A.D. 1208

T.F. TOUT



Under Pope Innocent III the example of Gregory VII
(Hildebrand) was followed, with the result of still further
strengthening and extending the pontifical sway. When
Innocent became pope (1198), the holy see was engaged in a
desperate contest for supremacy with the Hohenstaufen rulers
of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry VI, son of Frederick
Barbarossa, had but recently died, leaving his wife
Constance, heiress of the kingdom of Naples or the "Two
Sicilies," and a son, Frederick--afterward Frederick
II--born in 1194, to be dealt with by the Pope.

While the imperial power under the Hohenstaufens was making
head against the papal authority, Italy was overrun in parts
by German subjects of the emperors, and in two expeditions
(1194 and 1197) Henry VI recovered the Two Sicilies from the
usurper Tancred of Lecce. In his dealings with the Sicilies
Innocent therefore had to reckon with the German influence
which played an important part in the new settlement of the
kingdom. His triumphs in this field, as well as in his
conflicts with Philip Augustus of France, Otto IV of
Germany, and King John of England, and in the war which he
made upon heretics, are set forth in the following article
in their historical order, and the cumulative growth of his
supremacy forms a subject of increasing interest to the end.