The pope’s concerns proved well founded. Much as they did in 1226, the cities of the Lombard League refused to send their envoys to the assembly and blocked the alpine passes leading from Germany into Italy, forcing Frederick to postpone the meeting until Christmas, and then again until March the following year. Responding to this worsening situation in January 1232, Gregory appointed James Pecorara, the newly minted cardinal bishop of Palestrina, and Otto Tonengo, cardinal deacon of San Nicola in Carcere Tulliano, as legates to mediate between the emperor and the recalcitrant Lombards.16 The two cardinals, who had long and controversial careers ahead of them as papal-imperial mediators, headed to Bologna with letters of credence for a meeting with the envoys of the Lombard League. In early March, James and Otto presented them a list of “imperial petitions,” including stipulations that the Lombards “swear an oath of fidelity to the lord emperor, as is customary,” that they “renounce oaths made that infringe upon the honor and right of the lord emperor and empire,” and that they bring their legal disputes “before the lord emperor or his vicars or legates in Lombardy.” The representatives from Brescia, Milan, Lodi, Piacenza, and elsewhere provided the cardinals with a record of their objections to such demands, along with a list of their requirements for keeping the peace, insisting that Frederick “remit all rancor” against the league and placing a cap on the number of troops that could accompany his son Henry into the region.17
According to a description of these proceedings sent back to Brescia by the city’s envoys, the cardinals insisted upon a “general” and “public” commission to negotiate with Frederick on the Lombards’ behalf. The Lombard representatives agreed to their proposal, provided that Frederick likewise commit to their arbitration. In their letter to the podesta about the meeting, the Brescians present indicated that they placed great trust in the legates, since one, James, came from Piacenza and the other, Otto, from Vercelli.18 In their own written proposition for this commission, the two legates said nothing of such personal affinities, highlighting the pope’s concern that the turmoil in Lombardy “could inflict grave damage upon all of Christendom, especially by impeding aid to the Holy Land.” If James and Otto could not broker an agreement, they reserved the right to place the entire matter before the pope and the other cardinals, who would determine what needed to be done to “settle the discord” and “affirm the peace.”19 While the representatives of the league waited at Faenza under strict instructions to remain there, the two cardinals traveled to Ravenna to meet with the emperor. When they arrived, however, they discovered that Frederick had left the city by ship for Venice. Some chroniclers portrayed this decision as born from a pious desire to visit the basilica of Saint Mark, while others identified the emperor’s dodge as a deliberate slight to the honor of the Roman church.20
Over the following months negotiations continued. On 13 May 1232, James and Otto oversaw a gathering in the bishop’s palace at Padua, meeting first in the main hall of the cathedral chapter’s canonry. They were joined by a number of prominent Lombard bishops, envoys from the cities of the Lombard League bearing “public instruments” of their commission to negotiate, and Hermann of Salza, who had been given full power by the emperor to make promises, agreements, and compromises on his behalf.21 The following day, in the more formal setting of the bishop’s hall, both sides committed themselves to the terms of arbitration provided by the two cardinals the preceding March, making solemn promises to observe their judgments and meet any deadlines imposed by them until the end of the negotiations.22 Bringing the emperor back to the bargaining table proved difficult. Staying at Anagni, Pope Gregory made plans for a meeting between the concerned parties at the curia on Michaelmas, 29 September 1232. In July, after the emperor’s envoy failed to turn up for preliminary negotiations at Lodi, the pope extended the deadline until the first of November to allow sufficient time for the cardinals to assemble for the deliberations. Although the Lombards and the emperor did send some representatives to the curia, sufficient numbers did not arrive for the formal November meeting to come off as planned.23
Peace in Lombardy and the March of Verona remained elusive. Heading into the spring of 1233, Gregory set a new date for the next meeting at Easter, assigning three cardinals—Otto, again, who was joined by John de Colonna and Stephen Conti, cardinal priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere—to oversee the next round of negotiations. Representatives from both sides met at the Lateran basilica on 24 May, submitting their written propositions for peace for review. Soon after, the pope and cardinals announced their decision. They undeniably gave the Lombards much of what they asked for: the pope called upon Frederick to “remit all rancor” against them, revoking all the judgments and bans issued against the members of the league, forgiving any of their past offenses, and receiving them in his grace. The Lombards likewise had to revoke any bans or edicts against the emperor or his loyal supporters and had to provide five hundred soldiers for assistance in the Holy Land over the course of two years. Both parties had to keep the peace and avoid further conflict. In closing, the pope instructed Frederick to send “patent letters” affixed with his golden seal confirming his commitment to these terms by Michaelmas the following September.24
Like most compromises, this agreement did not entirely satisfy anyone. On 7 June 1233, the Lombard representatives again met with the pope, taking issue with some of the specific wording in terms of peace and requesting clarifications. In a record of the meeting kept by a notary from Milan, the pope gave his responses, observing, for example, that the Lombard League could defend themselves against attacks without violating the terms of peace treaty.25 When news of the decision reached Frederick, he delayed returning the patent letters that the pope had requested, telling Gregory in July that he would not send them until Hermann of Salza returned to the imperial court with a more detailed report of the proceedings at the papal curia.26 He also wrote “in confidence” to the cardinal-bishop-elect of Ostia e Velletri, Raynald da Jenne, complaining about the pope’s judgment that had let the Lombards off the hook, given the many injuries he had suffered from them. Frederick lodged a particular complaint about the Lombards’ promise to provide five hundred soldiers for service in the holy places, when they still owed four hundred soldiers from their previous agreement with the emperor.27 Intentionally or not, this “private” letter did not remain confined to Raynald’s hands but was brought to the attention of the pope. On 12 August, Gregory sent a strongly worded response to the emperor, stressing all of his previous goodwill and efforts on Frederick’s behalf and taking him to task for complaining to Raynald and the cardinals rather than writing to him directly. As for the four hundred soldiers previously promised by the league, that commitment had expired when Frederick embarked on his contentious crusade years earlier. In case he had forgotten the terms of that voided agreement, the pope sent him copies of the original documents taken from the papal archives.28
At this point, the logistical limitations of thirteenth-century epistolary communications made themselves felt. Soon after the pope sent this rebuke, Frederick’s written ratification of the peace agreement arrived at the papal curia, before the pope’s most recent complaints would have reached him. The reasons for the emperor’s change of position are not entirely clear. Whatever misgivings he had, he apparently decided that an imperfect settlement remained better than no settlement at all, allowing him to turn his attention elsewhere, including to the Regno, where he faced an insurrection from rebellious barons. The representatives of the Lombard League likewise ratified the terms of the agreement.29 Through papal intervention, the mediation of cardinal legates, the circulation of documents, oaths and sworn promises, the threat of fines and ecclesiastical censure, and solemn face-to-face