His eldest son Bela had already gained the respect and affection of
the people by the firmness of his character and his love of justice;
and Andrew, jealous of his popularity, obliged him to fly the kingdom
and seek protection from Leopold, Duke of Austria. The King was,
however, at last persuaded to invite him to return, and, in order to
secure his throne, he established him at a distance from himself, in
the government of Croatia and Dalmatia. Two years later his younger
son Coloman took the place of Bela, who was intrusted with the
government of Transylvania and of all the country between the Theiss
and Aluta. With a weak monarch and an exhausted treasury, the land had
become the prey of barbarous invaders, and the disorders of the
kingdom had reached such a climax that the magnates resolved to appeal
to the mediation of the Pope.

Honorius commanded Andrew to restore the lands which he had parted
with in direct violation of his coronation oath, by which he had sworn
to preserve the integrity of the kingdom and the honor of the crown.
Bela now assembled the nobles and franklins of Hungary, and, supported
by them, demanded the restoration of the ancient constitution. The
ecclesiastics of Hungary, instigated by the Pope, offered to mediate a
peace between the King, who was supported by the great magnates, and
his son, who had the voice of the people. The condition of this peace
was the Golden Bull of Hungary, which was granted in the year 1222. It
was here enacted that, "As the liberties of the nobility, and of
certain other natives of these realms, founded by King Stephen the
Saint, have suffered great detriment and curtailment by the violence
of sundry kings impelled by their own evil propensities, by the
cravings of their insatiable cupidity and by the advice of certain
malicious persons, and as the 'nobiles' of the country had preferred
frequent petitions for the confirmation of the constitution of these