices and dignities, excepting only bishops' Sees and the prelacy of religious houses. To these demands the assembled prelates refused to reply, without due time for consideration and counsel.'

1 Ann. Mon. (Ann. de Burton), i. 384-391.

In the Easter week of this same year, 1256, the bishops were again summoned to London to reply to the demand of the nuncio Rustand. At first they were inclined to yield, but being incited to continued opposition by the barons, they positively refused to contribute to the king out of their baronies.' At the same time, Rustand, the nuncio, undertook to deal with the Cistercians. He summoned them to meet him on 14th May, "to hear the commands of the lord pope." Under this authority, he demanded for the pope and the king the entire value of their wool and even more, whilst "the whole world knows," says the chronicler, “that their support is entirely from their wool." The abbots refused to entertain the demand, on the ground that such a matter would require the sanction of the Cistercian General Chapter. Upon this, Rustand applied to the king to deal with them; and, for a time, many of the English abbots were subjected to much persecution, and had to meet many fresh demands upon their revenues. They at last applied to the pope for protection; and Alexander IV, on 25th May, 1256, after praising the Order of Citeaux, granted them a general immunity from ordinary taxation and wrote to the king not to trouble them with money exactions.2

Meanwhile, on behalf of the prelates, appealing against the nuncio Rustand, the bishops of Bath and Rochester had gone to the Roman Curia. The king endeavoured to prevent their crossing from England; but failing, he prohibited any other prelate, knight or cleric, from leaving the country. Alexander IV listened to the representations of the English prelates, and on 15th May, 1256, issued a Bull in reply. In this he says, that acting under his licence the bishop of Hereford, Aquablanca, then his agent in England, 1 Matthew Paris, v. 553. 2 Ibid., 555-557.

borrowed from two citizen merchants of Florence for the affairs of the English king 500 marks, and "although, in the letters and in the legal bond for the repayment of this loan, it is expressly stated that the money was not borrowed for your business, or for that of your monasteries, still as by it the bishop has pledged you and the monasteries and their property to the said merchants," this is to say, that if the king does not meet the debt, you are not bound beyond the amount of the tithe of your ecclesiastical revenues, granted to the king and the Apostolic See.

In June, 1256, the pope sent a reply to the king's petition to be allowed to postpone the payment of the sums of money expended by the Holy See on the Sicilian business. He again urges Henry to set on foot some expedition at once. Delay, he says, will be fatal to the prospect of recovering the portions of the kingdom already in the hands of the enemies of the Roman Church; and as to the payment of the debts, the pope thinks it best to send over a tried and faithful servant to arrange about that.' But apparently the pope's creditors were pressing for payment. They were not inclined to await the return of the papal messenger; for three days later, Alexander IV writes again to Henry, urging preferential consideration for Rolando Bonsignori, a Roman merchant, and his associates in Siena, Aldebrando Aldebrandi and Raynerio Bonaccursi. The pope had borrowed 1,057 marks from them for the Sicilian business and he wants them paid out of the tithe of ecclesiastical property, no matter what arrangements Rustand or the bishop of Hereford had made, and in fact without regard at the moment to the larger sum of 6,000 marks, due to certain merchants of Florence. A fortnight later than this letter, on 22nd

1 Rymer, i. 342.

2 Ibid., 343.

June, 1256, the pope sent a communication to Rustand on the question of the debts, for which the king was responsible. He had ordered, he said, that, to satisfy the most importunate of the creditors, 2,000 marks should be raised on the credit of certain monasteries and churches in England. Rustand is to collect the amount of these obligations from the abbeys and churches which have been so bound, and when it has been paid he may declare the various monasteries and churches released from the obligation contracted in their name. In order that the amount to be paid may not be doubtful, the pope enters the names of those religious houses upon the credit of which he has borrowed the 2,000 marks in question from the merchants of Florence and elsewhere. Thus the Prior and convent of Durham, for example, have to find 500 marks; Bath, 400; Thorney, 400; Croyland, 400; and the Augustinian house of Gisburn, 300.1

Matters still remained in the same unsatisfactory state during the whole of the year 1256. In August, two Bulls were issued by Alexander IV: the first gave Henry the fruits and revenues, etc., of all dignities and benefices in England and other countries subject to the English rule, which, on becoming vacant, by the provisions of the Lateran Council, devolved to the pope; and the other, addressed to the legate Rustand, told him that at the king's supplication he had granted Henry these revenues because he knew "the sincere affection he had to the Roman Church." He charged him to see that they were given over to him without difficulty, as well as all benefices held conjointly with other benefices, which by law were confiscated to the use of the pope, unless licence had been expressly given to the incumbent to hold more than one 1 Matthew Paris, v. 581-584. 2 Ibid., 344.

3 Ibid.

living. Curiously enough, however, at this very time the pages of the papal register contain numerous instances of this very permission being granted at the Roman Curia.1 In the following month, September, 1256, a whole series of papal Bulls, eleven in number, dealing with the same matter, were issued by the pope; and they manifest his grave anxiety to secure the collection of the money granted to the king from the ecclesiastical revenues. Still, time was running on, and apparently nothing was being done to bring the promised expedition of Henry to Sicily any nearer realisation than it had been months before. On 26th September, consequently, not to bring matters to a head prematurely, the pope wrote to the king once more extending the time for the fulfilment of his promises. Henry had dispatched the abbot of Westminster to the Curia to explain his difficulties, and to ask that Alexander IV might have patience until the coming Michaelmas. This the pontiff concedes, but he reminds the king that he will certainly expect his long-promised aid both in money and men by that time.3 On the same day the pope sends two letters to the nuncio Rustand, bidding him compel the Scotch prelates to come to the aid of the Church in this unfortunate Sicilian business. After saying that the affection of a child is known by the readiness with which it comes to the aid of its parent when in distress, the pope continues: "The Roman Church, which by divine institution has the primacy amongst the rest, has, especially in these days, to bear the insupportable burden of expenses incurred in defending ecclesiastical liberty, and chiefly in the affair of the kingdom of Sicily. For this it has contracted debts, under usurious conditions," which it

'E.g., Brit. Mus. Add. MS., 15,358, ff. 406, 412, 433, 447, 451, etc. 2 Rymer, i. 345-346, 348. 3 Ibid., 348.